NBC Legend Dies

When you think of the history of NBC’s Today Show and think back to the weather anchors, it is likely only two names will come to mind.

Al Roker and Willard Scott.

Before Roker there was Scott. He did the weather, but he didn’t use fancy maps or Doppler radar, he wasn’t even a Meteorologist. But he was always smiling, joking and having fun.

NBC quietly pushed Scott to the exit and handed it off to Roker, but it was done almost so perfectly that viewers barely noticed.

Scott still made Today Show appearances, most often to wish viewers that turned 100 years old and Happy Birthday. Scott would show the 100+ viewers pictures on a graphic of a Smucker’s Jelly bottle.

It gave viewers a chance to still see the beloved Scott and NBC raked in ad dollars from Smucker’s, it was a win, win.

Before Today, Scott was the longtime Weatherman in DC and also was the first person to play Ronald McDonald, appearing in commercials in the Washington area starting in 1963.

Scott loved people, once telling the NY times, ''A lot of speakers on the talk circuit leave right afterward. I do a lot of schmoozing. I'm like a dog. You just open the door and I go, 'rrrr, rrrr,' and then I lick everybody's face."

Sadly Scott never made it to the side of a Smucker’s jar, he passed away at 87 years old, but he packed a heck of a life into those 87 years.

NBC has a tribute video posted on their website, but you have to sit through an ad before it plays. Even in death, it appears NBC wanted to bleed a few more ad dollars from Willard Scott.