Hal Douglas
Template:Short description Template:Multiple issues Template:Infobox person Harold Douglas (born Harold Cone; September 1, 1924 – March 7, 2014) was an American voice actor best known for performing thousands of voice-overs for movie trailers, television commercials, and stage plays over the course of a six-decade career.<ref name=WashingtonPost>Bernstein, Adam (March 12, 2014). "Hal Douglas, famed voice-over artist, dies at 89". The Washington Post.</ref>
Early lifeEdit
Harold "Hal" Douglas was born Harold Cone in Stamford, Connecticut, on September 1, 1924, the son of Jewish immigrants from Eastern Europe, Samuel and Miriam Levenson Cone. Douglas and his brother Edwin were primarily raised by their grandparents Sarah and Tevya Levenson after their mother died when Douglas was only nine.<ref name=WashingtonPost/><ref name=NewYorkTimes>Vitello, Paul (March 13, 2014). "Hal Douglas, 89, Superstar of Movie Trailer Narrators, Dies". The New York Times.</ref> He served in World War II, and attended the University of Miami in Florida as a drama major.<ref name=WashingtonPost/>
CareerEdit
Douglas began a career in radio in the 1950s. By the 1960s, he had become a producer for several prominent advertising agencies in New York City. He finally moved into doing voice-overs for commercials, promos, and trailers by the early 1970s, and would continue doing so until his retirement in 2010.Template:Citation needed
Because many of his trailers have begun with the words "In a world", there is controversy over whether his voice has immortalized them. (Don LaFontaine claimed to have actually created the catchphrase.)Template:Citation needed In addition, Douglas has been the promotional voice for The WB, ABC, A&E, Disney's Halloween Treat, A Disney Halloween, Disney Channel's "Vault Disney" (1997–2002), and The History Channel.Template:Citation needed
He did the voiceover narration for the 1997 Detroit Red Wings, the 1994 and 1995 Houston Rockets and the 1992, 1993, 1996 and 1997 Chicago Bulls championship documentaries. He also did voiceover narrations of other NBA documentaries of the 1990s. Template:Citation needed
Because he recorded so many trailers through the years, he was sometimes mistaken for Don LaFontaine.Template:Citation needed He can be seen parodying himself in the trailer for Comedian, a documentary that features Jerry Seinfeld.<ref name=WashingtonPost/>
Douglas provided narration for the trailer for the novel All the Talk Is Dead by Michael Ebner.Template:Citation needed
Unlike most movie trailer announcers, Douglas lived in Northern Virginia and his agent was based in New York City instead of Los Angeles.Template:Citation needed Hal Douglas was described by a Miramax publicist as "perhaps the most recognizable trailer voice in the business".Template:Citation needed
Douglas's voice briefly appears in the skit 5 Men and a Limo, featuring other notable voiceover recording artists, such as Don LaFontaine, John Leader, Nick Tate, Al Chalk, and Mark Elliot. As the skit was filmed in California, and as Douglas was primarily based in the East Coast, he was unable to make a physical appearance, and only is heard in a brief recording.
Personal life and deathEdit
Douglas married Lois Barrett. They had two sons. He later married Ruth Francis around 1971. They had one daughter.<ref name=WashingtonPost/>
In 1988 Douglas moved from Pawling, New York, to a 40-acre farm in Lovettsville, Virginia, where he pursued organic gardening and his wife took up competitive horse riding. He had a small recording studio built there that allowed him to do his work at home, sometimes in pajamas.<ref name=WashingtonPost/> Douglas died at his home on March 7, 2014, of pancreatic cancer, at the age of 89.<ref name=NewYorkTimes/><ref name=WashingtonPost/><ref>Evanier, Mark (March 8, 2014). "Hal Douglas, R.I.P." News From Me.</ref>
ReferencesEdit
External linksEdit
- [https://www.imdb.com/{{#if: 0235069
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