Being that narrators don't appear on screen too much, in some cases hardly ever, their voice pretty much determines whether I'll like the show or not.

I think it's safe to say Robert Stack and Bill Kurtis are the greatest ever.

Paul Winfield of City Confidential took a little getting used to with his slower delivery, but I like it now. I've seen him in several things and he was always a great actor. I think the first thing I ever saw him in was 227, when he was a regular.

I haven't seen Rescue 911 in forever, like since it was originally on, but I remember Shatner being pretty good. I don't care for his attitude IRL, but you gotta love when he would stare directly at the camera and say "Rescue...911" with the utmost authority.

I tried hard to like "Disappared", but I just can't watch that show with the narrator they've got (Christopher Walker). His voice is not commanding at all, it's too quiet, almost to the point of being a whisper. He also seems to have a lisp at times, it's hard to describe. I also don't know how he got that job, his imdb page doesn't have anything else listed on it. The Charlie Allen aka Neo Maximus case they aired again yesterday is pretty intriguing though.

But yeah, long story short, the narrator usually makes it or breaks it for me. It's somewhat like radio, which is weird because sometimes the people with the most annoying voices get jobs in radio, LOL

Being that narrators don't appear on screen too much, in some cases hardly ever, their voice pretty much determines whether I'll like the show or not.

I think it's safe to say Robert Stack and Bill Kurtis are the greatest ever.

Paul Winfield of City Confidential took a little getting used to with his slower delivery, but I like it now. I've seen him in several things and he was always a great actor. I think the first thing I ever saw him in was 227, when he was a regular.

I haven't seen Rescue 911 in forever, like since it was originally on, but I remember Shatner being pretty good. I don't care for his attitude IRL, but you gotta love when he would stare directly at the camera and say "Rescue...911" with the utmost authority.

I tried hard to like "Disappared", but I just can't watch that show with the narrator they've got (Christopher Walker). His voice is not commanding at all, it's too quiet, almost to the point of being a whisper. He also seems to have a lisp at times, it's hard to describe. I also don't know how he got that job, his imdb page doesn't have anything else listed on it. The Charlie Allen aka Neo Maximus case they aired again yesterday is pretty intriguing though.

But yeah, long story short, the narrator usually makes it or breaks it for me. It's somewhat like radio, which is weird because sometimes the people with the most annoying voices get jobs in radio, LOL

My fiancé--who never watches true crime shows at all unless he catches them briefly with me--cannot stand Paul Winfield narrating CC. He even said, "That guy needs to take a lesson from Bill Kurtis!", which I thought was hysterical coming from him.

Me, I've always liked him. I too have tried hard with Disappeared. I could handle the narration early on in the first two seasons, but now it's so pervasive to me I can't even watch the show anymore. I also know what you mean about the lisp; it's David Carradine-esque.

I actually also had no idea who Keith David (the other CC narrator) was until I saw that old John Carpenter take on The Thing last weekend and heard him speak.

I think it's safe to say Robert Stack and Bill Kurtis are the greatest ever.


Agreed, wholeheartedly.

I was trying to watch crime docs in lieu of UM and one of them had this lady who sounded like she was on Jersey Shore narrating :lol: How could you possibly take the show seriously?

I think it's safe to say Robert Stack and Bill Kurtis are the greatest ever.
Yeah, I liked Robert Stack on Unsolved Mysteries. He had a voice that was altogether "mysterious", dramatic, and "all business". Of course playing Eliot Ness probably didn't hurt that perception.;)



I haven't seen Rescue 911 in forever, like since it was originally on, but I remember Shatner being pretty good. I don't care for his attitude IRL, but you gotta love when he would stare directly at the camera and say "Rescue...911" with the utmost authority.

That's what I was thinking about when I saw your thread. :lol:
But yeah, Bill did a good job, I thought.

Another guy I think does a pretty good job narrating is John Bunnell from "World's Wildest Police Videos". Sometimes his voice can seem kind of "stark" and cold, but he manages to put just the right amount of feeling into it to keep it from becoming too robotic.
Course he was much better when he was on Cops.

Keith David has a fantastic voice. He could narrate everything and I'd never tire of his voice.

Bill Kurtis and Robert Stack are awesome and so is Peter Thomas, narrator of Forensic Files. Hard to believe he was born in 1924 because he sounds a lot younger.

Maureen Mohrer (sp) from 48 Hours Mystery is a really good female narrator. However, the one that does the Snapped episodes is extremely grating. She's trying way too hard to be serious and her voice is monotone.

The "Jersey Shore" lady is so annoying! She did Pretty Bad Girls and I Married a Mobster for ID. Needless to say, those shows aren't on anymore. I think they got too many fan complaints on their Facebook page about her. I couldn't take the shows seriously with her 'Joisy" accent.

One of the worst is the Skeleton Stories guy. Imagine a white Barry White with no personality.

Ah yes, I forgot about Maureen Maher. Probably because I haven't seen 48 hours in a while. She's good also.

I like the narration on Cold Case Files. One of the reasons I'm glued to the show whenever I come across it...!

And though not true crime, also deserving of mention is the late Art Gilmore, who narrated Highway Patrol. Memorable.

Bill Kurtis and Robert Stack are awesome and so is Peter Thomas, narrator of Forensic Files. Hard to believe he was born in 1924 because he sounds a lot younger.

I like him too.

However, the one that does the Snapped episodes is extremely grating. She's trying way too hard to be serious and her voice is monotone.

