Life and Career
Douglas was born in Stamford, Connecticut, served in World War II, and attended the University of Miami in Florida as a drama major. He began a career in radio in the 1950s. By the 1960s, he had become a producer for several prominent advertising agencies in New York City. He finally moved into doing voice-overs for commercials, promos, and trailers by the early 1970s, and would continue doing so until the late 2000s.
Because many of his trailers have begun with the words "In a world", there is controversy over whether his voice has immortalized them (Don LaFontaine claimed to have actually created the catchphrase). In addition, Douglas has been the promotional voice for the former WB, A&E, Disney Channel's "Vault Disney" (1997–2002), and The History Channel.
He did the voiceover narration for the Detroit Red Wings 1997, and the 1996 Chicago Bulls championship documentaries.
Because he has recorded so many trailers through the years, he has sometimes been mistaken for Don LaFontaine. He can be seen parodying himself in the trailer for Comedian, a documentary that features Jerry Seinfeld.
Douglas provided narration for the trailer for the novel All The Talk Is Dead by Michael Ebner.
Unlike most movie trailer announcers, Douglas lives in Northern Virginia and his agent is based in New York City instead of Los Angeles. Hal Douglas has been described by a Miramax publicist as "perhaps the most recognizable trailer voice in the business."
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