Darrell Hammond already holds the distinction of having the longest tenure of any Saturday Night Live cast member — he was a regular from 1995 to 2009 — as well being the oldest cast member ever at the time of his departure, and now the man of many, many impressions is adding to his esteemed SNL resume by taking over announcing duties.
Hammond will be replacing the legendary Don Pardo, who passed away last month at the age of 96. He actually sat in for Pardo several times over the years.
“I sat in for Don when he had laryngitis several times over the years,” Hammond says. “He was a lovely person. When he passed, they wanted me; it felt right for me to be the one to replace him. It’s been a very improbable life; I didn’t expect something like this, but it feels real good.”
Don’t fret, he won’t simply be doing a Pardo impersonation.
Michaels, who calls Hammond “staggeringly versatile,” says he’ll come up with a new version that respects the announcer’s legacy and will be paired with a new opening-credit montage. “I just knew it wouldn’t be anybody who sounded like Don or replicated him,” Michaels says. “It can’t be what it was, but it could sort of be in the same tradition. And it will be nice to have Darrell around. He understands the show and will probably be helpful in ways we haven’t yet figured out.”
So yeah, feels right all around. And if it means Darrell Hammond might occasionally step out of the announcer booth and channel Sean Connery, all the better.
