NEW YORK, Dec. 11 (UPI) — Willard Scott announced his retirement from Today Friday.
The 81-year-old television personality was with the NBC morning program for 35 years, and worked for the network for 65. The Today cast will pay tribute to Scott on the Dec. 15 episode.
“Bittersweet news for the TODAY family…our friend Willard Scott is retiring,” the show captioned a throwback photo of the weatherman on Instagram. “Tune in Tuesday as we honor him. #ThankYouWillard #TODAYShow.”
Scott joined Today as a weatherman in 1980, and passed his duties to Al Roker in 1996. He continued to appear on the series for a biweekly Smucker’s segment wishing centenarians a happy 100th birthday.
“He’s my second dad, he really is,” Roker said of Scott on Friday’s episode. “And you know, he was in the control room in Washington, D.C., the morning this show first went on the air, as a page.”
Scott joined NBC in 1950 as a page at the network’s WRC-AM radio station, where he co-hosted the Joy Boys radio show from 1955 to 1972. He also played Ronald McDonald in McDonald’s adverts in the 1960s, and is the voice of Smucker’s commercials.
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