Willard Scott, weatherman on NBC’s ‘Today’ show, dies at 87

FILE - Actress Betty White poses for a portrait following her appearance on the television talk show "In the House," in Burbank, Calif., Tuesday, Nov. 24, 2009. Betty White, whose saucy, up-for-anything charm made her a television mainstay for more than 60 years, has died. She was 99. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello, File) — FILE – Actress Betty White poses for a portrait following her appearance on the television talk show “In the House,” in Burbank, Calif., Tuesday, Nov. 24, 2009. Betty White, whose saucy, up-for-anything charm made her a television mainstay for more than 60 years, has died. She was 99. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello, File)

FILE - Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., speaks to reporters in the Capitol after winning election by his Democratic peers as the new Senate minority leader, on Nov. 16, 2004, in Washington. Reid, the former Senate majority leader and Nevada’s longest-serving member of Congress, has died. He was 82. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File) — FILE – Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., speaks to reporters in the Capitol after winning election by his Democratic peers as the new Senate minority leader, on Nov. 16, 2004, in Washington. Reid, the former Senate majority leader and Nevada’s longest-serving member of Congress, has died. He was 82. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File)

John Madden, the Hall of Fame coach turned broadcaster whose exuberant calls combined with simple explanations provided a weekly soundtrack to NFL games for three decades, died Dec. 28, the NFL said. He was 85. (USA TODAY Sports/Howard Smith-USA TODAY Sports)

Author Joan Didion sits in front of a photo of herself holding her daughter, Quintana Roo, and another picture of her daughter’s wedding, in her New York apartment Sept. 26, 2005. Didion, the revered author and essayist whose provocative social commentary and detached, methodical literary voice made her a uniquely clear-eyed critic of a uniquely turbulent time, has died. She was 87. (AP Photo/Kathy Willens, File)

In this file photo of Saturday, April 16, 2016, the Mexican singer Vicente Fernandez performs at a free concert at Azteca Stadium. Fernández, the regional Mexican music star whose powerful voice immortalized songs like “El rey”, “Volver, Volver” and “Pity that you are alien” while inspiring new generations of performers like his son Alejandro Fernández Jr., He died early Sunday, Dec. 12, 2021, relatives reported. He was 81 years old. (AP Photo/Marco Ugarte)

FILE – Formula 1 race car driver Al Unser is seen in 1993. Unser, one of only four drivers to win the Indianapolis 500 a record four times, died Thursday, Dec. 9, 2021, following years of health issues. He was 82. (AP Photo, File)

Denver Broncos wide receiver Demaryius Thomas jokes with reporters after drills at the team’s NFL football training camp Thursday, Aug. 6, 2015, in Englewood, Colo. Thomas, who earned five straight Pro Bowl honors and a Super Bowl ring during a prolific receiving career spent mostly with the Denver Broncos, has died at the age of 33. Thomas was found dead in his suburban Atlanta home Dec. 9, said Officer Tim Lupo, public information officer for the police department in Roswell, Georgia. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

AP Photo/David Zalubowski

FILE – Composer and lyricist Stephen Sondheim poses after being awarded the Freedom of the City of London at a ceremony at the Guildhall in London, on Sept. 27, 2018. Sondheim, the songwriter who reshaped the American musical theater in the second half of the 20th century, has died at age 91. Sondheim’s death was announced by his Texas-based attorney, Rick Pappas, who told The New York Times the composer died Friday, Nov. 26, 2021, at his home in Roxbury, Conn. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth, File)

FILE – Young Dolph performs at The Parking Lot Concert in Atlanta on Sunday, Aug. 23, 2020. Officials say rapper Young Dolph has been fatally shot at a cookie shop in his hometown of Memphis, Tennessee, and a search is underway for the shooter. (Photo by Paul R. Giunta/Invision/AP, File)

Graeme Edge, drummer for The Moody Blues, waves on the red carpet before the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony April 14, 2018, in Cleveland. Edge, a drummer and co-founder of the band, has died. He was 80. The band’s frontman, Justin Hayward, confirmed Edge’s death Thursday, Nov. 11, 2021, on the group’s website. The cause of his death has not been revealed. Hayward called Edge the backbone of the British rock band. The band’s last album was released in 2003. (AP Photo/David Richard, File)

This image released by CBS shows the cast of the daytime drama series “The Young and the Restless.” The long-running daytime drama won the Emmy for outstanding drama series at the 47th annual Daytime Emmy Awards. Jerry Douglas, who played family patriarch John Abbott for over 30 years, died Nov. 9, 2021. He was 88. (Sonja Flemming/CBS via AP)

Sonja Flemming/CBS via AP

Jo-Carroll Dennison, 97, who held the Miss America title during World War II and broke with convention by refusing to wear a swimsuit onstage after the pageant, passed away at her home in California last month, according to her friend Evan Mills. (Photo Courtesy Getty Images/20th Century-Fox/Film Favorites)

Peter Scolari arrives at the 68th Primetime Emmy Awards in Los Angeles on Sept. 18, 2016. Scolari, a versatile character actor whose television roles included a yuppie producer on “Newhart” and a closeted dad on “Girls” and who was on Broadway in “Hairspray” and “Wicked,” died Friday morning in New York after fighting cancer for two years, according to Ellen Lubin Sanitsky, his longtime manager. He was 66. (Photo by Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP, File)

Alan Kalter, the announcer on “Late Show With David Letterman,” has died, according to Rabbi Joshua Hammerman of Temple Beth El in Connecticut. Kalter is shown here in the the Late Show studio, Nov. 20, 2003, in New York. (AP)

This June 7, 2017 file photo shows Roger Michell in London. Roger Michell, the British stage, television and film director whose movies include the hit romcom “Notting Hill,” has died. He was 65. Michell’s family announced his death on Wednesday Sept. 22, 2021 in a statement on Thursday. (Ian West/PA via AP, File)

Gotham Tribute Honors recipient, filmmaker Melvin Van Peebles attends the 18th Annual Gotham Independent Film Awards at Cipriani Wall Street on Tuesday, Dec. 2, 2008, in New York. Van Peebles, a Broadway playwright, musician and movie director whose work ushered in the “blaxploitation” films of the 1970s, has died at age 89. His family said in a statement that Van Peebles died Tuesday night, Sept. 21, 2021, at his home. (AP Photo/Evan Agostini, File)

FILE – Willie Garson arrives at The Alliance for Children’s Rights 28th Annual Dinner in Beverly Hills, Calif., on March 5, 2020. Garson, who played Stanford Blatch on TV’s “Sex and the City” and its movie sequels, has died, his son announced Tuesday, Sept. 21, 2021. He was 57. (Photo by Willy Sanjuan/Invision/AP, File)

A.J. Johnson of “Friday” and “House Party” was reported dead on Sept. 20, 2021. He was 55. (BH Talent)

In this July 1986 file photo, Actress Jane Powell poses for a photo in New York. Jane Powell, the bright-eyed, operatic-voiced star of Hollywood’s golden age musicals who sang with Howard Keel in “Seven Brides for Seven Brothers” and danced with Fred Astaire in “Royal Wedding,” has died. Thursday, Sept. 16, 2021. She was 92. (AP Photo/Richard Drew, File)

Norm MacDonald arrives at the NBC Universal Summer Press Day in Pasadena, Calif., on April 2, 2015. MacDonald, a comedian and former cast member on “Saturday Night Live,” died Tuesday, Sept. 14, 2021, after a nine-year battle with cancer that he kept private, according to Brillstein Entertainment Partners, his management firm in Los Angeles. He was 61. (Photo by Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP, File)

Hiromi, George Wein — FILE – In this Aug. 4, 2013, file photo, Newport Jazz Festival producer and founder George Wein appears on stage at the Newport Jazz Festival in Newport, R.I. Wein, an impresario of 20th century music who helped found the Newport Jazz and Folk festivals and set the template for gatherings everywhere from Woodstock to the south of France, died Monday, Sept. 13, 2021. He was 95. (AP Photo/Joe Giblin, File)

