  darrell hammond (born october 8, 1955) is an american actor, stand-up comedian and impressionist. he was a regular on saturday night live from 1995 until 2009, the longest tenure of any cast member in the show's history. upon his departure, hammond, at age 53, was also the oldest cast member in the show's history. hammond has made more snl appearances than any other cast member and has impersonated more than 107 celebrities, with bill clinton as his most frequent impression. hammond held the record for most impressions done by a cast member with 107, until being beaten by kenan thompson on may 3, 2014. as of december 10, 2011, he had appeared on the show eight times since leaving the cast. on september 19, 2014, hammond was announced as the new announcer of snl, replacing don pardo, who had died the month before. ==early life== hammond was born in melbourne, florida, the son of margaret and max hammond. he played baseball in high school and at brevard community college. he went on to attend the university of florida, where he graduated in 1978 with a degree in advertising and a 2.1 gpa. he credits uf theater professor david shelton for encouraging his work. after completing college, hammond moved to new york city where he worked as a waiter, studied at hb studio, did roles in theater productions, performed one set at a comedy club at age 26, and then returned to florida, where he became a voiceover artist in the orlando area. ==career== ===saturday night live=== during the 2004&ndash;2005 season, hammond set the record for the longest consecutive tenure of any snl cast member in the show's history. he also holds snl records for the second most impressions by a single cast member (107, as of the zac efron/yeah yeah yeahs episode), beat only by cast member kenan thompson, who holds a record of 108, and also for the most times saying the show's catchphrase
1955_births 20th-century_American_male_actors 21st-century_American_male_actors American_impressionists_(entertainers) American_male_film_actors American_male_television_actors American_stand-up_comedians Living_people Male_actors_from_Florida People_from_Melbourne,_Florida People_with_bipolar_disorder People_with_borderline_personality_disorder People_with_schizophrenia University_of_Florida_alumni