Everybody’s Favorite Voiceover Artist
Viewers know Peter Thomas as the narrator of Forensic Files, but his 
career started long before anyone had heard of high-velocity blood splatter or age-processed clay busts. Some trivia from a long (1924 to 2016) and productive life:
1. Peter Thomas voiced the 1970 commercial that declared “Tang was chosen to go to the moon 
with the Apollo astronauts.”
2. He considered himself lucky that his voice didn’t change as he aged. He recorded a Gettysburg audio tour in 1974 and was able to add verbiage 30 years later. His voice matched.
3. As a favor to Johnny Carson, Peter Thomas officiated at the wedding of the talk-show titan’s son Cory Carson to a Naples, Florida, native Angelica D. Carson. Johnny (below) and Peter met when they worked for the The Morning Show on CBS in the 1950s.
4. Peter Thomas postponed his own vacation to help an audio technician save his job. The sound man had messed up a Tropicana commercial recording, so Thomas did it over and never told the guy’s superiors.
5. Of all the Nova episodes he narrated for PBS, “Iceman Murder Mystery” was his favorite.
6. Although Peter Thomas spoke perfectly unaccented North American English, he had foreign-born parents — a father from Wales, a mother from England.
7. He considered the greatest innovations in voice technology to be audio tape (which could be sliced up, so one mistake didn’t mean recording from the beginning again), DAT (digital audio tape), and teleprompters affixed to the camera (instead of off to the side).
8. Don “In a World” Lafontaine (left) and Peter Thomas are considered the two best male narrators of their generation. Apparently, they weren’t rivals and liked each other’s work.
9. He won the audition for an American Express card commercial because he could say the “American Express: Don’t leave home without it” spiel in under five seconds.
10. You needn’t bother searching for Peter Thomas in the bankruptcy court records of the once-rich-and-famous. He lived below his means, invested wisely, and left a well-endowed estate. One Florida property he bought for $1 million was worth $25 million toward the end of his life.
Read more about how Peter Thomas rose from the humble son of a schoolteacher and minister to the humble voice of countless commercials and TV shows.— RR
Thanks to Paul Dowling, Randy Thomas, Don Blair’s Pioneers of Broadcasting, and Dave Courvoisier of the World-Voices Organization.
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These are indeed fun facts — thank you for giving me more reasons to love Peter Thomas! And I have to say I agree with him about the teleprompter on the camera. There’s nothing more distracting than trying to watch and listen to someone who appears to be looking right over your shoulder.
I had the opportunity to work with Peter Thomas on a handful of occasions when I was producing corporate film and video in the 80s and 90s. He was as good a voice-over narrator as there ever was. I would take a bus from Reading, Pennsylvania where I lived, into New York city, meet Peter at a recording studio, and we’d spend an hour recording a script. He always showed up in a three-piece suit, with the script that I had sent him already marked up for inflections and interpretation. I wasn’t a particularly important client, but he always fit me in, did outstanding work, and charged me a reasonable rate. It’s nothing less than an honor to have worked with this legendary artist.
So good to hear about your experience with Peter Thomas! Good to know that he gave his all to every job he took. Needless to say, Paul Dowling is a big fan of PT. I’m actually trying to narrate my own podcast and it’s even more difficult than I imagined. Can definitely understand why professional voiceover artists charge what they do.
Another fun fact: when Peter was an announcer at WMCTV in Memphis, he did a weekly comedy TV sketch wherein he tried to perform a difficult task unsuccessfully. Two that I remember as particularly hilarious were: trying to put a contour sheet on a mattress (contour sheets had no elastic in them in those days and were almost impossible to put on) and trying to carve the Thanksgiving turkey, which ended up with Peter putting his foot on the turkey (which was on the table) in order to keep it from slipping away from him as he carved. Only Peter could pull these off while still remaining perfectly charming! And disarming! Whatta guy!
Such great memories — thanks so much for writing. He would have been a great co-worker. Paul Dowling said he still misses him.
Nice fun fact!
