Image via Naples Daily News. Photo credit: Erik Kellar/Staff.
Iconic narrator and voice-over artist Peter Thomas has died at the age of 91. Best known for narrating TLC‘s The Forensic Files, he most recently worked on the Changing Seas TV show (2009 – 2014), from WPBT2 in Miami, Florida.
Hist other TV series work includes Nova, Mobsters, Biography, Empires of Industry, Modern Marvels, Naked Planet, and How the West Was Lost. He also served as cinematographer on one 1993 episode of that series, “A Good Day to Die.”
Here is more from Naples Daily News:
Peter Thomas, 91, a voice-over icon and World War II veteran, died Saturday, nearly two years after he lost his wife and high school sweetheart, Stella Barrineau Thomas.
His distinctive vocal cords made him a part of Americana, but locally Peter Thomas became famous for his humanitarian heart.
“He was loved by so many people,” said Peter Thomas Jr., the 65-year-old son who was by his father’s side in Naples when he passed, along with Peter Thomas’s two other children, Doug Thomas and Elizabeth Joyoprayitno.
During a career that spanned seven decades, Peter Thomas lent his smooth and silky baritone to everything from commercials to documentaries, his most well-known work being the narrator of “Forensic Files.” He was a radio announcer, a newspaper reporter, television anchor for CBS New York and finally, a voice-over actor.
A family man
Born in Pensacola to a Presbyterian minister, Peter Thomas had a strict upbringing, but he credited it as instrumental to his future career. In a 2014 interview, Peter Thomas said his Welsh father required him to read and memorize Bible passages, and encouraged him to paint mental pictures of words while speaking.
In high school, Peter Thomas started reading poetry and news on the local radio station. That’s when he met Stella. After spotting her at a school dance, he began to woo Stella by dedicating a song and poem to her on his show. They began dating.
Stella and Peter Thomas were married on June 29, 1946, and raised three children together in Greenwich, Connecticut.
The couple purchased a home in Naples in 1966 on a whim during a vacation, but they didn’t move to Southwest Florida permanently until 1985, as Peter Thomas continued to travel extensively for his career.
Enjoy these clips of Mr. Thomas’s work.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FsFtEsjzk_g
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3WNxzvBO7uM
We invite you to share your memories of Mr. Thomas and his enduring career, below.
I am so sad Peter Thomas is gone. He voice was so beautiful. Forensic Files is my favorite show ever. I just realized tonight they have new episodes and a new narrator. Nothing against him, but it’s just not the same. Rest in peace Mr. Thomas. You are greatly missed.
I absolutely loved, loved this man’s voice. Forensic Files is by far one of my most favorite series. After Peter Thomas retired, someone else took over the voice-over and although he does a good job, he is no Mr. Thomas. Rest in peace Mr. Thomas. You did great!
What a voice. That’s all I can say.
I still go to sleep with F,files for years I am so used to hear his voice ,which is a great voice
I feel like I lost a long time friend.
I fall asleep listening to Peter Thomas’ voice on forensic files too….he has a soothing voice…so sad to hear of his death. Rest in peace Mr Thomas.
Mr. Thomas voice I heard for years while on disability through Jefferson ins. A comfortinng and soothing voice. When I can’t sleep I put on n is voice and it lullls me to sleep .
I absolutely loved this man’s voice. it always made me feel calmer. His voice sounded like someone you’d like to know and like he was the kindest man ever.
I am deeply sorry for his loss; good man. Wish he could’ve lived forever!
Rest in Peace Mr. Thomas; rest in God’s place for you along your wife’s side. You are, oddly and for whatever reason, the voice that lulls me to sleep most nights. As an attorney, I deal with a steady (day to day, hour to hour) stream of stressful people with sandpaper voices. My secretary and I listen to Forensic Files, while working in the office, to focus us in on our work. You are ADHD medicine !!!! and the voice (at night only) rocks me like a little baby and off I drift into a sleep of deeply epic proportions.… Read more »
That’s weird. Me too! That voice!
Mr. Thomas gets a fitting memorial: his great voice, diction and speech. He’ll be missed…but he’ll never be gone from us.
Forensic Files is one of my all-time favorite shows. I love the way the crimes are solved but at the same time became amazed with Peter Thomas’ voice and the way he help put the show together. I also watch FF when I have trouble sleeping, and Peter’s voice puts me right to sleep every time! Another great person from the greatest generation gone, and he will be missed!
Puts me to sleep too! I just found out about his death. Watching FF now.
I too fall asleep listening to his voice while watching Forensic Files. I enjoy listening to his voice. I hope the family is comforted knowing so many people enjoyed listening to their father.
I watch Forensic Files mostly because of Peter’s voice!
My favorite voice-over guy of all time 🙁 I’m so sad he’s gone, but happy he lived such a full, rich life. Rest in peace, Mr. Golden Voice.
400 plus episodes of Forensic Files… Peter was a joy to work with, we have missed him since FF was cancelled..
I had Googled “Forensic Files” for another reason and stumbled upon this news re Mr. Thomas. So sad to learn about this! I continue to watch FF regularly and have always loved his narrating. RIP.
Very sad. Huge talent!!!
Forensic Files is one of my all time favorite TV shows. Fortunately, it is easily available on DVD, Amazon, YouTube, etc so I am never far from an episode of Mr Thomas’s work. RIP. Your work will live on into the future for many, many years.