Trivia

One of two people to have a lifetime contract with NBC. The other was Bob Hope.

As of his death on August 18, 2014, he had been a continuous employee (with the last remaining lifetime contract) of the National Broadcasting Company (NBC) for 70 years, 64 days. To express this in another way, he was a continuous employee of NBC for a total of 25,631 consecutive days, since being hired as a NBC Radio staff announcer on June 15, 1944.

He semi-retired in 2004 (he could never fully retire, since he had the last remaining NBC lifetime contract), and moved to Tucson, Arizona. But, Saturday Night Live (1975) (SNL) producers convinced him to continue announcing for the show. Thereafter, for every new SNL episode, Pardo was flown from his Tucson home to New York City. In the time since 2004, for a few episodes, SNL producers allowed him to tape announcements from his home. But the producers had a strongly expressed preference to have him in the SNL studio to warm-up the audience and insisted he come to the SNL studio for each new live SNL to announce.

As a staff announcer at NBC on November 22, 1963, he read the first account of the assassination of President John F. Kennedy in a voiceover on the NBC Television Network.

Jimmy Fallon said "Nothing compares to the moment Don Pardo says your name." Maya Rudolph expressed a similar sentiment, "The moment you said my name was the height of my career".

Has been the announcer for Saturday Night Live (1975) for every season except the seventh. Thus, he was the person that's been involved with the show for the longest, even longer than executive producer Lorne Michaels who left the show from 1980-1985.

On the February 23, 2008 broadcast of Saturday Night Live (SNL), Pardo was brought on camera at the end of the show, which was actually the morning of Sunday, February 24, 2008, he was honored in celebration of his 90th birthday, and blew out the candles on his 90th birthday cake.

His booth in Studio 8H during Saturday Night Live (1975) was located at the exact spot in which Arturo Toscanini used to conduct the NBC Symphony Orchestra on radio from 1937 to 1950 and on television from 1948 to 1950 (the concerts were relocated to Carnegie Hall between 1950 and 1954).

He became famous for "Live from New York, it's Saturday Night!", which was cried out at the end of the opening skit, and then he followed up with announcing the show's title, then names the cast members and musical guest(s) in a voice-over during the opening montage.

In addition to being the staff announcer on Saturday Night Live he was also the staff announcer for the Live at Five news program on WNBC-TV Channel 4 in New York City.

Joined NBC Radio as a staff announcer on June 15, 1944.

On May 14, 2009, when he was inducted into the Rhode Island Radio Hall of Fame, Pardo suggested that the May 16, 2009, episode of Saturday Night Live (1975) (SNL) would be his last. This turned out not to be true, when he returned to his announcing duties for SNL's 35th season, still flying to New York City once per week for SNL's live broadcast. Beginning with the 36th season, SNL producers relented, and allowed him to pre-record his segments from his Tucson, Arizona home studio, instead of performing live in New York City.

His middle name is George because he was born on George Washington's Birthday.

To protect his valuable voice, he was known to carry soothing cough lozenges with him wherever he went.

When he broke his hip in the spring of 2013, he missed two Saturday Night Live (1975) (SNL) broadcasts, late in the 2012-2013 SNL season.

Inducted into the Television Academy Hall of Fame, with the other members of the Hall of Fame "class" of 2010.

He appeared as the Jeopardy Announcer in 'Weird Al' Yankovic's music video "I Lost On Jeopardy" (1984). Pardo informs Yankovic of what he did not win: neither consolation prizes nor a lousy copy of the home game. Furthermore, he informs Yankovic that he has made himself look like a jerk in front of millions of people, and has brought shame and disgrace to his family name for generations to come as a result of his disastrous showing. He also informs Yankovic that he will not come back the next day and that he is a complete loser.

His parents were Polish immigrants Domenick Pardo Senior and Valeria "Viola" Rominak.

He was replaced by Darrell Hammond who had taken over for him when he was out with laryngitis. Darrell was a natural fit as the announcer for SNL.

He made the opening announcement for J.P.'s "College of 97 Rock Knowledge" on 97-Rock WGRF-FM, a rock radio show based in Buffalo, New York, USA.

Don Pardo participated on stage with Frank Zappa doing a monologue for the song "The Illinois Enema Bandit" on the album 'Zappa In New York' recorded late December 1976.

He and his wife, Catherine Anne Lyons, have five children: daughters Donna, Paula and Karen; sons David and Michael.

Announcer for NBC Radio's "The Magnificent Montague" (1950-1951).