"Live from New York, it's Darrell Hammond!"
In an interview with USA Today and The New York Times, Saturday Night Live executive producer Lorne Michaels revealed the new announcer for the show will be former cast member Darrell Hammond. He'll be replacing Don Pardo, who sadly passed away last month at the age of 96, and was the SNL announcer for 39 seasons.
But Darrell Hammond says this won't be the first time he has done the announcing duties for the show.
I sat in for Don when he had laryngitis several times over the years. 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.
Darrell Hammond was a main cast member on the show for 14 seasons (the longest for any cast member), and is known for his many celebrity impersonations, including Bill Clinton, Al Gore, Sean Connery, Donald Trump and Regis Philbin. But Lorne Michaels says Hammond won't just be impersonating Don Pardo as the announcer like he did in the past.
I just knew it wouldn't be anybody who sounded like Don or replicated him. 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.
As Hammond says, this just feels right. I'm glad Lorne Michaels and company decided to bring someone familiar in to replace Don Pardo, and Darrell Hammond is definitely someone who has a great respect for the show and its history.
The 40th (!!!) season of Saturday Night Live will begin on September 27, 2014, with Chris Pratt as the host and Ariana Grande as the musical guest.
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