Government Employees Insurance Company
(doing business as GEICO)

Type	Subsidiary
Industry	Insurance
Founded	Fort Worth, Texas, U.S. (1936) (75th anniversary)
Headquarters	Chevy Chase, Maryland, U.S.
Key people	Tony Nicely, Chairman, President & CEO, Treasurer
Products	Auto insurance
Revenue	US$9.212 billion (2004)[1]
Employees	27,000
Parent	Berkshire Hathaway
Website	geico.com

GEICO headquarters in Chevy Chase, Maryland

The Government Employees Insurance Company (GEICO /ˈɡaɪkoʊ/) is an auto insurance company. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway that as of 2007 provided coverage for more than 10 million motor vehicles owned by more than 9 million policy holders. GEICO writes private passenger automobile insurance in all 50 U.S. states and the District of Columbia. Rather than relying on agents to sell policies, GEICO uses a direct-to-consumer sales model and puts funds saved from not paying agent commissions toward the purchase of television advertising, with several campaigns running simultaneously in national markets. Its mascot is "Martin," a Gold dust day gecko with a Cockney accent, voiced by English comedian and actor, Jake Wood. GEICO is well known in popular culture for its advertising, having made a large number of commercials intended to amuse viewers.

History[link]

GEICO was founded in 1936 by Philip J. Carlton, Leo Goodwin, Sr. and his wife Lillian to provide auto insurance directly to federal government employees and their families.^[2] Since 1925, Goodwin had worked for USAA, an insurer which specialized in insuring only military personnel; he decided to start his own company after rising as far as a civilian could go in USAA's military-dominated hierarchy. Based on Goodwin's experience at USAA, GEICO's original business model was predicated on the assumption that federal employees as a group would constitute a less risky and more financially stable pool of insureds, as opposed to the general public. Despite the presence of the word "government" in its name, GEICO has always been a corporation not affiliated with any government organization.

In 1937, the Goodwins relocated GEICO to Washington, D.C. and reincorporated the company as a D.C. corporation after realizing that their business model would work best in the place with the highest concentration of federal employees.

An important figure in GEICO's history is David Lloyd Kreeger, who became president of the company in 1965 and helped steer it into a major insurance enterprise. In 1948, he formed a group of investors who bought into GEICO right before it went public that year. He became senior vice president and general counsel of the company. Six years after becoming president of GEICO in 1964, he was named chairman and chief executive officer. He retained those titles until he retired in 1975. He continued as chairman of the executive committee until 1979, when he was named honorary chairman.^[3] Intriguingly, the GEICO web site avoids any mention of Kreeger.^[2]

In 1974, under Kreeger's leadership, GEICO began to insure the general public, after real-time access to computerized driving records became available throughout the United States, and it was briefly the fifth-largest U.S. auto insurer. By 1975, it was clear that GEICO had expanded far too rapidly (during the 1973–75 recession) when it reported a $126.5 million loss. To prevent GEICO from collapsing, a consortium of 45 insurance companies agreed to take over a quarter of its policies, and it was forced to issue a stock offering (thus diluting existing stockholders) to raise money to pay claims. It took five years (during which the company shrank significantly) and a massive reorganization to set GEICO on the path to recovery.

Besides auto insurance, GEICO also offered other types of insurance during its history. From 1975 to 1985, GEICO's sister company, the Government Employees Life Insurance Company (GELICO), offered life insurance, and from 1962 to 1996, GEICO offered homeowner's insurance. Although GEICO has since focused on its core competency of auto insurance, selling GELICO to Legal & General, it uses its established direct sales infrastructure to market homeowner's insurance and many other types of insurance underwritten by other insurance companies.

In 1996, after many years as a publicly traded firm, GEICO became a wholly owned subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway.

GEICO generally deals directly with consumers via the telephone and the Internet through its own insurance agency, the GEICO Insurance Agency, thus freeing up capital that would otherwise be spent on employing insurance agents in the field. The company does have many offices across the country for those consumers who prefer to deal with an agent. The company is now the third largest direct writer of private auto insurance in the United States.

Advertising campaigns[link]

GEICO has many well known ad campaigns. All are made and produced by The Martin Agency, which is based in Richmond, Virginia. GEICO ads have featured several well-known mascots, including:

• "Martin, the GEICO gecko" (an anthropomorphic Day Gecko)
• The GEICO Cavemen (from ads claiming using their website is "so easy, a caveman could do it") who then became the stars of the short-lived sitcom (unrelated to GEICO) Cavemen.
• A small stack of money with eyes and the song "Somebody's Watching Me" by Rockwell.
• Actor Mike McGlone, who uses film noir-style narration to compare the ease of GEICO to things, famous people, or idioms. ("Could switching to GEICO really save you 15% or more on car insurance?...Is having a snowball fight with pitching great Randy Johnson a bad idea?") The scene is then acted out, with typically humorous results. In addition to Johnson, other ads have included Charlie Daniels, R. Lee Ermey, and Ed "Too Tall" Jones among others.

