Willard Scott, the animated weatherman who spent 65 legendary years at NBC, has died at the age of 87, according to US media reports.
Scott, who launched the tradition of celebrating centenarians, was born on March 7, 1934, in Washington D.C. He died surrounded by his family, according to Today show weatherman Al Roker.
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“We lost a beloved member of our @todayshow family this morning,” Roker shared on Instagram. “Willard Scott passed peacefully at the age of 87 surrounded by family, including his daughters Sally and Mary and his lovely wife, Paris. He was truly my second dad and am where I am today because of his generous spirit. Willard was a man of his times, the ultimate broadcaster. There will never be anyone quite like him.”
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Scott announced his departure from the Today show in December 2015, but he continued to come on the show on a regular basis to wish fans who had turned 100 (or more) a warm “Happy Birthday,” carrying on a triple-digit tradition he started in 1983.
″I just love people,″ he told The New York Times in 1987. ″A lot of speakers on the talk circuit leave right afterward. I do a lot of shmoozing. I’m like a dog. You just open the door and I go, ‘rrrr, rrrr,’ and then I lick everybody’s face.″
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In 1955, he began presenting the NBC radio station WRC’s “Joy Boys” radio show, which he continued to host until 1974. He also hosted children’s TV shows in the 1960s and featured on WRC as a variety of characters, including Bozo the Clown, a bygone children’s classic who aired on radio stations throughout the country in the 1960s and 1970s.
Scott also has the distinction of being the first person to play Ronald McDonald, appearing in Washington, D.C., advertisements beginning in 1963.
Throughout the 1970s, Scott stayed in Washington, working as a weatherman for NBC’s local channel 4 affiliate. In March 1980, the network approached him, and he took over as TODAY’s weatherman from Bob Ryan.
