A 14-year cast member of “Saturday Night Live” who left the show five years ago, Darrell Hammond will replace the late Don Pardo as SNL’s announcer when the series launches its 40th season Sept. 27.
One Saturday night years ago Hammond found himself having to impersonate Pardo’s voice when Pardo was stricken with laryngitis.
Word is Hammond will not be using Pardo's voice, but Hammond and all future SNL announcers should be required to impersonate Pardo, in my view.
Hammond, 58, has returned to SNL a half dozen times since his 2009 exit, reprising the roles of Arnold Schwarzenegger, Lou Dobbs, Jay Leno and Donald Trump. His hiring as announcer could mean we’ll be seeing a lot more of this sort of thing.
Hammond still holds the record for SNL’s oldest cast member; he was 53 when he left the show.
Pardo, who began announcing for SNL with its first episode in 1975, passed away in August at age 96.
Lots of familiar faces are returning for SNL's 40th year. Former cast members Sarah Silverman and Bill Hader are hosting the season's second and third episodes, respectively.
