Darrell Hammond returning to 'SNL' as announcer

The irreplaceable Don Pardo is being replaced as Saturday Night Live's stentorian announcer, and Lorne Michaels didn't have to look far: Longtime cast member Darrell Hammond is rejoining the show as the (mostly) unseen voice introducing the show, its cast and Weekend Update when the 40th season opens Sept. 27.

Hammond, 58, was SNL's longest-tenured star, spending 14 seasons at NBC's Studio 8H from 1995 to 2009. A master of mimicry, he played few characters but did 107 impressions, led by his flawless Bill Clinton, Al Gore, Donald Trump, Regis Philbin and Sean Connery, who famously sparred with Will Ferrell's Alex Trebek in Jeopardy! segments. Clinton's was the most fun — "the guy's personality was so vivid, so strong, so interesting," he says — but Connery "was easily the most cross-culturally popular thing I've ever done. I still have people come up to me and shout out their favorite lines."

But many viewers don't know that Hammond also impersonated Pardo, who died last month at age 96 after a 70-year NBC career, including all 39 seasons of SNL. "I sat in for Don when he had laryngitis several times over the years," Hammond says. "He was a lovely person. When he passed, they wanted me; it felt right for me to be the one to replace him. It's been a very improbable life; I didn't expect something like this, but it feels real good."

This time Hammond won't simply channel Pardo's voice. Michaels, who calls Hammond "staggeringly versatile," says he'll come up with a new version that respects the announcer's legacy and will be paired with a new opening-credit montage. "I just knew it wouldn't be anybody who sounded like Don or replicated him," Michaels says. "It can't be what it was, but it could sort of be in the same tradition. And it will be nice to have Darrell around. He understands the show and will probably be helpful in ways we haven't yet figured out."

He's one of several changes this season: Former writer (and current Daily Show correspondent) Michael Che will be paired with Colin Jost at the Update anchor desk, displacing Cecily Strong, who remains with the show. Pete Davidson joins as a new featured player, while Noel Wells, John Milhiser and Brooks Wheelan are gone, as is Mike O'Brien, who remains a writer. Chris Pratt, Sarah Silverman and Bill Hader host the first three shows (Hader's marks his first turn as host since he left last year).

Hammond felt he overstayed his welcome at SNL —"I was always part of the politics of it, and after Bush left office there wasn't really anyone for me to play" — but found it more difficult to quit a job that "you spent most of your adult life trying to get."

Since then, he's played a sociopath on FX's Damages, appeared in TBS comedy Are We There Yet? and on the stand-up circuit. He's also developing a one-man play at the La Jolla (Calif.) Playhouse based on his bestselling 2011 memoir about his troubled childhood, drug abuse and SNL career.