There are also GEICO ads that feature stories from GEICO customers about situations in which the company assisted them, but are narrated by celebrities like Little Richard. Film trailer announcer Don LaFontaine appeared in one such ad, shortly before his death.

Competition[link]

GEICO's major competitors include Amica Mutual, The Hartford Financial Services Group, Liberty Mutual Insurance, State Farm, Allstate, 21st Century Insurance, Progressive, Nationwide Insurance, and USAA^{[citation needed]}. The October 2010 issue of Consumer Reports ranks GEICO 13th out of 22 automobile insurers based on a survey of more than 28,000 readers.^[4]

Slogans[link]

• A 15 Minute Call could save you 15 percent or more on car insurance (1994-2001)
• A 15 Minute Call could save 15 percent or more (1997-2000)
• 15 minutes could save you 15 percent or more on car insurance (2001-present)
• 15 minutes could save you 15 percent or more (2003-present)
• 15 minutes could save you 15 percent (2006-present)

See also[link]

• List of United States insurance companies

References[link]

External links[link]

• GEICO official web site

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The GEICO Cavemen are trademarked characters of GEICO in a series of television advertisements for the auto insurance company GEICO that have aired from 2004 to present. The campaign was created by Joe Lawson of The Martin Agency. In 2004, GEICO began an advertising campaign featuring Neanderthal-like cavemen in a modern setting.^[1] The premise of the commercials is that GEICO advertises that using their website is "so easy, a caveman could do it"; and that this slogan offends several cavemen, who not only still exist in modern society but live as intelligent, urbane bachelors. Jeff Daniel Phillips and Ben Weber played the two earliest cavemen and continuously reprise their roles. Actor John Lehr appears most frequently as the caveman. Other cavemen are played by Ben Wilson. The makeup effects for the caveman include facial prosthetics, dental veneers, and lace hairpieces, and were designed and created by Tony Gardner of Alterian, Inc.

In an online interview with Esquire, Joe Lawson said that one aspect of the ads is a critique of modern political correctness.^[2]

The cavemen have been honored by the Madison Avenue Advertising Walk of Fame.^[3]

The GEICO Cavemen were notably created by The Martin Agency of Richmond, Virginia. This has been publicized heavily by the media.

Television ads[link]