I also believe he is the voice on the defibrillators that we use onboard the aircraft I work on.
Wow — he did do a lot of one-off narrating jobs. I hope PT’s voice is soothing for you and your colleagues during stressful times!
I have one at home and that is most definitely Peter Thomas’ voice. Occasionally I power it up just to hear his voice. Pretty cool!
Thanks for the confirmation, Jay — and glad you enjoy PT’s voice as much as I do!
Didnt know he was dead. RIP
I worked for Weston Woods Studios back in the ‘70’s in the Production Dept., where I met Peter Thomas. He narrated a children’s book entitled Rikki Tikki Tembo for the catalog, which is incredibly wonderful. When I recognized his voice, watching Forensic Files, I was hooked on the show. He was a naturally gifted story-teller, so much so that the gruesome crimes he spoke of seemed, somehow, not so terrible… He had a way with words.
Thanks so much for writing in — glad you had the chance to work with Peter Thomas. His talent added so much to Forensic Files and, as you said, his narration made the details of crimes easier to hear.
Firstly, thank you Rebecca for this amazing site. It is extraordinary beyond belief.
Are you excited for FF II? I’m excited but I’m having a difficult time believing it will be anywhere near as good as the original without Peter Thomas. His voice does so much to create atmosphere. Actor Bill Camp is narrating the new series. He is fantastic. He was great as he lead detective in The Night Of with John Turturro and Riz Ahmed, both of whom were also great. Did you see it? Bill has a great resonant voice and I am hopeful but Peter Thomas was one in a zillion. Thank you! Chris from CT.
Thanks for the kind words — so glad you’re enjoying the site!
I got a chance to preview two of the new episodes. No spoilers, but I am still adjusting to Bill Camp’s voice and feel a bit like I’m cheating on Peter Thomas, but it’s good to know FF II has the blessing of Paul Dowling, who created the original series. We had a really great talk earlier this month, which I wrote up for a post to go live in a day or two.
I did see ‘The Night Of’ back when it premiered and should probably watch again to get more familar with B.C. It was hard to see Naz get that tattoo — that he’s going to regret — the first time, lol.
Me too – just watching the new forensic files expecting to hear peter really threw me off. God bless – I know his successor will do a great job – just will take me a while to get used to him.
The voice of Peter Thomas on Forensic Files was epic. Thank you for these fun facts about a wonderful voice that got me interested in shows about “real” forensics many years ago. I always love when they catch the “bad guys/girls” thru the ever changing technology.
I watch forensic files every night on tv and the voice of peter thomas makes the show enjoyable, serious and entertaining. On one particular episode called slippery motives, my favorite, peter thomas tells how at a real estate conference, edward post murders his wife Julie thigpen post in a st. louis hotel room and an investigation and autopsy ensue. Through forensics and science it was no accident. The excellent voice of peter thomas makes forensic files fantastic and masterful. In fact, peter thomas makes every forensic file episode worth watching.
I agree — the man’s voice is irresistible!
I think he narrated stories (various Grimm’s Fairy Tales) on audio cassettes for Troll Books that were in schools during the late 70’s/early 80’s
Thank you for showing forensic files during these trying times today. Peter Thomas and Bill Camp make every episode entertaining. The voices, the narration, story lines and true crimes brought to light make these stories come to life which never would have been seen. The best part of all, the bad guys aren’t getting away with it anymore with the help of science. Forensic Files is excellent, keep bringing new stories.
The best voice for FF. I watch it on the fire stick & Mr Thomas voice keeps you tuned in every night. He explains the scenes to a T, the highs & lows, wow!
RIP Peter Thomas
I looked up Peter Thomas on Google cuz I wanted to know what he looked like. Well I was blown away first to see how old he was, then to read he had passed away! He sounded so young! I have loved everything he had narrated. The new guy certainly has big shoes to fill! I wish him all the luck, and to Peter Thomas I wish you eternal peace!
He must have taken great care of himself — he was still doing voiceover until just a couple years before his death.