Don Pardo (1918 -2014)

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The TV icon and the man who introduced the Saturday Night Live cast and the show’s guest stars each week for nearly 40 years has died. Don Pardo was 96. The New York Times said his death was confirmed by his daughter.

Don Pardo, the long time announcer for Saturday Night Live and a mainstay with NBC for 60 years, died Monday at his home in Tucson. He was 96.

Pardo began his career in radio doing everything from announcing to engineering. He joined NBC in 1944 just as television was starting to take shape and by 1946, he was working in both mediums. Pardo was the announcer for the original version of The Price Is Right from 1956 until 1963, when the show moved over to ABC. Pardo could have made the switch, but opted to stay at NBC. It was also Pardo who first announced for NBC that President Kennedy had been shot in Dallas in an NBC News Bulletin. In 1964, he became the announcer for the popular show Jeopardy! which ran for 11 years. Pardo’s name became synonymous with the show thanks in part to host Art Fleming thanking him at the end of each episode. When Jeopardy! ended in 1975, producer – and TV junkie – Lorne Michaels hired Pardo as the announcer for the new weekend late night show he was putting together for NBC. The show was Saturday Night Live and Pardo’s authoritative voice was the perfect counter to the comedic madness. It also served as a tribute to the great radio and TV serials of the 40’s and 50’s. Pardo was the announcer for 38 of SNL’s 39 seasons (missing only Season 7) introducing some of the biggest names in the history of comedy past and present. Even after Pardo retired in 2004, he remained loyal to the show that made him a pop culture icon: Pardo would often fly in from Tucson specifically to do the show.

Here’s the best summation of what Don Pardo meant to Saturday Night Live: For new cast members, hearing Don Pardo announce their name was considered career validation. Michaels has already announced plans to pay tribute to Pardo next season, which will mark the 40th Anniversary of the show’s inception.

A member of The Academy of Television Arts and Sciences Hall of Fame, Don Pardo will be sorely missed by family, friends, colleagues and fans.

Here’s Pardo celebrating his 90th birthday with the cast of SNL

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Earl Douglas

Earl Douglas is a writer/photographer based in New York City. A frequent contributor to The Interrobang, Earl is also Executive Director for the New York chapter of The Black Rock Coalition. Earl worked in radio for nearly two decades at WNEW-FM and XM Satellite Radio, which included being the on-air producer for Carol Miller, Scott Muni and Ron & Fez, and a contributor to Opie & Anthony. Earl has also independently published a number of books including Black Rock Volume 1, Urban Abyss, Mobile Uploads, and For Shimmy. His latest project is the photojournalism magazine PRAXIS, which is available exclusively through Blurb.com.
Earl Douglas
Earl Douglas
Earl Douglas is a writer/photographer based in New York City. A frequent contributor to The Interrobang, Earl is also Executive Director for the New York chapter of The Black Rock Coalition. Earl worked in radio for nearly two decades at WNEW-FM and XM Satellite Radio, which included being the on-air producer for Carol Miller, Scott Muni and Ron & Fez, and a contributor to Opie & Anthony. Earl has also independently published a number of books including Black Rock Volume 1, Urban Abyss, Mobile Uploads, and For Shimmy. His latest project is the photojournalism magazine PRAXIS, which is available exclusively through Blurb.com.