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<\/a><\/p>\nMeet The Voice Of The “Law & Order” Franchise…Steve Zirnkilton<\/p>\n
How many times have you heard “In the criminal justice system”, and wondered just who that great voice belongs to? Well the answer is Steve Zirnkilton.<\/p>\n
There are a lot of stories about how he happened to get the job, but here is his version, as told to Backstage Magazine in 2014.<\/p>\n
“As it happened, Dick Wolf was buying a house up here in Maine, and at that time, I had my real estate brokers license and my insurance license. I approached him and asked if I could act as his buyer\u2019s representative to make sure that everything would go smoothly.<\/p>\n
When the transaction was complete he said, \u201cWhat do I owe you?\u201d I immediately passed him a cassette tape which was my VO demo. I handed it to him and he wasn\u2019t quite sure what to do with it. I didn\u2019t hear anything and then some months later, his secretary called saying that he wanted me to do the bumpers for a show called \u201cNasty Boys,\u201d a spring launch for NBC.<\/p>\n
That lasted about six episodes. I figured I\u2019d had my shot. Then I got a call from Mr. Wolf\u2019s secretary saying that Mr. Wolf has a show called \u201cLaw & Order,\u201d and he\u2019d like you to play a detective in the show. I played a detective in the pilot and shared a trailer with William H. Macy.<\/p>\n
Nobody wanted the show. CBS and Fox both passed. Nearly a year went by and then Brandon Tartikoff at NBC decided to give it a try. Mr. Wolf\u2019s secretary called me again and said, \u201cPlease meet Mr. Wolf at the recording studio. He has something he\u2019d like you to read.\u201d And that was the opening. I had no idea if the show would have any legs, but happily it hung around for a while.”<\/p>\n
For uniformity’s sake, Dick Wolf has used his voice on all of the other Law & Order shows and Zirnkilton is the only person, other than Wolf, to appear in the credits for every episode of every show. Although the pilot episode of “Law & Order” did not have the voice over opening, he got screen credit for his role as an on camera detective. Since then, he has been listed as the narrator.<\/p>\n
If his residuals are anything like what Paul Anka and Johnny Carson split for their authorship of Johnny’s “Tonight Show” theme, this is one very fat cat! Well done Steve! -Bobby Ellerbee<\/p>\n