Television Talkers

Don Pardo (Dominick George Pardo, 1918-2014) is noted for not only his distinct vocal tone and delivery but his seventy-year career with NBC, most famously as the voice of Saturday Night Live for thirty-eight of those years. A few scripts had him participate, occasionally on camera. Prior, he was the announcer for early versions of such notable shows as Jackpot, Jeopardy!, Winning Streak and NBC Nightly News.

The Massachusetts native got his start in radio in 1938 with an NBC affiliate in Providence, Rhode Island. Pardo joined NBC full-time as an in-house announcer in 1944 and worked as a war reporter for NBC Radio. He made his mark on game shows for NBC television in 1952 as the voice of the original The Price Is Right from 1956 until its move to ABC in 1963. His many assignments included announcing for the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, the NBC Nightly News, and he participated in the "Weird Al" Yankovic song "I Lost on Jeopardy," a parody of "Our Love's in Jeopardy" by The Greg Kihn Band. Pardo was inducted into the Television Hall of Fame in 2010.

Television Talkers

 

Jim Lang (1932-2014) was an American game show host and disc jockey. He began his radio broadcasting career in the Twin Cities after winning an audition as a teenager. Upon graduation from the University of Minnesota and serving in the Marines, Lange moved to San Francisco, making his Bay Area broadcast debut as "The All-Night Mayor" on KGO in 1960.

Lange's network television career began in San Francisco with The Ford Show in 1962, where he was the announcer and sidekick to host Tennessee Ernie Ford. Three years later he would sign on to host The Dating Game (1965–1980). He hosted numerous other game shows during those years and adopted a hairpiece best described as a helmet during the early 1970s. Lange appeared as himself on several sitcoms, including Bewitched, Laverne & Shirley, and Moesha among others.