Don Pardo
Encyclopedia
Dominick George "Don" Pardo (born February 22, 1918) is an American
radio and television announcer
. He is best known as the voice of the long-running late night sketch comedy show Saturday Night Live
.
Pardo is noted for his long association with NBC
, working as the announcer for early incarnations of such notable shows as The Price is Right
, Jeopardy!
, and NBC Nightly News
. He has acted as the announcer of Saturday Night Live for all but one of its seasons. Today, he continues his voiceover duties during the program's opening montage, several years after his official retirement from NBC.
, Massachusetts
, and spent his childhood in Norwich
, Connecticut
, and Providence
, Rhode Island
. He was hired for his first radio position at WJAR-AM
in Providence in 1938. Pardo joined NBC as an in-house announcer in 1944, remaining on the network staff for the next 60 years. During World War II
, he worked as a war reporter for NBC radio.
Pardo made his mark on game shows for NBC as the booming voice of the original The Price Is Right from 1956 until it moved to ABC
in 1963, then Call My Bluff
. The next year, he moved to Jeopardy!
, which he announced from 1964 until the original version of the series ended in 1975. Pardo reprised that role with a cameo
voiceover
in "Weird Al" Yankovic
's 1984 song "I Lost on Jeopardy
" (a parody of the Greg Kihn Band's 1983 hit song "Jeopardy
"). He also announced numerous other New York–based NBC game shows, such as Three on a Match
, Winning Streak
, and Jackpot!
, all three of which were Bob Stewart
productions.
Pardo squeezed in many other assignments at NBC, including the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade
(until 1999), WNBC-TV
's Live at Five
news program, NBC Nightly News
, and Wheel of Fortune
(during two special on-location weeks in 1988, when the show originated from New York
and was using substitute announcers after Jack Clark's death).
Pardo was the on-duty live booth announcer for WNBC-TV
in New York and the NBC network on November 22, 1963, and he was first to announce to NBC viewers that President John F. Kennedy had been shot
in Dallas
, Texas
. (His first bulletin interrupted a local WNBC-TV broadcast of Bachelor Father before the NBC network went live with the story.) Because NBC waited eleven minutes to begin videotaping the coverage, it was believed for decades that Pardo's historic bulletins were lost; but, almost 40 years later, an audio tape of the bulletins was discovered in a private collection.
In January 1986, Don Pardo replaced Hal Simms as announcer on the NBC soap opera Search for Tomorrow
. He was the announcer until the final episode, on December 26, 1986.
. His was the first voice heard on the show's premiere episode in 1975.
He has remained the program's announcer to the present day, except for one season (1981–1982
), when it was announced by Mel Brandt
(except for the episodes performed on December 5 and December 12, 1981, when veteran announcer Bill Hanrahan
briefly substituted for Brandt). After "Live, from New York...", which is cried out at the end of the opening sketch, Don Pardo announces the show's title, then names the cast members and musical guest(s) in a voice-over during the opening montage. According to Pardo, his announcing booth in Studio 8-H
, from which Saturday Night Live is telecast, is almost exactly where Arturo Toscanini
stood when conducting the NBC Symphony Orchestra
in Rockefeller Center from 1937 to 1950. (Toscanini's broadcasts later moved to Carnegie Hall
.)
In December 1976, on one memorable SNL episode, Pardo participated in a musical performance by Frank Zappa
, reciting a verse of the song "I'm the Slime". Pardo subsequently reprised this role on the live-recorded version of the song for the Zappa in New York
album (it was not featured on the first release in 1978, but it appears on the 1993 CD re-release). He also provided narration for the songs "The Illinois Enema Bandit" and "Punky's Whips" (a business dispute between Zappa and his then record company led to "Punky's Whips" being removed from the 1978 album, but the song was reinstated on the 1993 CD).
, to Tucson
, Arizona
, the producers of Saturday Night Live persuaded him to continue providing the introductions for their show. In 2006, he decided to begin prerecording his announcements from a home studio in Arizona
. That lasted only a few episodes before producers insisted they needed him in Studio 8H, and he resumed weekly flights to New York
to do the show. On Saturday, February 23, 2008, Pardo appeared at the closing of SNL to blow out the candles of his 90th birthday cake. Upon his induction into the Rhode Island Radio Hall of Fame on May 14, 2009, Pardo indicated that the May 16, 2009, episode of Saturday Night Live could be his last. However, his voice was heard once again announcing the show's 35th season premiere, and he continued providing the voice-overs through the season.
