Willard Scott, the legendary “Today” weatherman known for his enthusiasm and exuberant personality, died Saturday. He was 87.
Scott’s death was confirmed on Twitter by his longtime colleague, Al Roker.
“We lost Willard Scott passed peacefully at 87 surrounded by family, including his daughters Sally and Mary and his lovely wife, Paris,” Roker tweeted. “He was truly my second dad and am where I am today because of his generous spirit. Willard was truly a broadcast icon.”
Scott joined “Today” in 1980. In addition to his duties reporting the weather, he was also noted for his birthday wishes to people turning 100 years old, Today reported. The feature rose in popularity through the years, with the images of people turning 100 appearing on Smucker’s jelly jars while Scott announced his best wishes nationwide.
Scott worked 65 years for NBC, beginning as a page at the network’s affiliate in Washington, D.C., in 1950. On “Today,” it was common to see Scott on the road doing his forecasts.
Scott retired from NBC in 2015, Variety reported.
‘’I just love people,’’ Scott told The New York Times in 1987. ‘’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.’’
That famously included a kiss from first lady Barbara Bush, during the inaugural parade for President George H.W. Bush in 1989.
“How about that? I’ve been kissed by the best,” Scott said during the live segment on Jan. 20, 1989. “I got kissed off by the President, but I got kissed by the first lady.”
“Suddenly I look over and see this very happy face, race over and give that face a kiss [and] race back to George,” Barbara Bush recalled in the segment on “Today” that aired in December 2015. “He said ‘I didn’t know you knew Willard Scott.’ I said, ‘I don’t know Willard Scott. I just love that face.’”
Willard Heman Scott was born March 7, 1934, in Alexandria, Virginia, and he graduated from American University in Washington, D.C., “Today” reported.
In 1955, he began hosting the “Joy Boys” radio show on the NBC radio affiliate WRC and was a mainstay on the show until it ended in 1974.
In the 1960s, he also hosted children’s TV shows and appeared on WRC playing a wide range of characters, including Bozo the Clown, “Today” reported. He also was the first person to play Ronald McDonald, appearing as the fast-food restaurant’s clown in commercials in the D.C. area beginning in 1963.
Scott was a substitute weatherman on WRC-TV in Washington in 1967 when the regular walked off the job. He left the station for “Today” in 1980, where he became an immediate hit, The Washington Post reported. He once dressed up as the flamboyant Carmen Miranda, the Brazilian entertainer known for her fruit-covered hats and garish dresses. On Groundhog Day he appeared as Punxsutawney Phil.
Scott once delivered the forecast dressed as Boy George, The New York Times reported. Another time, Scott reported from an outdoor event and kissed a pig on camera, much to the animal’s dismay, according to the newspaper.
In a 1989 memo, “Today” anchor Bryant Gumbel criticized Scott for holding “the show hostage to his assortment of whims, wishes, birthdays and bad taste,” the Post reported.
“This guy is killing us and no one’s even trying to rein him in,” Gumbel wrote in the memo, which was leaked to media outlets.
Despite criticism, even from colleagues, Scott remained unapologetic about his antics.
“People said I was a buffoon to do it,” Scott told the Times. “Well, all my life I’ve been a buffoon. That’s my act.”
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Dustin Diamond dies at 44 Actor and stand-up comedian Dustin Diamond, best known for portraying Samuel "Screech" Powers in the "Saved by the Bell" franchise, died Monday, Feb. 1, 2021. He was 44. (Ben A. Pruchnie/Getty Images, File)
Hilton Valentine, guitarist for ‘The Animals’ dead at 77 FILE PHOTO: Hilton Valentine guitarist for British rock and roll band, The Animals, has died. He was 77. The photo shows the English rock band when they reformed in 1983 for a world tour. Clockwise from back left, is bassist Chas Chandler, guitarist Hilton Valentine, drummer John Steel, keyboard player Alan Price and singer Eric Burdon. (Photo by Keystone/Hulton Archive/Getty Images) (Keystone/Getty Images)
Sophie Pop artist and producer Sophie, who was nominated for a Grammy Award in 2018, died in Greece on Jan. 30 at the age of 34. (Scott Dudelson/Getty Images for Coachella)
John Chaney Hall of Fame college basketball coach John Chaney, who led Temple University's basketball team to 17 NCAA tournament appearances in 24 years, died at the age of 89, the university announced Jan. 29. ( Joseph Labolito/WireImage)
Cloris Leachman Actress Cloris Leachman, whose eight-decade career included an Oscar-winning performance in "The Last Picture Show" and a role as the grim-faced Frau Blücher in “Young Frankenstein,” died Jan. 2. She was 94. (Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP file)
Jimmie Rodgers Jimmie Rodgers, who scored his biggest hit with "Honeycomb" in 1957, died Jan. 18. He was 87. (Jim McCrary/Redfern)
Legendary talk show host Larry King dead at 87 FILE PHOTO: Legendary talk show host Larry King has died. He was 87. (Rodin Eckenroth/Getty Images)
