Steve Zirnkilton (born Stephen Morgan Zirnkilton; August 18, 1958) is an American voice actor and former politician from

Maine Maine ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the United States, and the northeasternmost state in the Contiguous United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Provinces and ...

. Zirnkilton is best known for providing the opening narration of all American series in the ''

Law & Order ''Law & Order'' is an American police procedural and legal drama television series created by Dick Wolf and produced by Wolf Entertainment and Universal Television, launching the ''Law & Order'' franchise. ''Law & Order'' aired its entire ...

'' franchise.

Early life and education

Zirnkilton grew up in

York, Pennsylvania York is a city in York County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. Located in South Central Pennsylvania, the city's population was 44,800 at the time of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of cities in ...

and spent summers in Maine. He graduated from

New England College New England College (NEC) is a private liberal arts college in Henniker, New Hampshire. It is accredited by the New England Commission of Higher Education. As of fall 2020, the college enrolled 4,327 students (1,776 undergraduate and 2,551 grad ...

and began working for radio station WDEA in

Ellsworth, Maine Ellsworth is a city in and the county seat of Hancock County, Maine, United States. The 2020 United States census, 2020 Census determined it had a population of 8,399. Named after Founding Fathers of the United States, United States Foundi ...

upon graduation. He later settled in

Seal Harbor, Maine Mount Desert is a New England town, town on Mount Desert Island in Hancock County, Maine, Hancock County, Maine, United States. The population was 2,146 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Incorporated in 1789, the town currently en ...

. Zirnkilton received a Legislative Sentiment for his work from Maine State Representative

Chris Greeley Christian David Greeley (May 16, 1962 – March 9, 2023) was an American politician who was a representative in the Maine state legislature. He was a Republican. He represented District 22 in the House of Representatives for four consecutive two ...

Career

Politics

Zirnkilton, a Republican, served for eight years (four terms) in the

Maine House of Representatives The Maine House of Representatives is the lower house of the Maine Legislature. The House consists of 151 voting members and three nonvoting members. The voting members represent an equal number of districts across the state and are elected via ...

from 1983 to 1988 and again from 1992 to 1994. He represented part of

Hancock County, Maine Hancock County is a County (United States), county located in the U.S. state of Maine. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 55,478. Its county seat is Ellsworth, Maine, Ellsworth. The county was incorporated ...

, including his residence in the village of Seal Harbor in the town Mount Desert. Serving in the 43rd District from 1983 to 1984 and then the 124th from 1985 to 1988 and then again from 1993 to 1994. During his final term in the House of Representatives, Zirnkilton served in leadership as Assistant Minority Leader. In 1994, when then-Congresswoman

Olympia Snowe Olympia Jean Snowe (; born February 21, 1947) is an American businesswoman and politician who was a United States Senate, United States Senator, representing Maine for three terms from 1995 to 2013. A lifelong member of the Republican Party (Unit ...

decided not to seek re-election to the U.S. House of Representatives for Maine's 2nd congressional district, Zirnkilton sought to replace her. Zirnkilton lost the primary to fellow State Representative Rick Bennett, who eventually lost the general election to State Senator

John Baldacci John Elias Baldacci (born January 30, 1955) is an American politician who served as the 73rd governor of Maine from 2003 to 2011. A Democratic Party (United States), Democrat, he also served in the United States House of Representatives from 199 ...

. Zirnkilton also provides voiceovers for political ads, notably during

Susan Collins Susan Margaret Collins (born December 7, 1952) is an American politician serving as the senior United States senator from Maine. A member of the Republican Party, she has held her seat since 1997 and is Maine's longest-serving member of ...

's re-election campaign in 2014.

Acting

Zirnkilton is known for providing the opening narration of all American shows in the ''Law & Order'' franchise. He was hired by series creator

Dick Wolf Richard Anthony Wolf (born December 20, 1946) is an American billionaire and television producer, best known for his ''Law & Order'' franchise. Since 1990, the franchise has included six police/courtroom dramas and four international spinoffs. ...

and appeared in a pilot episode of the series. Zirnkilton has also provided voices for ''

Family Guy ''Family Guy'' is an American animated sitcom created by Seth MacFarlane for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series premiered on January 31, 1999, following Super Bowl XXXIII, with the rest of the first season airing from April 11, 1999. Th ...

'' and ''

The Rugrats Movie ''The Rugrats Movie'' is a 1998 American animated comedy film based on the Nickelodeon animated television series ''Rugrats''. It was directed by Igor Kovalyov and Norton Virgien and was written by David N. Weiss & J. David Stem. The film fea ...

''. He was a narrator for ''Faith Rewarded: The Historic Season of the 2004

Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East Division. Founded in as one of the Ameri ...

''. Zirnkilton narrated ''Ruby Ridge: Anatomy of a Tragedy'' on

Investigation Discovery Investigation Discovery (stylized and branded on-air as ID since 2008) is an American multinational pay television network dedicated to true crime documentaries, similar to corporate sibling HLN. It is owned by Warner Bros. Discovery's netw ...

. He also provided the voice-over for a

Sky One Sky One was a British pay television channel operated and owned by Sky Group (a division of Comcast). Originally launched on 26 April 1982 as Satellite Television, it was Europe's first satellite and non- terrestrial channel. From 31 July 1989, ...

advertisement for the channel's ''

'' airings. Zirnkilton was the narrator for

TLC TLC may refer to: Arts and entertainment Television * ''TLC'' (TV series), a 2002 British situational comedy television series that aired on BBC2 * TLC (TV network), formerly the Learning Channel, an American cable TV network ** TLC (Asia), an A ...

's ''Code Blue: New Orleans'' and the syndicated series ''

Arrest & Trial ''Arrest & Trial'' is an American, syndicated nontraditional court show which follows individual criminal cases (commission, police investigation, and actual trial) via a combination of reenactments and real trial footage. Episodes run for 30 m ...

''. Currently he narrates Blood & Money on Oxygen and CNBC. He has also been the announcer for the

Kennedy Center Honors The Kennedy Center Honors are annual honors given to those in the performing arts for their lifetime of contributions to Culture of the United States, American culture. They have been presented annually since 1978, culminating each December in ...

, and for the past twenty-three years he has been the onstage announcer for the ''Top Cops Awards'' in

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

Filmography

Film

Television

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Zirnkilton, Steve 1958 births American male voice actors Candidates in the 1994 United States elections Living people Male actors from Maine New England College alumni People from Mount Desert Island Politicians from York, Pennsylvania Republican Party members of the Maine House of Representatives 20th-century members of the Maine Legislature