He announced that for the 36th season, he would pre-record his parts from his home in Arizona rather than performing live in New York City.
to be close to their own son, who moved there because of his job with Wells Fargo
. In 2010 at age 70, Chris began hosting a radio sports talk show.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
radio and television announcer
Announcer
An announcer is a presenter who makes "announcements" in an audio medium or a physical location.-Television and other media:Some announcers work in television production , radio or filmmaking, usually providing narrations, news updates, station identification, or an introduction of a product in...
. He is best known as the voice of the long-running late night sketch comedy show Saturday Night Live
Saturday Night Live
Saturday Night Live is a live American late-night television sketch comedy and variety show developed by Lorne Michaels and Dick Ebersol. The show premiered on NBC on October 11, 1975, under the original title of NBC's Saturday Night.The show's sketches often parody contemporary American culture...
.
Pardo is noted for his long association with NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
, working as the announcer for early incarnations of such notable shows as The Price is Right
The Price Is Right
The Price Is Right is a television game show franchise originally produced by Mark Goodson and Bill Todman, and created by Bob Stewart, and is currently produced and owned by FremantleMedia. The franchise centers on television game shows, but also includes merchandise such as video games, printed...
, Jeopardy!
Jeopardy!
Griffin's first conception of the game used a board comprising ten categories with ten clues each, but after finding that this board could not be shown on camera easily, he reduced it to two rounds of thirty clues each, with five clues in each of six categories...
, and NBC Nightly News
NBC Nightly News
NBC Nightly News is the flagship daily evening television news program for NBC News and broadcasts. NBC Nightly News has aired from Studio 3B, located on floors 3 of the NBC Studios is the headquarters of the GE Building forms the centerpiece of 30th Rockefeller Center it is located in the center...
. He has acted as the announcer of Saturday Night Live for all but one of its seasons. Today, he continues his voiceover duties during the program's opening montage, several years after his official retirement from NBC.
Radio career
Pardo was born in WestfieldWestfield, Massachusetts
Westfield is a city in Hampden County, in the Pioneer Valley of western Massachusetts, United States. It is part of the Springfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 41,094 at the 2010 census. The ZIP Code is 01085 for homes and businesses, 01086 for Westfield State...
, Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
, and spent his childhood in Norwich
Norwich, Connecticut
Regular steamship service between New York and Boston helped Norwich to prosper as a shipping center through the early part of the 20th century. During the Civil War, Norwich once again rallied and saw the growth of its textile, armaments, and specialty item manufacturing...
, Connecticut
Connecticut
Connecticut is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, and the state of New York to the west and the south .Connecticut is named for the Connecticut River, the major U.S. river that approximately...
, and Providence
Providence, Rhode Island
Providence is the capital and most populous city of Rhode Island and was one of the first cities established in the United States. Located in Providence County, it is the third largest city in the New England region...
, Rhode Island
Rhode Island
The state of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, more commonly referred to as Rhode Island , is a state in the New England region of the United States. It is the smallest U.S. state by area...
. He was hired for his first radio position at WJAR-AM
WHJJ
WHJJ is a radio station in Providence, Rhode Island. The station was previously assigned the call letters WJAR, adopting its current call letters in 1980 when previous owner Outlet Communications sold the station.-History:...
in Providence in 1938. Pardo joined NBC as an in-house announcer in 1944, remaining on the network staff for the next 60 years. During World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, he worked as a war reporter for NBC radio.
NBC television
In the early 1950s, he served as announcer for many of RCA's and NBC's closed-circuit color television demonstrations, but eventually became one of the top game-show announcers for the network.Pardo made his mark on game shows for NBC as the booming voice of the original The Price Is Right from 1956 until it moved to ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
in 1963, then Call My Bluff
Call My Bluff (US game show)
Call My Bluff was a short-lived American game show from Mark Goodson-Bill Todman Productions that aired on NBC daytime from March 29 to September 24, 1965. Bill Leyden was emcee, with Johnny Olson and Wayne Howell as announcers....
. The next year, he moved to Jeopardy!