1. As a fake, caveman-insensitive commercial is being filmed, the boom operator turns out to be a Neanderthal caveman who stops the filming and yells "Not cool!"
2. Two cavemen in their apartment watch the ad from commercial #1 on TV, and take offense at its condescending tone, as it makes cavemen seem less intelligent.
3. A spokesman meets with two cavemen in a restaurant to apologize for the promotion, explaining that "we had no idea you guys were still around." One of the cavemen tells the waiter, "I'll have the roast duck with the mango salsa." The other caveman informs the waiter that "I don't have much of an appetite, thank you." (Writer Ron Rosenbaum called the roast-duck line "the iconic moment" of the ad series, due to "the surreal contradictions" of cavemen "au courant enough to be unimpressed by now antiquated nouvelle cuisine.")^[4]
4. A caveman on a moving sidewalk at an airport spots a GEICO billboard featuring an overly silly representation of a caveman, along with the insulting phrase. The Röyksopp song "Remind Me" plays in the background.
5. A follow up to the fourth commercial shows the same caveman talking on his cell phone, complaining about the offending billboard, saying "I'm looking right at it!".
6. A caveman in a psychotherapy session complains to his therapist, played by Talia Shire, about GEICO's attitude towards cavemen. The therapist says that an ad that said "So easy a therapist could do it" wouldn't make sense to her.
7. Continuing the therapy session, the therapist says "No one said it was going to be easy." The caveman replies that if Geico had taken that attitude, "I wouldn't be having an existential meltdown right now."
8. All three cavemen are at a high-rise-apartment party. On the balcony, two of them discuss one caveman's decision to purchase GEICO's insurance because of its low price. The second caveman doesn't entirely fault him, but states that "a little loyalty would be nice" in their opposition to the company. During their discussion, the third caveman interrupts from inside, exclaiming excitedly "Tina's here; we're getting back together!" The first caveman quickly snaps at him, exclaiming, "Hey! Give us a minute!"
9. A caveman on a news-type talk show debates a human expert about whether or not cavemen "have failed to adapt." The expert insults the caveman by saying, "It looks like someone woke up on the wrong side of the rock."
10. The continuation to the tenth commercial, the woman on the bottom right says about how ego in our society is at the forefront. The man on the left asks the caveman, "Response?". The caveman's response is "Uhhhh, what?!?!"
11. The cavemen watch the show Cavemen, and ridicule the series. This ad premiered during Super Bowl XLII; the show itself had already been canceled.
12. A caveman dances in various styles in a rather ridiculous manner, remarking how hard it is to dance in such a style, making such exclamations as "GEICO probably thinks this is easy, too!"
13. "Match": Focusing on GEICO's sports marketing efforts, a caveman faces Billie Jean King in a tennis match. The caveman is winning handily, but when he looks at the scoreboard he realizes that it shows him losing 0-6, 0-6, 0-5. He doesn't understand, until he realizes the tournament is sponsored by GEICO. Feeling set up and humiliated by GEICO, he stands up and says "I get it! I quit, but I get it!" He then notices the chair he was just sitting in also bears a bold GEICO logo.
14. "Plane Banner": A caveman and his girlfriend arrive at the beach. As the lady begins to disrobe to her bikini a plane flies by with a GEICO banner. The distraught caveman takes his sunglasses off and says "I'll be in the car".
15. "Walkin'": Two cavemen ride up to an outdoor bar on motorcycles. At the bar, they see two typically beautiful girls who are clearly impressed by the bikers. The bikers then see a billboard similar to the one in ad #4 (although, since this ad targets motorcycle insurance, the caveman is on a motorcycle). They suddenly lose interest in the women, heading back to their bikes; the women seem confused by the sudden change in the cavemen's demeanor. The song "Hurt You" by The Sounds plays in the background.
16. "Number 1 Fan": A caveman is shown on a Jumbotron at a basketball game as the "GEICO Ultimate Fan." He rejects the congratulations of those sitting around him, although he just won court-side seats. As the commercial ends, the arena announcer plugs GEICO, using the "so easy" phrase.
17. "Metal Detector": A caveman is walking on the beach with his girlfriend, looking for treasure with a metal detector. The device beeps, exciting the couple. The caveman digs into the sand with a net and pulls out a set of car keys with a GEICO key chain attached. He throws the keys and metal detector on the ground and walks away in disgust.
18. "Breaking Point": A caveman who is dressed as a caricature of Modern Man sees an advertisement for Geico on many televisions through a window and can't take it anymore; he takes off his glasses, unties his ponytail, and takes off his coat, and runs away acting like his former caveman-self set to "Let Me Be Myself" by 3 Doors Down. This scene was used in part for the music video of the same song.
19. "Bowling": The continuation of the 19th commercial, the caveman comes across a bowling alley and sees two of his caveman buddies there and joins the game with them. The caveman who just came in went first, and one of his buddies went second. While the second caveman's pin sweeper is sweeping the pins, it shows on the pin sweeper an advertisement for Geico with the "So easy" phrase, along with the GEICO logo on the pinsetter. This was also set to "Let Me Be Myself" by 3 Doors Down. This video served as the ending to the music video of the same song.
20. "Glovebox": This is a commercial for a Geico iPhone App called "Glovebox" which is demonstrated by a hand model (with an unusually hairy hand). The end of the commercial's script states the app is "So Easy a Caveman Can Do It", which angers the hand model, who is revealed to be a Caveman as he storms off, saying, "Where's my coat? It was suede, with the fringe!"
21. "Fire": Part of a separate series of Geico commercials where in which actor Mike McGlone walks into an empty room and asks a rhetorical and/or obvious question. In the commercial, his question is "Could switching to GEICO really save you 15 percent or more on car insurance? Did the Cavemen invent fire?" The scene then cuts to one of the Cavemen on a bed reading with a woman, he looks at the camera and sighs, then picks up his remote and turns his fireplace on.

Also, at the time of the launch of the Caveman's Crib website, a short advertisement featuring all cavemen at the "hip party" featured on the website was added after every Caveman commercial that was currently airing.

Recently, one of the Cavemen was spotted filming a new commercial (or series of commercials) in Homer, Alaska on the Time Bandit boat (from The Deadliest Catch TV series). The Mayor of the city presented the caveman with a key to the city.^[5]

Television sitcom spin-off[link]

On March 2, 2007, Variety reported that a sitcom based on the cavemen characters, simply titled Cavemen, was being developed for ABC.^[6] The magazine reported, "'Cavemen' will revolve around three pre-historic men who must battle prejudice as they attempt to live as normal thirtysomethings in modern Atlanta." ABC announced this series for their fall schedule in May 2007. Originally it featured none of the Cavemen from the commercials, but Jeff Daniel Phillips later agreed to join the cast. It premiered on October 2, 2007. In the face of sagging ratings, it was quietly cancelled, automatically being the shortest lived ABC sitcom of the season. In February 2008, a new series of Caveman commercials featured two of the characters spoofing the premise of the show.

References[link]

See also[link]

• Neanderthals in popular culture

External links[link]

• Geico Cavemen Fan Site - unofficial site
• Advertising Industry critiques Caveman's Crib
• Geico Caveman Ads reviewed
• Unofficial Geico Cavemen FAQ and Definitive Video Post
• Jeffrey Daniel Phillips at the Internet Movie Database Trivia - Portrays one of the Cavemen in the Geico Insurance Commercials
• Ben Weber at the Internet Movie Database Trivia - Portrays one of the "Cavemen" in the Geico Insurance Commercials

Donald Leroy "Don" LaFontaine^[1] (August 26, 1940 – September 1, 2008) was an American voice actor famous for recording more than 5,000 film trailers and hundreds of thousands of television advertisements, network promotions, and video game trailers. His nicknames included "Thunder Throat" and "The Voice of God".^[2] He became identified with the phrase "In a world…", which has been used in movie trailers so frequently that it has become a cliché. He parodied his career several times, most recently in commercials for GEICO insurance and the Mega Millions lottery game.

Early life[link]

LaFontaine was born August 26, 1940, in Duluth, Minnesota, to Alfred and Ruby LaFontaine.^[3] According to LaFontaine himself, his voice cracked at the age of 13 in the middle of a sentence, giving him the bass tones that would later bring him much fame and success.^[4] After graduating from high school, he enlisted in the United States Army, and worked as a recording engineer for the Army Band and Chorus.

Career[link]

LaFontaine continued to work as a recording engineer after discharge and began working at the National Recording Studios in New York City, where, in 1962, he had the opportunity to work with producer Floyd Peterson on radio spots for Dr. Strangelove. Peterson incorporated many of LaFontaine’s ideas for the spots and, in 1963, they went into business together producing advertising exclusively for the movie industry. LaFontaine claimed that it was this company that first came up with many of the famous movie trailer catch phrases, including his own future signature phrase, "in a world..."^[5]

While working on the 1964 western Gunfighters of Casa Grande, LaFontaine had to fill in for an unavailable voice actor in order to have something to present to MGM. After MGM bought the spots, LaFontaine began a career as a voiceover artist.

He became the head of Kaleidoscope Films Ltd., a major movie trailer producer before starting his own company, Don LaFontaine Associates, in 1976. Shortly thereafter, he was hired by Paramount to do their trailers, and was eventually promoted to a vice president. However, he decided to get back into trailer work and left Paramount, moving to Los Angeles in 1981. LaFontaine was contacted by an agent who wanted to promote him for voiceover work. Thereafter, LaFontaine worked in voiceovers. At his peak, he voiced about 60 promotions a week, and sometimes as many as 35 in a single day. Once he established himself, most studios were willing to pay a high fee for his service. His income was reportedly in the millions.^[6]

LaFontaine often had jobs at a number of different studios each day, and famously hired a driver to take him from studio to studio in order to save time finding parking. With the advent of ISDN technology, LaFontaine built a recording studio in his Hollywood Hills home and began doing his work from home.

LaFontaine lent his very distinctive voice to thousands of movie trailers during his career, spanning every genre from every major film studio, including The Cannon Group, for which he voiced one of their logos. For a time, LaFontaine had a near-monopoly on movie trailer voiceovers. Some notable trailers which LaFontaine highlighted in the intro on his official website include: Terminator 2: Judgment Day, Shrek, Friday the 13th, Law & Order and Batman Returns. LaFontaine stated in 2007 that his favorite work in a movie trailer was for the hit biographical film The Elephant Man,^[7] though according to a response to the question on his website, he had several trailers which stood out in his mind, and he didn't like to choose one.^[8]

Lafontaine also did announcing for a few WWE Pay Per View events, as well as the "Don't Try This at Home" bumper.

In a 2007 interview, LaFontaine explained the strategy behind his signature catch phrase, "in a world where...":

We have to very rapidly establish the world we are transporting them to. That's very easily done by saying, "In a world where... violence rules." "In a world where... men are slaves and women are the conquerors." You very rapidly set the scene.^[9]

LaFontaine also did other voice work, including as the announcer for the newscasts on WCBS-TV New York, from 2000 to 2001. LaFontaine was a recurring guest narrator for clues on the game show Jeopardy!^[10] and appeared on NPR's Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me! on May 14, 2005, where he played "Not My Job" (a game in which famous people have to accurately answer questions totally unrelated to their chosen professions). The prize (for a listener, not the contestant) is "Carl Kassell's voice on your home answering machine". LaFontaine did not win the game, and offered to record the listener's answering machine message himself. LaFontaine once claimed that he enjoyed recording messages like these because it allowed him to be creative in writing unique messages, and said that he would do so for anyone who contacted him if he had the time. However, by 2007, he found the requests to be too numerous for him to take on, and stopped providing the service.^[8]

In 2006, GEICO began airing an ad campaign in which actual customers told their own stories of GEICO experiences, accompanied by a celebrity who helped them make the story interesting. LaFontaine was featured as the celebrity in one of these ads which began airing in August 2006. In the commercial, he was introduced as "that announcer guy from the movies", with his name printed on-screen to identify him. He began his telling of the customer's story with his trademark "In a world...". LaFontaine credited the spot as life-changing for having exposed his name and face to a significant audience, noting, "There goes any anonymity I might have had..."^[11]

