City Confidential Narrator

It took me a couple of weeks and I won't say how many tries to be able to even post again. Just wondering if anyone is still out there. Hello? Can you hear me?

Paul Winfeild is the best of em all...he has that perfect type voice for narrating..

> For the second time, I recommend Roscoe Lee Browne.
> He is already the voice of the Anachronism game
> e advertisement on the History channel. He would be
> perfect!

I'm only responding because of the irony.

For years, I never gave much thought to the voice of City Confidential because...it was something I was dead (npi) certain that it was the voice of Roscoe Lee Browne.

I don't even know why I looked it up on IMDB.com this afternoon; maybe because though I 'knew' his voice and had a clear picture of his face in my head...I didn't know his name and wanted to look it up.

I'm also very familiar (or thought I was) with Paul Winfield's face & voice so when I saw him listed on IMDB as the narrator for City Confidential, I was certain that it was a mistake. After a quick google search, though I was so certain, I accept that I was wrong due to the volume of web pages that list Mr Winfield. Of course, now I didn't have a name for the voice that I had been certain of before.

I guess now, though I can find any soundbites and am only going off of the faint recollections I have in my head, I think I can see how the voices I was so certain of are distinct. Mr Browne and Mr Winfield I think shared a similar timbre but Mr Browne's voice was maybe a single octave deeper.

Unfortunately, since this thread is so old, when I searched the above poster's recommendation of Mr Browne, I found that he had recently passed on as well.

Irony.

edit: after a quick youtube search, I found this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=La6k28bvW5A which is a part of a John Wayne flick called The Cowboys. Additionally, while searching, I found another movie Mr Browne was in called Sweet Deadly Dreams: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DdboHKEGWqE, I saw another very appropriate replacement for Mr's Winfield and David....Mr Bill Cobbs: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0167850/bio

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Edited by gpatmac at 04/22/2008 11:17 AM

What about him. I for one found his voice to be unbearably morose. That is the type of person that would dress up in a strange costume and criminally harass people. I for one have had that happen. I tried passing him off on a woman sitting across from me,saying that he was attracted to her, she would have none of it.

Because I think this show uses a stylish way to describe a crime, perhaps the powers-that-be made the classic mistake that many writers do when an actor leaves a show. In this case, replace one black guy with another. Perhaps a more radical approach would've been better. For instance, use a comedian to narrate the show. Use his/or talent to provide the "color" for the description of the town. Or someone with a very distinctive voice. Sam Elliott was mentioned (though I think without some snappy lines, he'd be no better than Keith David). Kathleen Turner (or someone else with a recognizable/distinctive voice)-with-attitude. I think the "with-attitude" or "with personality" is what made Paul Winfield a success.

As I stated in another posting, without hyperbole and amusing/memorable delivery , this might as well be American Justice.

I agree with one person, though. The most important thing is that they crank out new episodes.

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Edited by sideliner at 12/13/2006 6:54 PM

I agree that no one can replace Paul. In addition to his oily delivery, I loved counting up all his analogies (I think that's the correct word). "They left town quicker than a tornado through..." or "he was as skittish as a ...." (I'm making these up, of course)...stuff like that. I always listened for those analogies. Some shows were so heavily laden with them, it made the show more enjoyable for me. And I liked the exagerrations. "No one expected..." "Everyone knew."

Do these guys write their own stuff? Seems like it because Keith David's script is not quite as colorful as Paul's. I'm sure he just needs to come up with a bit snappier style. If he did, I'm sure I could move past his rather unremarkable delivery. I'd love to write for that show...

If James Earl Jones (Darth Vader) isn't available, how about Sam Elliott? ("Beef. It's what's for dinner.")

Paul Winfield died in 2003 of a heart attack- thats all I know. Keith David is a good actor, but narration isnt his strong point. His voice creeps me out!