( CNN ) -- Don LaFontaine , the voiceover king whose `` In a world ... '' phrase on movie trailers was much copied -- and much parodied -- has died , according to media reports . He was 68 . LaFontaine died Monday at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles , California , according to ETOnline , `` Entertainment Tonight 's '' Web site . He died from complications from pneumothorax , a collapsed lung that causes air to build in the pleural cavity , his agent , Vanessa Gilbert , told `` ET . '' LaFontaine , who was born in Duluth , Minnesota , began as a voice actor in the mid-1960s while working as a recording engineer , according to his Web site . His strong , slightly gravelly voice was featured on trailers for thousands of films , including `` The Godfather , '' `` Fatal Attraction '' and `` Terminator 2 : Judgment Day . '' For a time in the late '70s , LaFontaine was the official voice of Paramount Pictures . His favorite work was one he did for the 1980 film `` The Elephant Man , '' he said in interviews , but whether the film was Oscar-caliber or a bomb waiting to blow , he handled every assignment equally . Watch LaFontaine at work » . `` My philosophy is that you have to really believe what you 're reading , even if you think the film 's a piece of junk , '' he told Swindle magazine . `` Even the worst picture is someone 's favorite film , and that someone is the fan I am always talking to . '' iReport : Share your thoughts on `` the Voiceover King '' He also provided the voice for hundreds of thousands of commercials , for companies including General Motors , Ford , McDonald 's , Coca-Cola and many others , according to his Web site . Slideshow : LaFontaine doing `` Godfather II , '' `` Friday the 13th '' » . The good-humored LaFontaine was willing to poke fun at himself , particularly in a recent ad for Geico insurance , in which he gave dramatic flair to a woman 's story about her car accident . He also voiced the trailer for `` The Simpsons Movie , '' in which his descriptions were mimicked by commentary from the film 's characters . But LaFontaine was most famous for popularizing the phrase `` In a world ... , '' used by seemingly dozens of movies determined to create an otherworldly atmosphere . LaFontaine told CNN that the scripts gave him the cues for his delivery . `` They dictate how they want to be read , '' he told `` Showbiz Tonight '' in 2005 . `` It 's pretty much straightforward stuff because you know the context of the film generally going in . If it 's something like 'King Kong , ' you have a pretty good idea of how you ` re going to say it . It 's going to be a big adventure thing . And I let the [ script ] more or less guide what I 'm going to say . '' He added that there was no secret to his movie trailer work : `` I really think this is one of the few industries where everything is right up there , '' he told CNN . `` What you see is what you get . '' Still , he noted , it 's not like he could use his movie-trailer voice everywhere . `` If I tried to use that voice in public , '' he said , `` they 'd be calling security . '' LaFontaine is survived by his wife , actress and singer Nita Whitaker , and three children , Christine , Skye and Elyse .
LaFontaine did voiceovers for hundreds of thousands of films . Voice specialist best known for ` `` The Simpsons Movie ... '' lead to trailers . Geico also appeared in LaFontaine ad .