Jeopardy!
Griffin's first conception of the game used a board comprising ten categories with ten clues each, but after finding that this board could not be shown on camera easily, he reduced it to two rounds of thirty clues each, with five clues in each of six categories...
, which he announced from 1964 until the original version of the series ended in 1975. Pardo reprised that role with a cameo
Cameo appearance
A cameo role or cameo appearance is a brief appearance of a known person in a work of the performing arts, such as plays, films, video games and television...
voiceover
VoiceOver
VoiceOver is a screen reader built into Apple Inc.'s Mac OS X, iOS and iPod operating systems. By using VoiceOver, the user can access their Macintosh or iOS device based on spoken descriptions and, in the case of the Mac, the keyboard. The feature is designed to increase accessibility for blind...
in "Weird Al" Yankovic
"Weird Al" Yankovic
Alfred Matthew "Weird Al" Yankovic is an American singer-songwriter, music producer, accordionist, actor, comedian, writer, satirist, and parodist. Yankovic is known for his humorous songs that make light of popular culture and that often parody specific songs by contemporary musical acts...
's 1984 song "I Lost on Jeopardy
I Lost on Jeopardy
"I Lost On Jeopardy" is a song by "Weird Al" Yankovic from his second album, "Weird Al" Yankovic in 3-D. The song is a parody of "Jeopardy" by The Greg Kihn Band, and its refrain "Our love's in jeopardy"...
" (a parody of the Greg Kihn Band's 1983 hit song "Jeopardy
Jeopardy (song)
"Jeopardy" is a hit song released in 1983 by The Greg Kihn Band on their album Kihnspiracy. It is the band's first and only Top 10 hit on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart, reaching #2 in March 1983 and also hitting #1 on the dance charts the following month. Composition/Chord Structure:The song...
"). He also announced numerous other New York–based NBC game shows, such as Three on a Match
Three on a Match (game show)
Three on a Match was an American television game show created by Bob Stewart that ran on NBC from August 2, 1971 to June 28, 1974 on its daytime schedule...
, Winning Streak
Winning Streak (US game show)
Winning Streak is an American television game show hosted by Bill Cullen and announced by Don Pardo. It aired daily on NBC from July 1, 1974 to January 3, 1975 and was produced at the NBC Studios in New York's Rockefeller Plaza.-Gameplay:...
, and Jackpot!
Jackpot (game show)
Jackpot! is a television game show seen in three different runs between 1974 and 1990. Geoff Edwards hosted the original version of this Bob Stewart production from January 7, 1974 until September 26, 1975 on NBC. A second version, produced in Canada, aired from September 30, 1985 to December 30,...
, all three of which were Bob Stewart
Bob Stewart (television)
Bob Stewart is a former American television game show producer. He was active in the TV industry from 1956 until his retirement in 1992....
productions.
Pardo squeezed in many other assignments at NBC, including the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade
Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade
The Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, often shortened to Macy's Day Parade, is an annual parade presented by Macy's. The tradition started in 1924, tying it for the second-oldest Thanksgiving parade in the United States along with America's Thanksgiving Parade in Detroit, and four years younger than...
(until 1999), WNBC-TV
WNBC
WNBC, virtual channel 4 , is the flagship station of the NBC television network, located in New York City. WNBC's studios are co-located with NBC corporate headquarters at 30 Rockefeller Plaza in midtown Manhattan...
's Live at Five
Live at Five (WNBC TV series)
Live at Five was WNBC's 5 p.m. weekday newscast broadcasting from NBC Studio 6B at 30 Rockefeller Center. A mix of news, features and interviews, the Live at Five concept was first introduced in 1979 by WNBC News Director Ron Kershaw and Bob Davis. Their first anchors were Pia Lindstrom and Melba...
news program, NBC Nightly News
NBC Nightly News
NBC Nightly News is the flagship daily evening television news program for NBC News and broadcasts. NBC Nightly News has aired from Studio 3B, located on floors 3 of the NBC Studios is the headquarters of the GE Building forms the centerpiece of 30th Rockefeller Center it is located in the center...
, and Wheel of Fortune
Wheel of Fortune (U.S. game show)
Wheel of Fortune is an American television game show created by Merv Griffin, which premiered in 1975. Contestants compete to solve word puzzles, similar to those used in Hangman, to win cash and prizes determined by spinning a large wheel. The title refers to the show's giant carnival wheel that...
