A tribute to Don Pardo-The Golden Voice of American Radio & Television

Don Pardo, actor and announcer, better known as the voice of the radio show “Saturday Night Live” breathed his last on Monday, the 18^th of August in Tucson, Arizona at the age of 96. His daughter Dona Pardo, re-affirmed the news of his death.

Pardo, who was born as Dominick    George Pardo, in a Polish immigrant family on February 22, 1918 in Westfield, Massachusetts, started his career as a radio announcer and voice actor in 1938 as a radio artist at WJAR in Providence. As a student at Norway Free Academy in Connecticut, Pardo developed an interest in theater and oratory arts. He then went over to become a staff  announcer with NBC in 1944, lending his voice to some popular radio shows such as Barrie Craig, Confidential Investigator and X Minus One. During his stint with NBC Radio, Pardo even worked as a war reporter in the World War II. Gradually, he moved over to television industry and became a famous name on the American television too, starting as an announcer in some baseball games on television and then becoming the announcer of a number of popular game shows including “The Price is Right” and “Jeopardy!”  Incidentally, Don Pardo was the first voice to announce the assassination of President John F Kennedy on WNBC, during the telecast of an episode of the show “Bachelor Father”.

Don Pardo started as an announcer in the “Saturday Night Live” show in October 1975, and today the show is recognized the name of this legendary artist, as he continued to be a part of the show till its last season in May. He has been a consistent part and parcel of the “Saturday Night Live”, having announced the introductions for a total of 38 seasons, with just the season 7 of the show being an exception. He had introduced some well known stars such as Chevy Chase, Tina Fey and Eddie Murphy, during the telecast of the “S.N.I”. He had become practically the most well known voice on the American radio and television during his magnificent career, which lasted for more than half a century. To honor him for his tremendous contribution in his field, Don Pardo was inducted into the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences Hall of Fame in the year 2010. Pardo retired from NBC in 2004, but continued with “S.N.I.”, even after moving to Arizona after the death of his wife in 1995. He continued to fly to New York for performing each episode of the show for some years, and later on recorded his part from his town in Tucson itself. During his wonder years with “S.N.I”, Pardo had some memorable moments on this much loved show, which will always be remembered by the viewers.

One of the greatest voices in the history of the American radio and television, Pardo has left behind five children, the daughters Dona, Paula and Katherine, and sons David and Michael. He also has five grandchildren and three great grand children. The creator of the show “S.N.I” has announced that the next season of the show would be paying a tribute to this great man, who gave a piece of his life to this show.

A tribute to Don Pardo-The Golden Voice of American Radio & Television by Satyakam