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Legendary movie trailer voiceover artist Hal Douglas dies

Legendary movie trailer voiceover artist Hal Douglas dies

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Hal Douglas, one of the movie industry's top trailer voiceover artists, died last Friday at the age of 89, reports The New York Times. While those outside of Hollywood may not recognize Douglas' name, his deep and gravelly voice should be instantly distinct: you've been hearing it for decades in trailers for movies including Forrest GumpLethal Weapon, and Meet the Parents. The Times reports that for years, Douglas was among the three go-to voiceover artists for trailers, the others being Don LaFontaine, who died in 2008 and is credit with coining the much-parodied phrase "in a world…," and Don Morrow, who did trailers including A Fistful of Dollars and Titanic.

You can see Douglas in a rare on-screen role in the trailer for Jerry Seinfeld's documentary Comedian (which you can view below), where he parodies a voiceover artist. The Times has more on Douglas and his work and history, and also profiled him in 2009 as part of a look at the top voices behind big movie trailers.

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