Don LaFontaine, the mellifluous voice of over 5,000 movie trailers, commercials, television promos and even a self-parody or two, died Monday at 68 from complications resulting from a collapsed lung.

As a child fascinated by radio and the movies, I wanted to be “that movie voiceover guy” before I even knew who he was.  Since then, I also learned that he is largely credited with the evolution of the film trailer from cheesy, title-laden overkill into its current form after he began writing and voicing them in the 1960s; The Good, The Bad and The Ugly is one of his first.  Sure, earlier in his career he did originate the eventual trailer cliche “In a world …” But can you imagine already having that voice largely intact at age 26?

Here’s a great profile that ABC News did on LaFontaine a few years ago: