The Life and Times of Forensic Files Narrator Peter Thomas

The Voiceover Artist Left His Prints Everywhere

Peter Thomas’ voice has lured me away from all kinds of good intentions: organizing tax documents, cleaning between the sofa cushions with the Dirt Devil crevice tool, going to bed early.

Peter Thomas, seen here in a Lux commercial, did on-camera work in the early days of TV

It’s not easy to describe his voice, although I’ve listened to it for a minimum of 600 collective hours. Thomas was the narrator for Forensic Files, and he’s part of the reason fans like me can’t stop rewatching all 400 episodes of the true-crime series’ 1996 to 2011 run.

Toned up. I guess what’s so inviting about his narration is that his warm, assuring voice is devoid of affectation. He speaks smoothly, although not in a “you’ll get 150 sparkling silver gem studs absolutely free with your BeDazzler” manner. And like all voice artists, he has great diction — but it’s not so crisp as to make it alienating.

“Peter Thomas is the same guy who narrated school documentaries,” says Paul Dowling, executive producer of Forensic Files. “He’s not some sleazy guy from AM radio. He makes it okay to watch.”

Indeed, something about Peter Thomas’ narration enables me to see an episode about a college student who hacked his father to death with an ax — and sleep like a baby afterward.

Randy Thomas, a voiceover artist who narrates the Oscars and Tony Awards, also admires his work on Forensic Files.

“There are some voiceover actors who think they’re doing a good job just because they pronounce the words correctly,” she says. “Peter was different. He had an inquisitive nature about so much of life, and that transferred to whatever he narrated.”

Sunshine boy. My own dream of interviewing Peter Thomas someday — and having that voice all to myself for a little while — expired when he passed away last year, but I had fun researching a bit about his life.

Randy Thomas, narrator for the 2018 Oscars, says Peter Thomas imbued his voice work with a “different sense of wonder for each project”

Thomas was born in Pensacola, Florida, in 1924, to two people who enjoyed speaking aloud and enunciating well: an English teacher and a minister.

“His father told him to paint pictures with words,” says Randy Thomas (no relation, but the two were close friends).

Peter Thomas started acting in school plays as a child and, at age 13, picked up some voice work at a local radio station. A sponsor gave him flying lessons for free because he was too young to receive a real salary legally.

G.I.-normous. At 18, he took a detour, enlisting in the army and then fighting German gunfire in Normandy, France, in 1944. He earned a Purple Heart after suffering a shrapnel wound during the Battle of the Bulge.

After returning to the U.S. and marrying longtime girlfriend Stella Ford Barrineau, he worked at Memphis radio station WMC at night and went to college during the day.

His big break came when a Hamilton Watch Company executive heard Thomas’ voice on a Florida poetry program and invited him to New York City for an audition. He won the gig, and soon nationwide audiences got to hear his voice say: “The passage of time is beyond our control, but it passes beautifully when Hamilton marks the hour.”

No mere vapor. A tidal wave of offers followed. CBS hired Thomas as the New York City anchor of The Morning Show with Jack Parr. Thomas narrated medical shows and educational documentaries and did commercials for Estée Lauder, Coke, American Express (“Don’t leave home without it”), Visine, Listerine (“The taste you hate twice a day”), and Hewlett-Packard.

Thomas’ house in Florida — he returned to the state late in his career — had a recording studio

A 2004 Broadcast Pioneers documentary from Florida station METV recalled how — in the days long before TV assaulted viewers with Preparation H and Cialis commercials — Stella rebuked her husband for narrating a Vicks Mentholatum ad. She didn’t appreciate having to watch ointment rubbed onto an actor’s chest.

Plenty of more-serious work came his way. He snagged narration gigs for the PBS series Nova as well as for the History Channel — the holy grail for voice performers.

Didn’t phone it in. His association with Forensic Files began when the 30-minute docuseries was still in development. “I fell asleep on the couch one night and there was a World War II documentary on,” says show creator Paul Dowling, “and I heard this voice, and he was carrying the whole thing. It was mesmerizing.”

Thomas turned down Medstar Television’s offer for the Forensic Files job at first because he was still earning a fortune from TV commercials and other one-offs. But after some persuading, he agreed.

His approach to the gig reaffirms one of my favorite truisms about life: No matter how talented the worker, there’s no such thing as an easy job. Thomas would spend six hours rehearsing each script at home. Stella would give him feedback.

Forensic Files is on somewhere in the world at any given time,” says Randy Thomas. “There’s always the consistency of Peter Thomas’ voice behind the microphone, and he’s become the show’s brand.”

He also occasionally contributed to the show editorially.

Thomas (with Paul Dowling) at a ceremony honoring his work on behalf of WW II veterans

“If he didn’t like something I wrote, he’d say, ‘I don’t want to offend you, but can I change this?'” recalls Dowling. “And I said, ‘I can take all the help you can give.’ We never told him to just shut up and do the script, which is how most producers treat talent, and I didn’t find out until his funeral that we were the only ones who didn’t treat him that way.”

Thomas remained in demand for his work through age 90. He died at 91, on April 30, 2016, but his voice lives on — and not just on recordings. His sons, Peter Jr. and Douglas, followed him into the profession. RR


Update: Read 10 fun facts about Forensic Files narrator Peter Thomas.

20 thoughts on “The Life and Times of Forensic Files Narrator Peter Thomas”

  1. Back in the day (whatever that means), Robert Stack was the voice of good against evil. But times change, and plain folks, some of them, lost their moral scout compass and passed on a few merit badges. Peter Thomas better presents the new more dispassionate morality. We object, but it’s still good entertainment.

  2. Peter Thomas was the perfect choice to be the voice of Forensic Files. The show is frank and realistic without being overly melodramatic or salacious, and Thomas both matches and sets that tone. Totally classy.

  3. Yes!! So nice to learn about the man behind the “voice.” I love his narration, he brought the show to life. That little pause he used was thrilling.

  4. I was devestated when I found out he’d died. Forensic Files was my jam from the day it first aired, and his voice acting is probably 80% responsible. Perfectly neutral, middle East Coast. Draws you in and invites you to get lost in the mystery.

  5. “Famed voice-over icon Peter Thomas dies at 91”. Naples Daily News. Archived from the original on December 29, 2017. Retrieved May 27, 2016.

  6. I’ve watched Forensic Files for years! It is one of my favorite TV shows of all time. I just started watching the 2020 series but was frustrated at not hearing Peter Thomas’s narration. After all, it is his narrative and voice that makes the show so addictive and enjoyable to watch. I googled to learn that Peter Thomas unfortunately passed away. So sad to hear it. He is truly irreplaceable. Just wanted to pay my respects to someone who was an integral part of my tv viewership.

  7. Reruns of the show also are carried over-the-air on Court TV, sister channel Court TV Mystery, AMGTV and in off-network syndication. In 2019 the entire catalogue of Forensic Files are available on Netflix and a “Best of Forensic Files” series is available on Amazon Prime.

  8. Name, the format of the show was generally the same as it would be in later seasons under its “Forensic Files” name, but there were slight differences. During the opening credits and after the title display of the show, the titles of the episodes appeared and they were each displayed distinctively. For example, “The Disappearance of Helle Crafts” depicted a jigsaw puzzle coming together that displayed a picture of Helle Crafts and this picture led into the episode.

  9. Forensic files is and always will be one of my favorite shows and Peter Thomas was one of those reasons. He literally brought that show to life with his voice overs. He’ll be sorely missed R.I.P Peter Thomas…

  10. Forensic Files is on Peacock for free, episodes are endless!! I fall asleep to Peter Thomas’s voice every night!! RIP!! Your voice and legacy will forever live on!!

      1. I turn to Forensic Files every single night to fall asleep. Hearing Peter Thomas’ voice while going night feels warm and fuzzy… like a baby being rocked to sleep in their parent’s arm.

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