Death[link]

On Friday, August 22, 2008, LaFontaine was admitted to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, California with a pulmonary embolism and was reported to be in critical condition the following Tuesday. His family made a public appeal for prayers on the Mediabistro.com site.^[12] Ten days later, LaFontaine died on September 1, 2008, six days after his 68th birthday, following complications from a pneumothorax.^[13] He is buried at Hollywood Forever Cemetery. His final television voice over role was for the Phineas and Ferb episode "The Chronicles of Meap" in which he parodied himself, saying as his final line "In a world... There. I said it.". The episode also ended with a short tribute to him.^[14] His final movie trailer voice-over was for Call + Response, a documentary about global slave trade, for which he donated his talent.^[15]

Dedications[link]

On September 6, 2008, America's Most Wanted showed a visual with a picture of him with words below that said "In Memoriam: Don LaFontaine August 26, 1940 - September 1, 2008." John Walsh had announced, prior to the dedication sign, that LaFontaine—who had been the show's announcer since 1988—had died at the age of 68.

On the evening of September 7, 2008, Adult Swim had a bumper that said: Don LaFontaine [1940-2008].

At the end of the credit sequence in the Phineas and Ferb episode "Chronicles of Meap" there is a message on screen saying "In Memoriam... Don LaFontaine 08/26/40 - 09/01/08. One man, in a land, in a time, in a world... All his own." The credit sequence had been designed as a trailer for the "next" Meap episode, or as LaFontaine put it, "Episode 40 -- Meapless in Seattle". As the Disney Channel Original vanity card appears, you hear him say, "In a world...there, I said it. Happy?"

"The Apprentice Scout", an episode of Chowder, is dedicated to LaFontaine. The episode dedicated his memory and said "To Don LaFontaine 1940-2008"

Fellow voice-over artist and friend John Leader retired from the voice-over business on Sept 1, 2008 upon learning of LaFontaine's death.

Satire and other appearances[link]

His voice has been the subject of homage and parody, as seen in a Cartoon Network commercial for The Powerpuff Girls, and the stand-up comedy of Pablo Francisco. Comedian-actress Janeane Garofalo formerly performed "an impression of every movie trailer ever made" with the words, "In a WORLD!…" saying that every movie trailer seems to begin with LaFontaine saying, "In a world…" or "In a town…"

One trailer for The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy not only spoofs the "In a World Where" theme, but also includes LaFontaine parodying himself when the narrator defines what a trailer is, saying "Trailers also normally employ (enter Don's voice) 'A deep voice, that sounds like a seven-foot-tall man, who has been smoking cigarettes since childhood'.”^[16] The trailer is voiced by fellow voice-over artist Stephen Fry.

LaFontaine's voice was used in Family Guy episodes "North by North Quahog", and "Brian Sings and Swings", and The Untold Story version of "Stewie B. Goode", and has been featured in musical tracks.

On April 12, 2007, LaFontaine appeared on an episode of The Tonight Show with Jay Leno with ousted American Idol finalist Haley Scarnato to provide humorous "movie trailer"-esque commentary, as a spoof of his Geico commercial.

Selected filmography[link]

• Twister Fury on the Plains - Narrator
• The Terminator -Trailer Voice-over
• Terminator 2: Judgment Day - Trailer Voice-over
• Backdraft (film) - TV Spot Voice-over
• George of the Jungle Trailer Voice-over
• Cast Away - Trailer Voice-over
• Fatal Attraction - Trailer Voice-over
• Darkman -Trailer Voice-Over
• White Fang 2: Myth of the White Wolf - Trailer Voice-over
• Batman Returns - Trailer Voice-over
• Masters of the Universe - Trailer Voice-over
• Safety Not Guaranteed - Trailer Voice-over
• Cheaper by the Dozen (2003) - Trailer Voice-over
• Daddy Day Care - TV Spot Voice-over
• Chicken Run - Trailer Voice-over
• Pokémon: The First Movie - Trailer Voice-over
• Pokémon: The Movie 2000 - Trailer Voice-over
• Pokémon 3: The Movie - Trailer Voice-over
• Star Trek: Deep Space Nine - Episode Trailer Voice-over
• Dr. Strangelove - Trailer Voice-over
• PowerSlave (video game) - Narrator
• Extreme Makeover Home Edition - Commercial Voice-over
• Morrow Road - Trailer Voice-over
• Resistance 2 - Trailer Voice-over
• The World's Greatest Magic - Announcer
• The Land Before Time - Promo Voice-over
• 79th Academy Awards - Co-announcer of the 79th Oscars.
• America's Most Wanted - Announcer
• Beyond Belief: Fact or Fiction? - Announcer
• Birds-Eye Steam Fresh frozen vegetables - voice-over
• Entertainment Tonight and The Insider (2004–2008) - Announcer
• Mario and Sonic at the Olympic Games - trailer announcer
• Days of our Lives (1990) - Promo announcer during the climax of the Cruise of Deception storyline
• iZ3D Promotional Video (2008) - Commercial Voice Over
• Tomb Raider Underworld - Commercial Voice-Over
• Universal Studios Hollywood - 2001 Commercial Voice-Over
• MotorStorm - Opening game intro
• The Simpsons Movie - Promo voice-over
• South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut (1999) - Trailer Voice-Over
• Home Alone - Trailer Voice-Over
• Starship Troopers - Trailer Voice-over
• Casper: A Spirited Beginning - Trailer Voice-over
• A Christmas Carol (1997) - Trailer Voice-over
• FernGully 2: The Magical Rescue - Trailer Voice-over
• Random! Cartoons - Announcer
• Bof Productions Trailer (2008) - Trailer Voice-over
• Metal Gear Solid 4 - Trailer Voice-over
• A Man Called Sarge (1990) - Narrator
• Jak and Daxter: The Precursor Legacy - Trailer Voice-over
• Jak 3 - Trailer Voice-over

