Quit smoking two decades before hospitalisation
Despite being an on-and-off smoker for much of his life, LaFontaine had quit for two solid decades before his fatal hospitalisation.
Where this was said
Peak Career: Networks, Award Shows & GEICO
At 15:01 · chapter starts 13:50
The hosts run through the full scope of LaFontaine's peak career dominance: in-house voice for all four major US networks, plus UPN, TNT, TBS, Cartoon Network, and in-show announcer for the Academy Awards. [1] — Josh "LaFontaine became the in-house voice for all four major US networks, UPN, TNT, TBS, and Cartoon Network. He was also the in-show announcer …" 12:42 Chuck's summary is simple: 'You can hardly name a brand without mentioning Don LaFontaine having voiced for them.' But what the hosts seem to enjoy most is that LaFontaine could laugh at himself. Josh describes watching the 2005 GEICO commercial where LaFontaine was brought in to turn a real customer's mundane insurance story into cinematic drama. The spot is 'so cute,' Josh says — and it shows a man fully at ease with his own cultural footprint. Chuck speculates he was well compensated. Both agree GEICO has been 'killing it' for the entire twenty-first century.
The GEICO Commercial That Made Him Funny
In a 2005 GEICO ad, LaFontaine was hired to 'movie up' a real customer's average everyday story, translating her mundane claim into booming trailer-speak. Josh calls it 'so cute.' The fact that LaFontaine leaned into the parody of himself speaks volumes about his self-awareness.
Death, Pulmonary Embolism, and a Final 'In a World'
LaFontaine was admitted to Cedars Sinai in 2008 with a pulmonary embolism and died September 1 at age 68 — despite having quit smoking two decades prior. His last ever recorded line, in a Phineas and Ferb episode, was 'In a world.' It couldn't have been scripted better.
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