The saddest news ever

(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.

"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."

Thank you for being a friend

RIP Estelle Getty.

Assisted political suicide

Can't not mention this:

Kevorkian to run for office

Yes, that Kevorkian, and yes, it appears to be a real thing. Tune in to Leno tonight, is my advice.

Even the 20-sided die.

R.I.P. Gary Gygax (1938-2008), "Dungeons & Dragons" co-creator, Gen Con founder, and ipso facto pioneer of abstinence-only sex education. May flights of eblises sing thee to thy rest.

Oddly pensive Monday

Two recent deaths:

Robert Jordan died Sept. 16. His "Wheel of Time" series of novels spanned over 3 million words (and counting).

Marcel Marceau died Sept. 22. He is famous primarily for not using words.