References[link]

External links[link]

Biography portal

• Official site
• Don LaFontaine: The Voice on YouTube
• Five Guys In a Limo (Short film with Don LaFontaine) on YouTube
• 2008 Interview on World Talk LIVE with host Brett Cohen
• Don LaFontaine at Find a Grave
• Don LaFontaine at the Internet Movie Database
• The Age (Australia), November 29, 2003: Trailer talk Article about Don LaFontaine by Alan Gelder.
• Don LaFontaine - Obituary
• New York Times: Don LaFontaine, Voice of Trailers and TV Spots, Is Dead at 68
• Los Angeles Times: Don LaFontaine, 68; voice of movie trailers
• Washington Post: In a World Without Don LaFontaine, Film Won't Be as Much Fun
• Washington Post: In a World of Don LaFontaine, A Reel-Life Figure of Speech
• The Daily Telegraph: Don LaFontaine obituary
• In a World at TV Tropes
• Online Interview with Don LaFontaine in 2006

This article includes a list of references, related reading or external links, but its sources remain unclear because it lacks inline citations. Please improve this article by introducing more precise citations. (October 2010)

The Roadrunners were a band that emerged from the burgeoning music scene in 1960s Liverpool. (They were billed either as The Roadrunners or as The Road Runners. The word "Liverpool" has been added to distinguish them from other bands who subsequently used the name.)

Unlike many of their contemporaries, they specialised in a Chicago/Muddy Waters/Bo Diddley style of Rhythm and Blues - a genre of music which was more popular in the south of England at the time, led by the up-and-coming Rolling Stones. Bill Harry, editor of Mersey Beat, recollects that George Harrison once said that "The Stones are good - almost as good as the Roadrunners".

The band was resident at the Hope Hall (now the Everyman Theatre). Here they entertained students from the nearby university and art school. They also took part in "happenings" organised by Liverpool poet Adrian Henri. The band also performed at the Cavern Club. They were invited to support the The Beatles on their last Cavern gig on 3 August 1963. Two trips were made to Hamburg's Star Club, and two albums were recorded.

Line-up[link]

The original line-up was:

• Mike (a.k.a.'Enry) Hart - Guitar, Sax, Vocals
• Pete Mackey - Bass, Vocals
• Dave Boyce - Drums
• John Peacock - Piano
• Dave Percy - Guitar, Vocals

Inevitably there were changes in the line-up. The first being the addition of two sax players (Johnny Phillips and Nick la Grec) in time for the second Hamburg engagement. The band have commented that, by 1964, "everyone was jumping on the R&B bandwagon, so it was time to move on". Their second album reflects a move towards a more contemporary soul/blues sound in the manner of James Brown.

Success in Britain was elusive. Recording deals were talked about, but never seemed to happen.

The Roadrunners make two contributions to the recording of the grandly-named "First Annual R&B Festival" (1964) and also cut an e.p. to help raise money for Liverpool University's rag or "panto" week (a charity fund raising event).

Mike Hart left the band to pursue a solo career, recording two albums for John Peel's "Dandelion" label. (Peel was a British radio presenter who championed the innovative rather than the commercially successful.) In 1980 he began work on a third solo project. Five tracks were recorded, but none were released. They have been rediscovered, remastered and put online via the Roadrunners' website.

The band finally split in 1966.

In an article published in the Liverpool Post newspaper, 31 May 2011, poet Roger McGough stated that his and the Beatles' favourite band of the time was the Roadrunners.

