In a world where movies are made by machines, one man stood tall. The ubiquitous and unmistakable voice of Don LaFontaine will no longer grace hundreds of previews every year. LaFontaine, known as The Voice in Hollywood, passed away Monday in Los Angeles due to "complications from pneumothorax, a collapsed lung that causes air to build in the pleural cavity." In this clip from a while back, the comically self-mocking LaFontaine shows how he did what he did. Watch all four minutes. [CNN]

Just when we thought America had narrowly averted tragedy over the long weekend, word arrived this morning that voice-over legend Don LaFontaine died Monday of complications from a collapsed lung. He was 68. LaFontaine voiced more than 5,000 trailers and 350,000 commercials in his career, which began by accident in 1965 when he provided a last-minute fill-in for an MGM radio spot. He continued on as an independent artist and eventually joined Paramount in 1978 as head of trailer production — the time during which he became known as the "voice" of the studio and oversaw his favorite trailer, for 1980's The Elephant Man. He had long since returned to independent production, most famously working on-camera last year as a pitchman for Geico. But around Defamer HQ we have our own LaFontaine high point (viewable after the jump), and we're sure he would have agreed if only he could reconsider. May this proud son of Duluth, Minn., rest in peace; if they had any shame, the Republicans just down the road would put off another GOP Convention day in the spirit of quiet remembrance. [ETOnline]

Don LaFontaine, one of the best voice actors in history, is dead at 68. LaFontaine began writing and voicing movie trailers in the late 1960s, inventing, supposedly, most of the beloved and hilarious cliches ("in a world," "one man stands...") that still introduce us to whatever summer Hollywood garbage we'll be enjoying this Fourth of July. There are countless amusing LaFontaine parodies, commercials, and jokey news segments available on YouTube, but it seems more appropriate to enjoy his work on its own merits, not just as camp. So here's the classic theatrical trailer for The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly.

The comedy team behind the classic Hipster Olympics and Mario: Game Over has a new sketch about a family of voice-over artists. The concept pretty much drives the whole joke (everyone talks in professional voiceover voices), but the script doesn't matter; it's just fun to hear these voices. They could literally be reading the phone book. In fact anyone who gets Don LaFontaine to read a page of Manhattan listings will probably earn a million YouTube views. Anyway, here's the sketch, as well as one other classic voiceover talent skit.