(during two special on-location weeks in 1988, when the show originated from New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
and was using substitute announcers after Jack Clark's death).
Pardo was the on-duty live booth announcer for WNBC-TV
WNBC
WNBC, virtual channel 4 , is the flagship station of the NBC television network, located in New York City. WNBC's studios are co-located with NBC corporate headquarters at 30 Rockefeller Plaza in midtown Manhattan...
in New York and the NBC network on November 22, 1963, and he was first to announce to NBC viewers that President John F. Kennedy had been shot
Assassination of John F. Kennedy
John Fitzgerald Kennedy, the thirty-fifth President of the United States, was assassinated at 12:30 p.m. Central Standard Time on Friday, November 22, 1963, in Dealey Plaza, Dallas, Texas...
in Dallas
Dallas, Texas
Dallas is the third-largest city in Texas and the ninth-largest in the United States. The Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex is the largest metropolitan area in the South and fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States...
, Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
. (His first bulletin interrupted a local WNBC-TV broadcast of Bachelor Father before the NBC network went live with the story.) Because NBC waited eleven minutes to begin videotaping the coverage, it was believed for decades that Pardo's historic bulletins were lost; but, almost 40 years later, an audio tape of the bulletins was discovered in a private collection.
In January 1986, Don Pardo replaced Hal Simms as announcer on the NBC soap opera Search for Tomorrow
Search for Tomorrow
Search for Tomorrow is an American soap opera which premiered on September 3, 1951 on CBS. The show was moved from CBS to NBC on March 29, 1982. It continued on NBC until the final episode aired on December 26, 1986, a run of thirty-five years. At the time of its final broadcast it was the...
. He was the announcer until the final episode, on December 26, 1986.
Saturday Night Live
His best-known announcing work is for the television series Saturday Night LiveSaturday Night Live
Saturday Night Live is a live American late-night television sketch comedy and variety show developed by Lorne Michaels and Dick Ebersol. The show premiered on NBC on October 11, 1975, under the original title of NBC's Saturday Night.The show's sketches often parody contemporary American culture...
. His was the first voice heard on the show's premiere episode in 1975.
He has remained the program's announcer to the present day, except for one season (1981–1982
Saturday Night Live (Season 7)
Saturday Night Live aired its seventh season during the 1981–1982 television season on NBC. The seventh season started on October 3, 1981 and ended on May 22, 1982...
), when it was announced by Mel Brandt
Mel Brandt
Melville Brandt was an actor and NBC staff announcer. He was born in Brooklyn, New York.Brandt joined the network around 1948. His radio announcing credits included The Adventures of Frank Merriwell, Author Meets the Critics, and The Eternal Light...
(except for the episodes performed on December 5 and December 12, 1981, when veteran announcer Bill Hanrahan
Bill Hanrahan
William A. "Bill" Hanrahan , was an American radio and television announcer, perhaps best known as the "Voice of NBC News."...
briefly substituted for Brandt). After "Live, from New York...", which is cried out at the end of the opening sketch, Don Pardo announces the show's title, then names the cast members and musical guest(s) in a voice-over during the opening montage. According to Pardo, his announcing booth in Studio 8-H
NBC Radio City Studios
NBC Radio City Studios is the name given to radio and television studio complexes in New York's Rockefeller Center, San Francisco, and the former radio-TV complex located at the northeast corner of Sunset Boulevard and Vine Street in Hollywood, California....
, from which Saturday Night Live is telecast, is almost exactly where Arturo Toscanini
Arturo Toscanini
Arturo Toscanini was an Italian conductor. One of the most acclaimed musicians of the late 19th and 20th century, he was renowned for his intensity, his perfectionism, his ear for orchestral detail and sonority, and his photographic memory...
stood when conducting the NBC Symphony Orchestra
NBC Symphony Orchestra
The NBC Symphony Orchestra was a radio orchestra established by David Sarnoff of the National Broadcasting Company especially for conductor Arturo Toscanini...
in Rockefeller Center from 1937 to 1950. (Toscanini's broadcasts later moved to Carnegie Hall
Carnegie Hall
Carnegie Hall is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan in New York City, United States, located at 881 Seventh Avenue, occupying the east stretch of Seventh Avenue between West 56th Street and West 57th Street, two blocks south of Central Park....
