On Tuesday, August 19, 2014 12:14:06 AM UTC-4, Brad Beam wrote: > > Don Pardo, 96. > > > http://www.nytimes.com/2014/08/19/nyregion/don-pardo-the-voice-of-saturday-night-live-dies-at-96.html?smid=tw-share&_r=0 > > >
Here’s my favorite Don Pardo story, one hinted at in his Times obituary. He told this story at the Game Show Congress in LA a few years ago, and Steve Beverly briefly posted it on his site; I’m writing this from memory. The original NBC version of THE PRICE IS RIGHT made Don Pardo famous when it premiered in 1956. It was the number one show in daytime TV for years, and the weekly nighttime version was in the top ten. Host Bill Cullen interacted with Don on the air often; Don even filled in for Bill once, and Don’s daughter Paula was an occasional model on the show. Don introduced the show’s catchphrase, “This fabulous showcase can be yours… IF THE PRICE IS RIGHT!” Eventually, though, the show’s popularity faded, and in 1963 NBC canceled the show. At that time Don was making $40,000 per year – at a time that the average American worker earned about $6,000 or $8,000. Adjusted for inflation, $40,000 then is the equivalent of $311,000 today. Mark Goodson, the producer of TPIR, called Don into his office and said “NBC is canceling THE PRICE IS RIGHT, but we’re taking it to ABC. I want you to be our announcer at ABC. How much is NBC paying you, $40,000? I’ll double it. I’ll give you $80,000.” Don went home and told his wife Catherine about the offer. (They’d been married since 1938.) She was thrilled. Then Don said, “I can’t do it.” “What do you mean, you can’t do it?” said Catherine. “I can’t leave NBC. I can’t give up my pension – it’s too big a risk. Besides, what if THE PRICE IS RIGHT flops on ABC?” Catherine was furious. She vowed never to speak to him again. For the next six months, she made sure Don had a hot cooked meal every night, but she did not speak to him. Finally, after six months, Don came home one day and informed Catherine that he’d just been hired as the announcer on a new game show called JEOPARDY. When that happened, Catherine started speaking to him again. They remained married until Catherine’s death in 1995. And THE PRICE IS RIGHT? That only lasted two years on ABC; the revamped version with Bob Barker came along in 1972. Pardo’s replacement on the ABC version was Johnny Gilbert – who has filled Don’s old role as the announcer on JEOPARDY since 1984. -- -- TV or Not TV .... The Smartest (TV) People! You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "TV or Not TV" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/tvornottv?hl=en --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "TVorNotTV" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
