The guy in the Geico ads narrating a woman's insurance story in the tone of "that guy who announces movie trailers" ... really is one of the highest paid workers for announcing movie trailers, with about 5,000 trailers under his belt:
"He's been, for 40 years, the best in this business -- in the shadows," says longtime friend and fellow voice-over artist Paul Pape. "This is a great little benefit for him at this point in his life."
At age 66, LaFontaine still averages seven to 10 voice-over sessions a day, with the potential for up to 40 varying reads. He does all of this from a home studio his wife nicknamed "the Hole," where an incessantly chirping fax machine delivers scripts hour after hour.
One recent afternoon, LaFontaine cranked out three takes for the upcoming The Simpsons Movie, and four promo reads for the Fox comedy The Winner -- followed by promos for Trading Spouses, Nanny 911, 24 and more.
In the heydays of the 1980s and '90s, when LaFontaine might do 200 reads a day, he got his own limousine and hired a driver to shuttle him between studios.
"The voice that launched a thousand movies . . . thousands of movies, actually," began a video tribute at the Hollywood Reporter's Key Art Awards, where LaFontaine was presented a lifetime-achievement award in 2005.
-- Geico ad exposes face of 'announcer guy'
At age 66, LaFontaine still averages seven to 10 voice-over sessions a day, with the potential for up to 40 varying reads. He does all of this from a home studio his wife nicknamed "the Hole," where an incessantly chirping fax machine delivers scripts hour after hour.
One recent afternoon, LaFontaine cranked out three takes for the upcoming The Simpsons Movie, and four promo reads for the Fox comedy The Winner -- followed by promos for Trading Spouses, Nanny 911, 24 and more.
In the heydays of the 1980s and '90s, when LaFontaine might do 200 reads a day, he got his own limousine and hired a driver to shuttle him between studios.
"The voice that launched a thousand movies . . . thousands of movies, actually," began a video tribute at the Hollywood Reporter's Key Art Awards, where LaFontaine was presented a lifetime-achievement award in 2005.
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2 comments:
That Geico advert is my favourite one that doesn't have the gecko. Gecko trumps all.
The fact that the Gecko is currently voiced by Danny Blue from Hustle makes it double plus good.
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