Voice Artists Hal Douglas Passed Away at 89

Voice Artists Hal Douglas Passed Away at 89

Voice-over artist Hal Douglas whose legendary voice gave life to hundreds of movie and documentary trailers passed away on the 7th of March at the age of 89. He passed away at his home in northern Virginia where he was surrounded by loved ones including his wife Ruth and daughter Sarah.

Douglas has been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in 2010. While he was not a recognisable celebrity his voice has been broadcast across movie screens and TV sets across the world. His voice was one of the most recognizable in his generation of voice-over artists with its rich baritone covering the entire spectrum of movie trailers from light comedies to blockbuster epics.

Some of the biggest trailers Douglas did were the '90s drama “Philadelphia” and the early '00s “Meet the Parents.” He rarely appeared on screen, making an exception for Jerry Seinfeld’s 2002 documentary “Comedian”. There he plays himself, entering a recording booth and launching in the classic catchphrase “In a world...” just to be repeatedly cut off by a director.

According to his wife Sarah Douglas it was his first on screen appearance in the last four decades. While most of his career was connected to Hollywood, Douglas worked mostly out of New York with the last 15 years of his career being spent at his farm in Virginia.

Posted by Kade Quinn on Sunday March 16 2014, 4:00 AM EST. Ref: boston. Link. All trademarks acknowledged. Filed under Entertainment, Featured News. Comments and Trackbacks closed. Follow responses: RSS 2.0