Amy just told me the sad news that veteran American TV announcer and voice-over artist Don Pardo has died at the age of 96. Dons kind of an icon in our house, because our kids grew up watching SNL. Internationally, Don was best-known as the announcer for Saturday Night Live; I believe he was the one constant on the show throughout its history, and his distinctive style became a trademark of the series (although, interestingly, former SNL cast member Darryl Hammond can do a spot-on Don Pardo impression, and our boy Lucas can do do him pretty well, too). Don announced for SNL from its inception in 1975 (although he was replaced briefly for the controversial 81-82 series), worked right up to the most recent series, and even after his official retirement some years ago, Don kept recording his weekly SNL voice-overs, from his home. Sadly, Don has died just short of SNLs landmark 40th-anniversary season, which begins soon, so Im sure therell be a big tribute to him on the season premiere. In his memory, heres a classic moment from the (in)famous 70s Zappa episode of SNL, with Don adding his inimitable vocal contributions to Franks classic Im The Slime:
Posted on: Tue, 19 Aug 2014 04:58:14 +0000
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