.)
In December 1976, on one memorable SNL episode, Pardo participated in a musical performance by Frank Zappa
Frank Zappa
Frank Vincent Zappa was an American composer, singer-songwriter, electric guitarist, record producer and film director. In a career spanning more than 30 years, Zappa wrote rock, jazz, orchestral and musique concrète works. He also directed feature-length films and music videos, and designed...
, reciting a verse of the song "I'm the Slime". Pardo subsequently reprised this role on the live-recorded version of the song for the Zappa in New York
Zappa in New York
Zappa in New York is a live double album by Frank Zappa. It was recorded at a series of concerts at New York City's Palladium in December 1976. It was released by Zappa's DiscReet Records label in 1977, then quickly withdrawn. A second version was re-released in 1978 with changes ordered by...
album (it was not featured on the first release in 1978, but it appears on the 1993 CD re-release). He also provided narration for the songs "The Illinois Enema Bandit" and "Punky's Whips" (a business dispute between Zappa and his then record company led to "Punky's Whips" being removed from the 1978 album, but the song was reinstated on the 1993 CD).
Retirement
Although Pardo officially retired from NBC in 2004 and moved from Demarest, New JerseyDemarest, New Jersey
Demarest is a Borough in Bergen County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough population was 4,881.Demarest was formed by an Act of the New Jersey Legislature on April 8, 1903, from portions of Harrington Township and Palisades Township. The borough was named...
, to Tucson
Tucson, Arizona
Tucson is a city in and the county seat of Pima County, Arizona, United States. The city is located 118 miles southeast of Phoenix and 60 miles north of the U.S.-Mexico border. The 2010 United States Census puts the city's population at 520,116 with a metropolitan area population at 1,020,200...
, Arizona
Arizona
Arizona ; is a state located in the southwestern region of the United States. It is also part of the western United States and the mountain west. The capital and largest city is Phoenix...
, the producers of Saturday Night Live persuaded him to continue providing the introductions for their show. In 2006, he decided to begin prerecording his announcements from a home studio in Arizona
Arizona
Arizona ; is a state located in the southwestern region of the United States. It is also part of the western United States and the mountain west. The capital and largest city is Phoenix...
. That lasted only a few episodes before producers insisted they needed him in Studio 8H, and he resumed weekly flights to New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
to do the show. On Saturday, February 23, 2008, Pardo appeared at the closing of SNL to blow out the candles of his 90th birthday cake. Upon his induction into the Rhode Island Radio Hall of Fame on May 14, 2009, Pardo indicated that the May 16, 2009, episode of Saturday Night Live could be his last. However, his voice was heard once again announcing the show's 35th season premiere, and he continued providing the voice-overs through the season.
He announced that for the 36th season, he would pre-record his parts from his home in Arizona rather than performing live in New York City.
Family
Pardo's son Chris used to go with his father to Rockefeller Plaza and do various jobs for his father's NBC shows. He has said, "I kind of grew up at NBC". Chris worked in radio and motion picture promotion and in 2008, moved with his wife to York County, South CarolinaYork County, South Carolina
York County is a county located in the north-central section of the U.S. state of South Carolina. According to the 2010 census, the county's population was 226,073. It is the second largest county in the Charlotte metropolitan area...
to be close to their own son, who moved there because of his job with Wells Fargo
Wells Fargo
Wells Fargo & Company is an American multinational diversified financial services company with operations around the world. Wells Fargo is the fourth largest bank in the U.S. by assets and the largest bank by market capitalization. Wells Fargo is the second largest bank in deposits, home...
. In 2010 at age 70, Chris began hosting a radio sports talk show.
External links
- Don Pardo radio credits
- The recovery of Pardo's "lost" JFK bulletins
- The Illinois Enema Bandit lyrics inc. Don Pardo's contribution
- Punky's Whips lyrics inc. Don Pardo's contribution
- I'm The Slime lyrics inc. Don Pardo's contribution
- Video clip from 1980 featuring last moments of pre-sign off WNBC-TV news update by Don Pardo
- Video interview on WJAR Providence
- Don Pardo Archive of American Television Interview