VO-BB - 20 YEARS OLD!

DeadDillo · Posted: Wed Apr 16, 2014 5:33 pm Post subject: Who is this voice??

I've been breaking my brain trying to put a name to this voice. I grew up listening to this guy. I've heard his voice a thousand times, from commercials to documentaries, but I cant for the life of me remember his name.

This is bordering on insanity level for me.

He's the VO at the beginning and end of "Nature." Here's his voice:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M7VKR4G8vFo&feature=youtu.be&t=52m41s

Some people have guessed that its Will Lyman - but that's not him. Lyman is the voice of "Frontline" and the VO for "The Most Interesting Man in the World" commercials.

Can anyone help me out?
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Don G. · King's Row Joined: 11 Nov 2004 Posts: 1071 Location: MA

His voice sounded familiar to me, too. But I have to admit, I had to do little hunting. I'm pretty sure it's the late George Page.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sflxGCwGTow

http://www.pbs.org/wnet/nature/bestofnature/tribute.html

DeadDillo · Posted: Wed Apr 16, 2014 6:03 pm Post subject:

I thought it might be George Page, but was wrong.

Its Peter Thomas.

Here's more of his voice:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KU71QQD-AL8

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TnfPBTbeP80

This has literally been driving me crazy for three days.
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Mike Harrison · Posted: Wed Apr 16, 2014 7:32 pm Post subject:

Peter has been doing voice-over work since the early 1950s. On June 28, he turns 90 and is still working. Here is a brief blog post of mine on his life and career:

The parents of legendary voice-over artist Peter A. Thomas taught him as a youngster in Florida the importance of education and communication, with an emphasis on enunciation and mental imagery. Every night, he read stories aloud to his family to practice his technique. This led him to begin his career as a local radio announcer at age 13.

Five years later, Peter joined the U.S. Army during World War II and proudly served his country. Despite being offered a deferment due to his station’s involvement with Armed Forces Radio, Peter instead chose active duty, and participated in five major campaigns, including the Battle of Normandy and the Battle of the Bulge, with the First Infantry Division.

When he returned home in late 1945, Peter was home only one day before he went back into local radio. But it was just three years later that he arrived in New York and began doing commercials, including dozens of on-camera spots. He was also being hired to narrate documentaries and tedious medical educational material. In 1950, Peter was made anchor of the local New York portion of the morning news on CBS Television, while Walter Cronkite anchored the network portion.

It wasn’t long, though, before the increasing demand for his voice in commercials, documentaries and corporate projects caused him to leave broadcasting and focus on voice-over full-time. Beginning in the early 50s, Peter spent about 25 years as the spokesman for Coca Cola. Fifteen years doing spots for American Express; he landed the gig because he was able to read the tag smoothly in five seconds. The phrase “Get Peter Thomas” was soon on the lips of producers around the country.

The voice of Peter Thomas has been described as “…a voice that spans generations. It’s a measured, reassuring, emphatic voice that enunciates each word clearly, and pauses in all the right places for dramatic effect.” And that voice has barely changed at all over the years. Since the 1970s, Peter’s voice has guided visitors on a historical tour of Gettysburg. And when the producers needed revisions to two paragraphs 30-some years later, Peter was able to match his original delivery perfectly.

I first took notice of Peter’s ability to engage an audience with his marvelous narration of an exhibit at the 1964 New York World’s Fair. In ‘The Triumph of Man’ (for the Travelers Insurance Company), Peter told the story of mankind’s achievements, from the discovery of fire through to our leap to the stars at the beginning of the space age. Only eleven years old at the time, I was riveted by Peter’s performance. It planted in my head the seed of voice over that would begin to sprout only several years later.

No one would have been more surprised, though, when as Audio Producer at a corporate communications production agency during the late 1970s, I was to go into a Manhattan studio for the recording of the narration of one of our clients’ projects. Exxon had selected Peter, and I was to supervise the session. Now, this is not a case where you just don’t do something like that with someone of his stature; there is simply no need to supervise Peter Thomas. Here is a man who has as much a grasp of the English language and how to interpret a script as its writer… probably even more so.

