Ernie A. read this spot "to picture" for me, "T to B", in one take; then he slid my script back across the audio console without a word. Without his peerless groan of dismay, or a low growl of "who wrote this shit?". With no "G.O.T.F.B." scrawled across the top of the script -- his signature acronym for "get out of the fucking business". His photo in the previous post is a pretty close approximation of the look he gave me instead. Which is precisely the look I deserved for writing him this thirty-second gem of a duet with George C. Fucking Scott. It was definitely the highlight of my rookie year in promo; and little did I know -- but probably should have suspected -- that it would prove to be the only one-take read I'd ever get from him in over a decade of subsequent voiceover sessions, the two of us working elbow to elbow -- because Ernie A. was reportedly the first, and for a long time the only major Hollywood voiceover talent to eschew working in the designated announcer's isolation booth. Because in his estimation only hacks worked in the booth. If you bought what he considered to be an inferior read he'd bust your chops with "you just bought yourself a 'booth announce'".
