Astute SNL viewers noticed this weekend that longtime announcer Don Pardo was missing from the show’s opening credits and was instead replaced by a Don Pardo impersonator. TMZ reports that Pardo broke his hip last week but is recovering just fine. The 95-year-old announcer has been with the show since its premiere in 1975, only missing one early ‘80s non-Lorne Michaels season along the way. Pardo stayed with SNL after announcing his retirement from NBC in 2004. He moved from New York to Tucson, Arizona, after his NBC retirement but flies to the East Coast to announce each new show or pre-records his announcements from home. The announcer doing the Pardo impression Saturday was longtime SNL castmember Darrell Hammond who has sporadically filled in for Pardo over the years when health issues have prevented him from his announcing duties. Pardo announced his retirement from SNL in 2009 but changed his mind and was also expected to leave in 2010 before changing his mind again. If Pardo does end up retiring soon, the show won’t be the same without him, but Hammond’s a great choice for a replacement given that he has a long history with the show himself.
