Ron Pardo takes his comedy seriously.

The former Cambridge elementary school teacher says knowing your audience -- and knowing your material -- is key to avoiding agonizing moments in the spotlight, an expectant crowd silent.

"It doesn't just happen. You have to work at it," Pardo says of making people laugh.

Since 1995, he's been a standup comic, celebrity impersonator and voice actor in animated television shows. This fall, though, his career has spun in a circle he never expected. Over the last month, he's been contributing voices to the rebirth of television Canadiana: Bob and Doug McKenzie in an animated adult series.

Think the Simpsons meets Strange Brew, with comic icons Rick Moranis and Dave Thomas back again to ensure the Great White North stays true to form.

"These are the guys I used to watch all the time as a kid. Now I'm working with them. It's surreal," Pardo says.

Pardo isn't working one-on-one with Moranis or Thomas in Bob and Doug. He's spending days in a Toronto studio creating voice tracks. Other actors are doing the same thing in Hollywood. Animation comes later.

Pardo turns 50 next month. He grew up with five brothers and sisters in Pardoville -- seriously -- near Blenheim, Ont. Everyone in the clan has musical talent.

As a child, he eagerly watched Hanna-Barbera and Warner Brothers cartoons on television, mimicking what he heard.

"I was the kid who used to read all the credits, to see who did the voices."

As a teen, he started playing drums in local bands with the support of his parents. "They sent me out of the house, to play in the barn."

Cambridge

By 17, he was playing gigs and earning some money in -- wait for it -- a polka band booked into Legion halls and community centres.

"It was what the area demanded," Pardo said.

After high school, he graduated from Ryerson's radio and television program in Toronto and landed work as an announcer in a Chatham radio station. After marrying Colleen, he decided to earn a teaching degree. Colleen is also a teacher.

His first job was at St. Gregory's Catholic elementary in Cambridge, where he worked for six years. Then he went to Christ the King Catholic elementary, where Homer Simpson and Arnold Schwarzenegger began helping with lessons.

In 1993, friends encouraged him to try stand up comedy. In 1994, he was chosen Canada's best new standup comic in a Yuk Yuks competition. He quit teaching, worked standup and took a one-man-show on the road across Canada until 2000. That's when he turned to voice acting and impressions.

It's hard not to wonder if his face is made of rubber, as he contorts into a disturbingly accurate Gary Shandling. In all, he has a repertoire of some 125 faces and voices -- and can blend them on a whim to create hybrids, to meet the need of the moment.

That skill has landed him work providing voices to shows like Bob and Margaret and World of Quest. He's also a regular performing live-action impressions on History Bites.

While funny voices give him steady work, he continues with his live-action impressions. He works corporate training events, using his acting and voice skills to enliven what might otherwise be leaden affairs.

Pardo is also back in a band, but he's not playing polka any more. Wake the Giants plays concert-style rock, covering Guns N' Roses, Led Zeppelin and Jethro Tull anthems.

His kid brother, Jason, is lead singer.  Bob Sprenger  of Guelph plays lead guitar and Neil Light of Cambridge plays bass guitar  Both were members of the 1970s Cambridge band Starchild. Their goal is bookings for corporate events and fundraisers.

Don't sit down and talk with Pardo and expect him to have you rolling on the floor laughing. He's a careful observer of the world around him, listening intently to questions. His answers are thoughtful. And there's still lots of teacher in him, too.

Sure, his wit is a dry and he can transform into the bombastic Don Cherry or egocentric Donald Trump in a heartbeat. Just don't expect him to be cracking jokes with every breath

"I don't go out to be the life of the party, but I do look out for something that's funny."