The list of commercials, documentaries, training programs, guided tours and other projects Peter Thomas has voiced over the past 60-some years would be mind boggling. And he continues to work to this day; sometimes from his studio at home in Naples, Florida, or from other nearby studios. As voice-over talent who are also audience members, we are very fortunate indeed to be essentially following in the footsteps of the man who, for all intents and purposes, wrote the book on voice-over. And then told the story like nobody’s business. And mesmerized us.

Here, Peter voices a Pillsbury Dinner Rolls TV Spot from 1964 (before the 'birth' of the Pillsbury Doughboy): https://mike-harrison.com/media/Peter-Thomas-Pillsbury.mp4

Here is a recording of Peter, accompanied by the Naples Philharmonic Orchestra, recalling his life-altering experiences landing on Omaha Beach the day following D-Day. https://mike-harrison.com/media/Peter-Thomas-Omaha-Beach.mp3

In 2007, I had the pleasure of "working with" Peter, so to speak. For the Forensic Files episode titled "Bitter Brew," I was asked to read the text of the ransom note written by the kidnapper of Adolph Coors. The producers, Medstar Television, sent me a scan of the actual typewritten note to read from. It was a great honor to hear my voice interspersed with Peter's. https://mike-harrison.com/media/Bitter-Brew-EDIT.mp4
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Don G. · King's Row Joined: 11 Nov 2004 Posts: 1071 Location: MA

Oops. I stand corrected. Thanks for clarifying.

melissa eX · Posted: Wed Apr 16, 2014 8:26 pm Post subject:

Roy (Uncle Roy) Yokelson is friends with Peter Thomas. He goes to see him every year at his house in Florida. Roy would be a good person to ask about anything related to him recently

Scott Pollak · Posted: Thu Apr 17, 2014 4:56 am Post subject:

Mike, thanks so much for sharing all of that. What an inspiration this man is.
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Rick Riley · Posted: Thu Apr 17, 2014 10:57 am Post subject:

DougVox · Posted: Thu Apr 17, 2014 11:33 am Post subject:

That's great Rick, congratulations!

And, man...you don't look a day over 70!!!

Gasp

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jasbart · Posted: Thu Apr 17, 2014 11:46 am Post subject:

I remember going to the Smithsonian Air & Space Museum in DC some 25+ years ago, and seeing some films on display explaining various aspects of the space program. The on-camera spokesman's voice was unmistakable: Peter Allen.

Jim
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Rick Riley · Posted: Thu Apr 17, 2014 12:38 pm Post subject:

georgethetech · Posted: Thu Apr 17, 2014 1:42 pm Post subject:

Roy's down there visiting with Peter this week!
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Bruce · Posted: Thu Apr 17, 2014 4:30 pm Post subject:

Taking a look at my lackluster retirement savings, I'll be working till I'm 90 and then some!

B
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I'm not a Zoo, but over the years I've played one on radio/TV. .

Philip Banks · Posted: Fri Apr 18, 2014 12:21 am Post subject:

Within the past few years my pension fund has been devastated. During my most recent call to the "fund managers" I asked how much I would owe them by the time I'm 65. My Doctor's response "Puh! What are the odds on you ever finding out?"

It's being so cheerful that keeps him going.

DGates · Contributor Joined: 01 Mar 2014 Posts: 28

Strange how young Peter Thomas' voice still sounds, assuming that Nature bit was recent.

I listen to SiriusXM a lot, and they'll play old American Top 40 broadcasts from the 70's and 80's in their entirety. Casey Kasem sounded great back then. But a few years back, they had him do some tags for the satellite rebroadcasts, and while he sounds good, he has no timber or clarity left. Maybe it's the Parkinson's that has had it's effect.