Dominick George Pardo, born on the 22nd of February 1918, was an American radio and television personality who gained fame for being the long-time announcer for “Saturday Night Live.” He passed away in 2014.
So how much is Pardo’s net worth? As of late 2017, based on authoritative sources it is reported to be $15 million, acquired from his years working in both radio and television.
Don Pardo Net Worth $15 Million
Born in Westfield, Massachusetts, Pardo was the son of Dominick and Viola Pardo. His parents were Polish immigrants and were bakery owners. He spent his younger years in Massachusetts, and graduated from Emerson College in Boston in 1942.
Pardo’s professional career actually started in 1938, when he joined the radio station WJAR, an NBC affiliate, and hosted several programs in the show until he transferred to NBC radio in 1944. He worked on the staff behind the scenes in the network, until eventually becoming an announcer on several shows, including “Barrie Craig, Confidential Investigator”, “Dimension X”, and “X Minus One”. His early years working in radio helped establish his career and also his net worth.
When the 1950’s came, Pardo transferred to television and began announcing for various NBC and RCA shows. He broke into mainstream fame when he became the announcer of “The Price is Right” from 1956 to 1963, then when the show finished, transferred to another network, he found himself announcing for “Jeopardy!” from 1964 to 1975. Other game shows he announced for also included “Three on a Match”, “Winning Streak”, and “Jackpot.” His transition to television established him as one of the premiere announcers in the industry, and certainly helped raised his wealth.
During his years working on television, Pardo became most known for his work on “Saturday Night Live”. He began announcing for the show in 1975, and his words “Live from New York, it’s Saturday Night!” became an iconic catchphrase from then on. He worked for the show until he decided to retire in 2004. But after a couple of nudges from the show’s producers, he agreed to come back as the announcer of the show, and pre-recorded most of his lines.
Aside from being an announcer, Pardo is also known to have worked with Frank Zappa, and narrated some of his songs. He also had a short stint as an actor and was heard on Weird Al Yankovic’s song “I Lost on Jeopardy”.
In terms of his personal life, he was married to Catherine Lyons from 1938 until her passing in 1995, and together they have five children. Pardo died in his sleep in 2014 at the age of 96 – he worked for “Saturday Night Live” until he passed away.
