In a world where the cinema has enraptured the imaginations of millions of movie goers, one man provides the voice to where the magic all starts: the trailers.

Don LaFontaine, legendary voiceover artist, passed away Monday from a collapsed lung at the age of 68.

Lending his voice to nearly 5000 movies and “hundreds of thousands of television and radio spots” over the past 25 years, according to his personal website, LaFontaine’s absence in theaters and living rooms will be felt across the English-speaking nations.

It all began in 1965 when LaFontaine voiced the radio spot for the film, “Gunfighters of Casa Grande.” He got the job by accident and was forced to create a script on the spot. In the years to come, he worked for MGM, rose to the top of Paramount Pictures and later worked as an independent producer.

During the last 25 years, LaFontaine narrated most of his movie trailers, earning him the title “King of Voiceovers,” according to his biography.

How else is one to determine whether or not the latest “Scary Movie” (or rather “_____ Movie”) is finally worth seeing? How else is one to know what to expect next on Fox?

LaFontaine’s throne is vacant for the taking, leaving a power vacuum in the film voiceover industry.

Although a replacement is inevitable, the fact of the matter remains that movie trailers may never carry the same promise and anticipation as they did with LaFontaine’s narration.

For now, an entire industry stands devoid of that resonating presence that made the bad movies exciting, the good movies epic, and the epic… legendary.

Although LaFontaine may be silenced, his voice will echo forever in the ears of all that ever beheld his wonderful gift.