References[link]

• Bowen, P; A Gallery to Play To - the story of the Mersey Poets; Stride Publications; 1999; ISBN 1-900152-63-0
• Frame, P; The Beatles and Some Other Guys - Rock Family Trees of the Early 60s; Omnibus Press; 1997; ISBN 0-7119-3665-X
• Thompson, P; The Best of Cellars; Bluecoat Press; 1994; ISBN 1-872568-16-5

External links[link]

• The Liverpool Roadrunners' website
• Myspace
• Youtube
• Reverbnation
• discogs.com/artist
• Liverpool Post - McGough article

This biographical article needs additional citations for verification. Please help by adding reliable sources. Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately, especially if potentially libelous or harmful. (March 2008)

This article may contain wording that merely promotes the subject without imparting verifiable information. Please remove or replace such wording, unless you can cite independent sources that support the characterization. (October 2009)

Eddie Money
Money performing at GateCon in 2008
Background information
Birth name	Edward Joseph Mahoney
Born	(1949-03-21) March 21, 1949 (age 63)
Origin	Brooklyn, New York, United States
Genres	Rock, pop rock, hard rock
Occupations	Singer-songwriter, musician
Instruments	Vocals, guitar, saxophone, harmonica, keyboards, Synthesizer
Years active	1974–present
Labels	Columbia Records, Warrior
Website	EddieMoney.com

Eddie Money (born Edward Joseph Mahoney, March 21, 1949 in Brooklyn, New York) is an American rock guitarist, saxophonist and singer-songwriter who found success in the 1970s and 1980s with a string of Top 40 hits and platinum albums. Rock impresario Bill Graham said of Money "Eddie Money has it all...Not only can he sing, write and play, but he is a natural performer."^[1]

Money originally followed his father's footsteps and became a police officer in the late 1960s.^[2] As his interest in music intensified, he eventually ended his law enforcement career in favor of becoming a full time musician. He moved to Berkeley, California and became a regular at area clubs, where he eventually got enough attention to secure a recording contract with Columbia Records. Later in the 1970s, he charted with singles such as "Baby Hold On" and "Two Tickets to Paradise".^[3] Money continued his successes and took advantage of the MTV music video scene in the early 1980s with his humorous narrative videos for "Shakin'" and "Think I'm in Love", but his career began to fail him after several unsuccessful releases in the mid-1980s, accompanied by his struggles with drug addiction.

Money made a comeback two years later in 1986 and returned to the mainstream rock spotlight with the album Can't Hold Back, which featured a Ronnie Spector duet with "Take Me Home Tonight", which reached the Top 10, along with the hit "I Wanna Go Back". Money followed the album with another Top 10 hit, late 1988's "Walk on Water", but his Top 40 career ended following the #21 placement of "I'll Get By" in 1992. During the 1990s and 2000s, Money continued to release numerous compilation albums along with several albums featuring new material. Today, he still tours the "Oldies" circuit regularly, often accompanied by other successful rock acts from his era, and has also made several television appearances on American sitcoms. Since 1992, Money has traditionally opened the summer concert season for DTE Energy Music Theatre in Clarkston, Michigan.^[4]

Early years[link]

Eddie Money was born Edward Mahoney into a large Irish Catholic family in Brooklyn and raised on Long Island.^[5] He attended Island Trees High School in Levittown, New York.^[6] His father, grandfather and brother were all New York City Police Department (NYPD) policemen and Eddie was an NYPD trainee and a police officer for two years.^[5][7]

Musical career[link]

Money performing in Hallandale, Florida.

Mahoney left the NYPD to pursue a musical career and moved to Berkeley, California in 1968.^[7] He made his splash with the Berkeley band, The Rockets, which included future Eddie Money band members John Nelson and Chris Solberg.

According to an article in the Portland Times, Eddie Money changed his name from Mahoney in 1972 as a "laugh" prompted by a then current girlfriend, in that he had no money and was living on food stamps.^[8][9]

In 1976, after meeting promoter Bill Graham,^[7] he released his first album, the eponymous Eddie Money, in 1977. It reached #37 on the charts, and contained two of his most memorable hits, "Baby Hold On" and "Two Tickets to Paradise". Both songs entered the top 40. The next year he followed up with his second album, Life for the Taking, which had more of a pop–disco sound. The album charted higher at #17, but neither of its two singles, "Can't Keep a Good Man Down" and "Maybe I'm a Fool", entered the top 20.

Two years later in 1980, Money released his third album, Playing for Keeps. The album only reached #35 in the United States and yielded no Top 40 singles. Two years later, he released No Control, which included the hits "Shakin'", "Think I'm In Love", and "Take A Little Bit". The album hit #20 in the United States.

Trying to duplicate the success of No Control, Money released Where's the Party in 1983. This album featured the songs "Big Crash", "Club Michelle" and "Leave It To Me". It became his lowest charting album to date at #67, which now makes it hard to find and a collectible album.^{[citation needed]} A second comeback for Money came in the form of Can't Hold Back in 1986, which featured the single "Take Me Home Tonight", featuring Ronnie Spector, that reached #4 on the Billboard Hot 100. Other songs include "Wanna Go Back", "Endless Nights", and "We Should Be Sleeping". The album later went platinum.

