The Ultimate Don Pardo Tribute Video [VIDEO]

In case you missed the news, long time NBC employee and "Saturday Night Loive" announcer Don Pardo recently passed away at the age of 96. He had a lifetime contract with the network and still was doing SNL up until his death.

I'm a bit of an "Saturday Night Live" trivia buff and was a huge fan of the show for most of my life. As I've grown a bit older, my focus on the program has waned for a couple of reasons, not the least of which is the fact that I'm usually sleeping by 9:30 p.m. on Saturday nights.

Anyway, I was a big admirer of Don Pardo's voice and delivery through the years on SNL and wanted to pass along these two videos. I had heard a story in the past few years about Pardo being too ill to perform one week on the show . It was too late to do anything else, so master impressionist Darrell Hammond simply filled in. I kind of chalked it up to an urban legend, but here's Pardo confirming that it's totally true:

Meanwhile, this one was passed along by morning news man, Dave Alpert. It's the ultimate Don Pardo tribute video. The person who posted it says:

I helped with the clips for this video tribute to DON PARDO for a private NBC party in his honor. This never aired. Thought I'd post it on the sad day of Pardo's passing at the age of 96.

Here it is: