Passengers picked their favorite voice for the automated instructions given aboard the Skylink people mover, which travels to all terminals at Dallas/Fort Worth Airport.
As the doors to the Skylink people mover shut, Doc Morgan's deep, clear voice comes on: "Please hold on, this train is departing."
Contrasted with his usual, more emphatic delivery, Morgan's tone is mechanical and informative.
"There's a sameness to the quality," Morgan says. "It's definitely not a conversational delivery."
Morgan, the voice of Skylink, is an actor from Richardson and particularly well-known in the Metroplex for his voice-overs.
A résumé example: "In North Texas, when the weather becomes the news, more people turn to News 8 for the most complete coverage of the storm."
Or this regional commercial: "Your Texas Ford dealers would like to propose a toast to Chevy, Dodge and all you other truck guys ... here's mud in your eye!"
"I've done some corporate switchboards, but this is my first foray into mass transit," he says, obviously taken with the idea of being heard by tens of millions of passengers at Dallas/Fort Worth Airport each year. "I was the voice of the Sixth Floor Museum at one point, but I don't know if they still use it. That was in the '80s."
Getting just the right voice for Skylink messages was a big deal, D/FW officials say. Research included marketing surveys and focus groups. Passengers were asked what kind of voice they wanted, then they were asked to pick one of eight finalists. Morgan emerged as the clear favorite.
"In the end our passengers picked the voice for Skylink, and we think it was a great choice," said Joe Lopano, D/FW executive vice president of marketing and terminal management.
Morgan has spent years in radio and television. He moved to the Metroplex in 1982 and worked at KZEW/97.9 FM "The Zoo." More recently, he did promotional work for KTCK/1310 AM "The Ticket."
Morgan, who said he enjoys anonymity, declines to be photographed.
"I've got a great face for voice-overs," he quips.
In the Know
During a single recording session, Doc Morgan read more than seven pages of script, from "Board here for all B gates" to "Please do not block the doors ... allow people to exit."
The music of Skylink is composed by Jack Waldenmaier, president and executive producer of The Music Bakery of Dallas. The compositions used are The Mentor, Beyond Words, Expressive Guitar and Tranquility.
