Don LaFontaine
Don LaFontaine (26 August 1940–1 September 2008; age 68) was an American voiceover artist who provided the voiceover for seasons four through seven trailers of Star Trek: The Next Generation, including "The Best of Both Worlds". LaFontaine replaced Ernie Anderson who was the trailer narrator for seasons one through three (Star Trek: The Next Generation Companion). His first known Star Trek voice work, though, concerned the narration of the Star Trek: The Animated Series commercials on Nickelodeon where the series aired from November 1985 to March 1990.
LaFontaine's first official trailer after "The Best of Both Worlds" was "The Wounded", and he provided voiceovers for the remaining episodes of the series, as well as providing all the trailer voiceovers for Star Trek: Deep Space Nine and Star Trek: Voyager. (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Companion; Star Trek: Voyager Companion)
With the premiere of Star Trek: Enterprise, LaFontaine was contracted to provide the trailer voiceovers as well, which he did so for the entire series. (UPN trailer credits, "The Final Five Episodes", April 2005)
Career
LaFontaine, sometimes credited as "Dave Maxwell", provided his very distinctive voice talents for over five thousand motion picture productions and countless television commercials, earning him nicknames like "King of the Movie Trailers", "Thunder Throat", "The Voice of God", "The Godfather of Trailers", or simply "The Voice". He became particularly known for his rendition of the phrase "In a world...", which was used in so many film trailers that it, as the cliché it had become, was humorously parodied in numerous comedic productions, even becoming the subject of its own theatrical comedy, In a World... (2013), where his famous catchphrase was repeatedly featured posthumously.
LaFontaine died on 1 September 2008 following complications from a pneumothorax.