Willard Scott, weatherman on NBCs Today show, dies at 87

The Associated Press

3 years ago

IMAGE DISTRIBUTED FOR THE J.M. SMUCKER COMPANY - TV personality Willard Scott celebrates the la ... — IMAGE DISTRIBUTED FOR THE J.M. SMUCKER COMPANY – TV personality Willard Scott celebrates the launch of Smucker’s new Fruit-Fulls Pure Blended Fruit, Wednesday, June 25, 2014, in New York City’s Flatiron District. Smucker’s Fruit-Fulls Pure Blended Fruit are made from all-natural, high quality ingredients and available at retail and grocery stores nationwide. (Diane Bondareff/Invision for The J.M. Smucker Company/AP Images)

Former NBC "Today" television program hosts Tom Brokaw, left, Jane Pauley, second left, Deborah Norville, center, and Katie Couric, right, with veteran weatherman Willard Scott, gather for a toast in New York’s Rockefeller Center, Friday, Jan. 13, 2012. They appeared on the show’s 60th anniversary broadcast. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

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.”

Scott began his 65-year career at NBC as an entry-level 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 congratulations to viewers who turned 100 years old.