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

 

John Lewis Gilbert III (1928-) aka Johnny Gilbert, was originally a nightclub singer and entertainer. He has worked mainly on television game shows as far back as the 1950s. He is known primarily for his work as the announcer and audience host for countless game shows. Gilbert was selected by Mark Goodson to replace Don Pardo as the announcer and audience host for the original version of The Price Is Right when it moved from NBC to ABC in 1963. Merv Griffin's quiz show Jeopardy! was reintroduced to television in 1984. Its new host, Alex Trebek, convinced Griffin to hire Gilbert as the announcer. His list for hosting game shows is staggering and can be found elsewhere online.

Gilbert's voice was heard on the CBS ceremonies, the People's Choice Awards and Emmy Awards. In addition, he added his distinct voice to episodes of the animated series, The Angry Beavers and Johnny Bravo.

Above, Gilbert was Dinah Shore's announcer and sidekick for Dinah!, beginning in 1974.