Don Pardo
Announcer
About This Interview
Don Pardo was interviewed for three-and-one-half hours in Tuscon, AZ. Pardo talked about joining NBC in 1944 and defined his duties as a staff announcer. He listed several of the radio and early television series on which he worked and described his trademark announcing style. He talked about his long association with several game shows including the original The Price Is Right, Choose Up Sides (where he appeared on-camera as “Mr. Mischief”), and the original Jeopardy! (that launched the pop culture catchphrase: “Don Pardo, tell her what she’s won!”). Lastly, Pardo spoke in great detail about the series for which he is most closely associated, Saturday Night Live . He then acknowledged leaving his post as staff announcer at NBC having held the position for a record 60 years and 6 months. The interview was conducted by David Schwartz on August 18, 2006.
Related To This Video
Featured Content
Don Pardo has been inducted into the 19th Academy of Television Arts & Sciences Hall of Fame.
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Watch Interview Highlights
Watch By Chapter
- Chapter 1
- On his family, growing up in Massachusetts
- On high school and college memories
- On meeting resistance from his father in choosing a vocation: he wanted to be a dentist
- On how deciding he wanted to pursue a career in acting
- On how he got into radio, working at WJAR in Providence, R.I.; on getting hired as a radio announcer
- On how his wife convinced him to take his first job in announcing for radio at WJAR; his job duties as an announcer
- On his first trip to New York and meeting other announcers: Hal Sims, Mark Goodson
- On becoming a “hitchhike” announcer for commercial radio, along with Mark Goodson as the main announcer
- On first working for NBC radio in New York; meeting Patrick J. Kelly
- On hearing Frank Gallup and Charles Stark announce when he visited NBC and approaching Patrick Kelly about a job there
- Chapter 2
- On meeting Patrick Kelly at NBC
- On getting job offer from NBC to become an announcer
- On the announcer’s role to the story on radio
- On delivering a news announcement and having to double as an engineer
- On first working in early television; the process of broadcasting early television
- On announcing a baseball game in 1946 on television; on not being interested in working in early television
- On working on children’s television: Animal Fair
- Chapter 3
- On meeting and working with with Bill Cullen; on working on Follow Your Heart , an early soap opera on NBC
- On working with Fred Allen and regretting not having taken a photograph with any of the Hollywood stars
- On working with Fred Allen on The Price is Right and how he got the job announcing on that show
- On the children’s show Choose Up Sides (does voice); on "continuous performance" (speaking over a B movie); how he preferred radio over television
- On The Price is Right ; a typical day and his duties as announcer; appearing on-camera while filling in for Bill Cullen; on blowing the surprise of a contestant winning a trip to “Rooooooome” on an early Price is Right episode
- On rehearsing for The Price is Right
; doing a lot of readings
- On Sid Caesar, working on Caesar’s Hour, Your Show of Shows ; on the Jonathan Winters Show , meeting Carol Burnett
- Chapter 4
- On a sample announcement: Use Shorter Words!
- On Stanley ; working with Buddy Hackett, Carol Burnett, Paul Lynde, and Max Liebman
- On the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, and having to read the announcement of his death on-air
- On his decision not to follow The Price is Right to ABC; later becomes the announcer on Saturday Night Live
- On Jeopardy!, working with Art Fleming; on the catch-phrase “Thank you, Don Pardo”, developed on that show
- On how Senator John McCain appeared on Saturday Night Live , and told him he had actually met him as a contestant on Jeopardy! when Pardo was the announcer
- On working with Bill Cullen on Jeopardy! , as the host
- On his various jobs at NBC radio: Peppy's Young Family, Magnificent Montague, Monitor
- On becoming the announcer on Saturday Night Live ; meeting Lorne Michaels
- Chapter 5
- On the beginning of Saturday Night Live and how the announcer gig was described to him; flubbing the opening for the very first show- misstating the Not Ready for Prime Time players
- On Lorne Michaels; on appearing on-camera occassionaly on SNL; on a skit where he plays “Ron Lardo” and recites his famous line “It’s Saturday Night Live”; on the initial reaction to SNL; what rehearsals were like
- On working at Studio 8H at Rockefeller Center for SNL
- On his SNL recollections; Tina Fey, Dick Ebersol. On Lorne Michaels leaving the show and his replacement, Jean Doumanian.
- Chapter 6
- Full Chapter Six
- Chapter 7
- Full Chapter Seven
- Chapter 8
- Full Chapter Eight
