Don Pardo, the announcer for Saturday Night Live since its first episode, has died. He was 96. Pardo’s voice introduced decades worth of the biggest names in comedy, music, and more. Saturday night will never be the same without him.
Pardo did an interview for the Emmy TV Legends series back in 2006. You can watch the entire three-and-a-half hour interview here, but here’s a small segment where he talks about how and why, even after retiring after 60 years as the NBC staff announcer he still voiced the introduction for Saturday Night Live.
Pardo also voiced the original versions of Jeopardy! and The Price Is Right as well as many other shows for NBC. He appeared in both Weird Al’s “I Lost on Jeopardy!” and a Frank Zappa album, but for many people, at least for me, he’ll always be remembered as the voice of Saturday night—not just of SNL, but the entire experience of staying up late as a kid to watch it. He’ll be missed.
(via Deadline, image via Emmy TV Legends)
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