‘Today’ show’s Willard Scott dies
Self-deprecating weatherman cheered viewers through 1996
NEW YORK – Willard Scott, the beloved weatherman who charmed viewers of NBC’s “Today” show with his self-deprecating humor and cheerful personality, has died. He was 87.
His successor on the morning news show, Al Roker, announced that Scott died peacefully Saturday morning surrounded by family. An NBC Universal spokeswoman confirmed the news. No further details were released.
“He was truly my second dad and am where I am today because of his generous spirit,” Roker wrote on Instagram. “Willard was a man of his times, the ultimate broadcaster. There will never be anyone quite like him.”
Former “Today” co-host Katie Couric shared on Twitter she was “heartbroken” to hear the news.
“He played such an outsized role in my life and was as warm and loving and generous off-camera as he was on,” Couric tweeted.
Scott began his 65-year career at NBC as an entrylevel page at an affiliate station in Washington, D.C., and rose to become the weather forecaster on the network’s flagship morning show for more than three decades. His trademark was giving on-air birthday greetings to viewers who turned 100 years old by putting their faces on Smucker’s jelly jars and delivering weather updates in zany costumes.
He often dressed as Santa Claus at the National Tree Lighting ceremony throughout the 1980s and coanchored NBC’s coverage of the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade between 1987 to 1997.
Scott handed the reins to Roker in 1996.