Veteran broadcaster Don Pardo, the seldom-seen, booming-voiced announcer for NBC’s television sketch comedy show Saturday Night Live for nearly 40 years, died aged 96, the New York Times and other media reported.

Pardo, who began his six-decade-plus broadcasting career in the radio age of the 1930s, was with Saturday Night Live for its debut in 1975 and was the show’s announcer every year since then, except during its 1981-1982 season.

Viewers heard him at the beginning of the show announcing the cast and guest stars in his grand, distinctive style, stretching out words for effect.

He also closed each show by reading the guests slated to appear for the following week, and sometimes performed voice-overs in skits.

Pardo started his broadcasting career at a radio station in Providence, Rhode Island in 1938 and joined NBC in 1944. He announced the assassination of President John F. Kennedy to NBC listeners in 1963.

Before Saturday Night Live, game shows provided steady work.

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