Peter Thomas Shares His Talents with WGCU

If you bump into Naples resident Peter Thomas, you may immediately recognize him — not by his celebrity face but by his celebrity voice. Thomas, a voice-over professional, is a talent on PBS series such as NOVA and Changing Seas. For 26 years, he’s provided the opening and closing for Nature, and has worked on PBS documentaries such as Hallowed Ground, which toured American military cemeteries in other countries.
He is also the voice behind WGCU’s documentary, Into the Wild: Edison, Ford & Friends and several others that have earned awards and have been distributed nationally, including Tutankhamen and the Golden Age of the Pharaohs, Edge of the Everglades: Big Cypress National Preserve and Protecting Paradise: Conservation in Collier County.
His list of commercial credits is a long one, including Burger King and American Express commercials, Forensic Files, Medical Detectives and National Geographic programs. The 1995 HBO-produced documentary, One Survivor Remembers, which he narrated, earned an Academy Award.
Thomas also is a rock icon of sorts. Twenty-five years ago, musician Paul Hardcastle sampled Thomas’ narration from the 1982 documentary Vietnam Requiem, in which Thomas says: “In World War II, the average age of the combat soldier was 26. In Vietnam, he was 19.” It became the central theme for the chart-busting, anti-war song, “19.” (Thomas sued him in federal court because Hardcastle did not have a contractual arrangement to use the narration, and Thomas won rights to royalties.)
Thomas, a Florida native, has been a long-time supporter and member of WGCU Public Media. He recalls talking about the making of NOVA programs during a live pledge broadcast 20 years ago for the station.