Don Pardo, voice of 'SNL'

NEW YORK

- Few would recognize his face, but most knew his voice: the booming baritone that for nearly four decades heralded "Saturday Night Live."

Don Pardo, the eras-spanning radio and TV announcer whose resonant voice-over style was celebrated for its majesty and power, died Monday in Arizona at age 96.

"He became our link to the beginnings of television on NBC - and radio," said Lorne Michaels, who, as creator of "SNL," hired Pardo.

Pardo's strong jaw and leading-man smile were seldom on display, but for more than 60 years his elegant pipes graced newscasts, game shows and especially "SNL."

Dominick George Pardo was born in Westfield, Mass., and grew up in Norwich, Conn.

After graduating from Boston's Emerson College in 1942, he began his vocal career at radio station WJAR in Providence, R.I.

Two years later, he was hired by a supervisor at NBC immediately upon hearing his voice. He moved to NBC's New York affiliate, and never left the network.

Pardo retired from NBC in 2004.

"But Lorne Michaels called me soon after and asked if I would continue for three more weeks, so I did," Pardo said in 2010. "Then he called and asked if I would do five more, and so on. I never really left."

In 2010, he was inducted into the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences' Hall of Fame. Pardo is survived by five children.