I think it sounds like she's trying hard for a major-news-network-Dateline-ish vibe. Or like she watched way too many reruns of Justice Files (which I actually love). I don't like it, either.

I actually recorded the Snapped episode about Amy Bosley and the narrator was different, a woman with an English accent. She was much better.

Here's an interesting factoid: Bill Kurtis and Peter Thomas were both born in Pensacola, FL.

I love wiki's comment on Peter Thomas: "known for his crystal clear voice and precise diction, and his unique narrative tone of urgency, concern and empathy."

Marlene Sanders, I think is an incredible narrator. She did HBO's Autopsy. It's serious. It's creepy. It's stern. It's like she's giving directions for a surgeon. No emotion. But I think it's a perfect fit.

Peter Thomas is my favorite. Even his narration on Nature is great. Bill Kurtis I think is right up there as well.

Who I despise? M. William Phelps and Candice DeLong.

This is pretty wild. Yesterday, I took a CPR training course. The voice for the AED (defibrillators)? None other than Peter Thomas.

Peter Thomas narrated an album on CB lingo in the 70's. It was funny to hear him talk 70's trucker slang. There's a guy on YouTube who has a show called The Oddity Archive where he talks about technology, music and television fads of the 70's through the 90's. He played some of the record on an episode about the CB fad.

And I've started to change my mind about the Snapped narrator, Sharon Martin. She narrates a new show called #killerapp about crimes involving social media and you get to see her talk. Knowing what she looks like and watching her speak helped me with my attitude. :D

Of all the narrators who pique my interest, one of them is Jamie Haines. He's the narrator of the Investigation Discovery series Unusual Suspects. The sound of his voice is compatible with the atmosphere of the show.

Here is a link that includes a photo of him and a near-four-minute audio of his voice.

http://www.deyanaudio.com/male60s2.html

There are two ID show narrators I can't listen to: the woman who narrates Deadly Women, and the man who narrates Disappeared. I would like to enjoy those shows, but the narrators ruin it all for me.

My fiancé--who never watches true crime shows at all unless he catches them briefly with me--cannot stand Paul Winfield narrating CC. He even said, "That guy needs to take a lesson from Bill Kurtis!", which I thought was hysterical coming from him.

Me, I've always liked him. I too have tried hard with Disappeared. I could handle the narration early on in the first two seasons, but now it's so pervasive to me I can't even watch the show anymore. I also know what you mean about the lisp; it's David Carradine-esque.

I actually also had no idea who Keith David (the other CC narrator) was until I saw that old John Carpenter take on The Thing last weekend and heard him speak.

I actually loved Paul Winfield's narration of CC, but his voice was so smooth and soothing that it lulls me to sleep!

And I HATE the Disappeared guy. The lisp is too pronounced and distracting.

And I HATE the Disappeared guy. The lisp is too pronounced and distracting.

Finally. It's nice to hear from someone who hates that lispy moron as much as I do. It sucks because he was gone for a while, then returned like the thing that just wouldn't go away.

Also not fond of the guy who narrates 1980's: The Deadliest Decade. Little too hardened for me, like a New York mob boss or something. Great show though.

Finally. It's nice to hear from someone who hates that lispy moron as much as I do. It sucks because he was gone for a while, then returned like the thing that just wouldn't go away.


I'm going to have to disagree with both of you on both counts.

I'm not a Chris Walker superfan but I think the episodes he didn't narrate were the "less than" ones. To me he is the voice of Disappeared and without him it didn't seem like the same show. That said he didn't really work for me in Shadow of Doubt.

As for Lynnanne Zager of Deadly Women, I have to strongly disagree. Female narrators are rare (especially the ones that aren't the story reporter) and the great ones are few. To me Lynnanne Zager does a fantastic job and her tone matches the show perfectly. Only the late Marlene Sanders (Autopsy) was comparable.

I like Dion Graham on the First 48. He's sets the right tone for the tragic story thats going to unfold. Also like Josh Causabon on Homicide Hunter.

Who I despise? M. William Phelps and Candice DeLong.

I like the unseen narrator they have for Deadly Women: perfect mix of femininity, darkness, and seductive vamp. I don’t have any strong feelings for or against M. William Phelps, but I understand the annoyance of Candice Delong. Her voice itself isn’t that grating; what gets me is that it’s like she was hired to state the obvious. Thank you for telling me that the husband-killer profiled, was full of rage, lest I think that someone stabs their victim dozens of times until the blade breaks, because they loved and cared deeply for them.

Though Robert Stack was a large reason UM was so great. Even when discussing the silly UFO/ghost cases, his deep, resonant theatrically trained voice managed to lend gravitas and made even ridiculous cases worth watching.

I like the unseen narrator they have for Deadly Women: perfect mix of femininity, darkness, and seductive vamp. I don’t have any strong feelings for or against M. William Phelps, but I understand the annoyance of Candice Delong. Her voice itself isn’t that grating; what gets me is that it’s like she was hired to state the obvious. Thank you for telling me that the husband-killer profiled, was full of rage, lest I think that someone stabs their victim dozens of times until the blade breaks, because they loved and cared deeply for them.

Though Robert Stack was a large reason UM was so great. Even when discussing the silly UFO/ghost cases, his deep, resonant theatrically trained voice managed to lend gravitas and made even ridiculous cases worth watching.

While many documentaries are effective with an unseen narrator, Unsolved Mysteries was a perfect example of a show being effective with a narrator who was both seen and heard. Stack's physical presence on the show was just as important as his vocal presence (if not more so). The same goes for In Search Of, hosted by the late Leonard Nimoy.