Gregory Sierra Gregory Sierra, who played Sgt. Miguel “Chano” Amanguale on "Barney Miller," died Jan. 4. Sierra also starred on "Sanford and Son" and appeared in several other television shows. (Walt Disney Television via Getty Images Photo Archives/Walt Disney Television via Getty Images)
Bob Avian Tony Award-winning choreographer Bob Avian died in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, on Jan. 21. He was 83. (Shiho Fukada/Associated Press, File)
Mira Furlan Actress Mira Furlan, who starred in all 111 episodes of "Babylon 5" and also appeared in "Lost." died Jan. 20. She was 65. ( Michael Schwartz/WireImage)
Baseball legend Hank Aaron dead at 86 FILE PHOTO: Legendary baseball slugger Henry “Hank” Aaron has died. He was 86. (Tim Bradbury/Getty Images)
Don Sutton Hall of Fame pitcher Don Sutton, who won 324 games and pitched for six pennant winners during his 23-year major league baseball career, died Jan. 18. He was 75. ( Andrew Snook/Icon Sportswire/Corbis/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
Harry Brant Harry Brant, the son of supermodel Stephanie Seymour and businessman Peter Brant, died Jan. 17 from an accidental overdose. He was 24. ( Gilbert Carrasquillo/FilmMagic)
Phil Spector has died at 81 FILE PHOTO: Music producer Phil Spector, known for his "Wall of Sound" and who was later convicted of murder, has died. He was 81. (Pool/Getty Images)
Sylvain Sylvain Sylvain Sylvain, a guitarist for the New York Dolls, a group that ushered in the punk rock era of the 1970s, died Jan. 13. He was 69. ( Matt Kent/WireImage)
Siegfried Fischbacher FILE PHOTO: Siegfried Fischbacher speaks during the 23rd annual Keep Memory Alive 'Power of Love Gala' benefit for the Cleveland Clinic Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health at MGM Grand Garden Arena on March 16, 2019 in Las Vegas, Nevada. Fischbacher died Jan. 15 at the age of 81. (Bryan Steffy/Getty Images for Keep Memory Ali)
Sheldon Adelson FILE - This Feb. 10, 2017 file photo, Chief Executive of Las Vegas Sands Corporation Sheldon Adelson shows at a business roundtable with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce in Washington. Adelson, the billionaire mogul and power broker who built a casino empire spanning from Las Vegas to China and became a singular force in domestic and international politics has died after a long illness, his wife said Tuesday, Jan. 12, 2021. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik, File) (Andrew Harnik/AP)
Eve Branson FILE PHOTO: Richard Branson (L) and honoree Eve Branson attend the AltaMed Power Up, We Are The Future Gala at the Beverly Wilshire Four Seasons Hotel on May 12, 2016 in Beverly Hills, California. Richard Branson announced the death of his mother due to COVID-19. (Michael Kovac)
Nancy Bush Ellis FILE PHOTO: This Jan. 7, 1990, file photo shows President George H. W. Bush hiding behind his sister, Nancy Ellis, as he prepares for a jog along the C&O canal in the Georgetown section of Washington. A longtime Democrat who helped her Republican brother and nephew get elected president, died of complications of the coronavirus Sunday, Jan. 10, 2021, at an assisted living facility in Concord, Massachusetts. She was 94. (Marcy Nighswander/AP)
Actor John Reilly dead at 86 Actor John Reilly is pictured holding his daughter, Caitlyn Reilly, when she was a child. The longtime soap opera actor died in early January 2021 of an undisclosed cause. (Courtesy Caitlyn Reilly)
Tommy Lasorda FILE PHOTO: Tommy Lasorda of the Los Angeles Dodgers poses for a portrait during spring training photo day at Camelback Ranch on February 20, 2014 in Glendale, Arizona. The Dodgers announced Lasorda died at the age of 93. (Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
Neil Sheehan Neil Sheehan, a Pulitzer Prize-winning author whose articles on the Pentagon Papers triggered a court battle, died Jan. 7. He was 84. (Frederic Reglain/Gamma-Rapho via Getty Images)
Eric Jerome Dickey Bestselling author Eric Jerome Dickey died Jan. 3 in Los Angeles. He was 59. (Joseph Jones via Associated Press )
Tanya Roberts FILE PHOTO: Actress Tanya Roberts arrives at the gala premiere of "Criss Angel Believe" by Cirque du Soleil at the Luxor Resort & Casino October 31, 2008 in Las Vegas, Nevada. The former Bond girl died Jan. 4 at the age of 65. Her death was confirmed after conflicting reports from her publicist and her companion. (Ethan Miller)
Gerry Marsden FILE PHOTO - In this April 25, 1964 file photo, Gerry Marsden leaps over his band, the Pacemakers. Gerry Marsden, the British singer and lead singer of Gerry and the Pacemakers, who was instrumental in turning a song from the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical “Carousel” into one of the great anthems in the world of football, has died. He was 78. (AP)
Paul Westphal Hall of Fame basketball coach Paul Westphal died Jan. 2, the Phoenix Suns announced. He was 70. (Andrew D. Bernstein/NBAE via Getty Images)
Floyd Little Hall of Fame running back Floyd Little, who starred at Syracuse University and for the NFL's Denver Broncos, died Jan. 1. He was 78. ( Hyoung Chang/The Denver Post via Getty Images)