In the late 1980s, the single "Walk on Water", from his 1988 album Nothing to Lose, became a top ten hit. The album also featured the songs "Forget About Love" and "The Love In Your Eyes". Subsequent releases by Money have often failed to chart.

Television appearances[link]

Money appeared in an episode of the CBS sitcom The King Of Queens, when Doug, Deacon, and Arthur hire Money to play a personal concert for just the three of them in Doug's living room.

He made an appearance in The Drew Carey Show, as the former husband of Mimi Bobeck.

He also appeared on Don't Forget The Lyrics! on December 5, 2008, with his daughter Jesse Money, raising money for charity.

On January 2, 2010, he performed "Two Tickets to Paradise" and "Shakin'" during halftime of college football's Liberty Bowl.

Soundtrack appearances[link]

"Two Tickets to Paradise"^[10] has been featured in numerous forms of media including video games, television, and movies. It was featured in the video game Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas on the radio station K-DST in 2004, and also in an episode of The Simpsons, to which Homer remarks "excellent guitar riff". It also appeared in the reality show Paradise Hotel and in the film Operation Situation: Code Name Kill. On May 1, 2012, it was released as DLC for Rock Band 3.

"Baby Hold On" was featured in the video game Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories on the radio station Emotion 98.3 in 2006 and in the 2010 film A Little Help.

"Shakin'" is featured in the Guitar Hero Encore: Rocks the 80s game.

Two of Money's songs ("Get A Move On" and "Open Up Your Heart") were featured in the movie Americathon. While both appear on the vinyl release of the motion picture soundtrack album, the ballad "Open Up Your Heart" does not seem to have ever been released on CD or on any of Money's collections.

His song "Think I'm In Love" is featured in both Joe Dirt (2001) as well as Paul Blart: Mall Cop (2009), starring his friend Kevin James.

"Take Me Home Tonight" is featured in Saturday Night Live sketch turned movie "MacGruber" (2010).

The Groomsmen, a 2006 movie directed and starring Ed Burns, John Leguizamo, Matthew Lillard, Jay Mohr, and Donal Logue, is an indie movie where the five reunite for Ed's character's wedding, and relive their high school days by playing "Shakin'", featuring John Leguizamo on vocals.

He performed the song "Roll It Over" as the theme to the 1989 TV series Hardball.

He is an inadvertent performer on Longmont Potion Castle's seventh album, LPC7, in which he responded to a call from a fictional UPS Agent attempting to deliver gravel to his house.

Personal life[link]

Eddie Money and his wife Laurie live in Westlake Village, California and have five children, one daughter and four sons, all musically inclined.^[11][12]

Money's daughter Jesse Money appeared on the 2008 MTV reality competition Rock the Cradle, coming in last.^[12][13] She also toured with Money in 2008–2009, performing as his opening act, as well as singing backing vocals throughout his show, including the Ronnie Spector part on "Take Me Home Tonight."

Eddie's brother Dan Mahoney is a published author of crime novels. ^[14] and a private investigator in New York City ^[15]

Discography[link]

• Eddie Money (1977)
• Life for the Taking (1978)
• Playing for Keeps (1980)
• No Control (1982)
• Where's the Party? (1983)
• Can't Hold Back (1986)
• Nothing to Lose (1988)
• Right Here (1991)
• Love and Money (1995)
• Ready Eddie (1999)
• Wanna Go Back (2007)

References[link]

1. ^ The Sydney Morning Herald - Google News Archive Search.
2. ^ Ten Years After He Threw the Book at Him, a Besieged Judge Finds He Can Bank on Rocker Eddie Money.
3. ^ Music, News, and Info - Billboard.com
4. ^ Eddie Money performs at Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk.
5. ^ ^{a b} "19 Questions for Eddie Money". http://www.portlandtribune.com/features/story.php?story_id=125615867675667000. 
6. ^ Biography - IMDb
7. ^ ^{a b c} Cf. "About Eddie Money" - official website
8. ^ http://www.portlandtribune.com/features/story.php?story_id=125615867675667000
9. ^ http://www.triviacountry.com/53_Music.htm
10. ^ AllMusic - Two Tickets to Paradise
11. ^ Eddie Money @ Utopia Artists Accessed 11-1-2009
12. ^ ^{a b} "Cast Bio: Jesse Money", MTV Rock The Cradle website
13. ^ Eddie Money Rats Out Daughter for DUI Somewhere in Vegas, Blog Talk Radio. Accessed May 6, 2009.
14. ^ [1]
15. ^ [2]

External links[link]

• Official website
• Eddie Money at Allmusic
• Eddie Money at VH1
• Eddie Money at Rolling Stone at the Wayback Machine (archived March 12, 2008)
• Eddie Money at the Internet Movie Database
• MelodicRock.com interview
• Rock N Roll Universe interview
• Review of Wanna Go Back CD
• Eddie Money Music at Wolfgangsvault