In The News

Voice actor Hal Douglas passes away

Voice actor Hal Douglas passes away

HAL Douglas, who has passed away at the age of 90, was one of the best-known voices in the movie trailer business.

While the name will mean nothing to millions of film fans, his voice will be instantly recognisable from trailers for some of the biggest blockbusters over the past 40 years (see below).

His gravel-toned voice overs helped promote hundreds of films including Con Air, Men In Black, Forrest Gump and Philadelphia.

Although he had originally studied drama at university, Mr. Douglas eschewed the stage for a career behind the microphone. His early career was spent in radio as an announcer before heading to New York where he produced advertisements.

He recorded his first movie trailers in the early 1970s and soon established himself as one of the best in the business (see below). At times audiences may have thought he was the only voice actor available to the studios. Mr. Douglas would recall times when he was in a movie theatre when his voice was being used in most of the trailers on screen.

He installed a recording studio at his farm in northern Virginia and was able, at times, to work while still in his pyjamas. When he was not helping to promote the latest blockbuster, Mr. Douglas worked on other advertising campaigns as well as narrating a range of TV programmes. He demonstrated his sense of fun when he agreed to record a trailer for Jerry Seinfield’s film Comedian in 2009 (see below).

Despite his success, Mr. Douglas remained modest when talking about his career (see below). He once said: “It’s a craft that you learn, like making a good pair of shoes. I just consider myself a good shoemaker.”

To view a demo reel of Mr. Douglas’s work, click here.

To see the trailer for Jerry Seinfield’s movie Comedian, click here.

To view and excerpt from an interview in which Mr. Douglas talks about his work, click here.

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