Actor Michael Constantine at his sister’s home in 2016. On Sept. 9, 2021, it was announced that he had died the week prior at age 94. (Photo By Harold Hoch/MediaNews Group/Reading Eagle via Getty Images)

In this Oct. 14, 2013 file photo, French actor Jean-Paul Belmondo poses for photographers as he arrives at the opening ceremony of the 5th edition of the Lumiere Festival, in Lyon, central France. French New Wave actor Jean-Paul Belmondo has died, according to his lawyer’s office on Monday Sept. 6, 2021. (AP Photo/Laurent Cipriani, File)

In this Sunday, Feb. 9, 2020, file photo, Michael K. Williams arrives at the Vanity Fair Oscar Party in Beverly Hills, Calif. Williams, who played the beloved character Omar Little on “The Wire,” has died. New York City police say Williams was found dead Monday, Sept. 6, 2021, at his apartment in Brooklyn. He was 54. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP, File)

Willard Scott, weathercaster on the NBC “Today” television program, appears during a segment of the show in New York Wednesday Nov. 21, 2007. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

In this March 7, 2010, file photo, actor Ed Asner arrives during the 82nd Academy Awards in the Hollywood section of Los Angeles. Asner, the blustery but lovable Lou Grant in two successful television series, has died. He was 91. Asner’s representative confirmed the death in an email Sunday, Aug. 29, 2021, to The Associated Press. (AP Photo/Matt Sayles, File)

Charlie Watts of the Rolling Stones performs during the concert of their No Filter Europe Tour 2017 at U Arena in Nanterre, outside Paris, France, on Oct. 22, 2017. Watts’ publicist, Bernard Doherty, said Watts passed away peacefully in a London hospital surrounded by his family on Tuesday, Aug. 24, 2021. He was 80. (AP Photo/Michel Euler, File)

FILE – In this Tuesday Oct. 30, 2012 file photo, Tom T. Hall accepts the Icon Award at the 60th Annual BMI Country Awards in Nashville, Tenn. Singer-songwriter Tom T. Hall, who composed “Harper Valley P.T.A.” and sang about life’s simple joys as country music’s consummate blue collar bard, has died. He was 85. His son, Dean Hall, confirmed the musician’s death Friday, Aug. 20, 2021 at his home in Franklin, Tennessee. (Photo by Wade Payne/Invision/AP, File)

Hall of Fame college football coach Bobby Bowden, who won two national titles at Florida State, died on Aug. 8, 2021. He was 91. Pictured: Bowden watches his team take on the West Virginia Mountaineers during the Konica Minolta Gator Bowl on January 1, 2010 in Jacksonville, Florida. (Photo by Doug Benc/Getty Images)

Dennis “Dee Tee” Thomas, a founding member of the long-running soul-funk band Kool & the Gang known for such hits as “Celebration” and “Get Down On It,” died Aug. 7, 2021. He was 70. In this Aug. 3, 2008 file photo, Thomas performs in Bethlehem, Pa. (Joe Gill/The Express-Times via AP)

Ron Popeil, the man behind those late-night, rapid-fire television commercials that sell everything from the Mr. Microphone to the Pocket Fisherman to the classic Veg-a-Matic, sits surrounded by his wares in his Beverly Hills office on Dec. 8, 1982. His Ronco Company accounts for $35 million in annual retail sales with its current line of 17 products. He died July 28, 2021 at 86. (AP Photo/Reed Saxon)

FILE – Dusty Hill, of ZZ Top, performs before the start of the NASCAR Sprint Cup series auto race in Concord, N.C., May 24, 2015. ZZ Top has announced that Hill, one of the Texas blues trio’s bearded figures and bassist, has died at his Houston home. He was 72. In a Facebook post, bandmates Billy Gibbons and Frank Beard revealed Wednesday, July 28, 2021, that Hill had died in his sleep. (AP Photo/Mike McCarn, File)

Brenna Gray, Joey Jordison — FILE – Slipknot band member Joey Jordison participates in a news conference about the death of bassist Paul Gray on May 25, 2010, in Des Moines, Iowa. Jordison, the founding drummer of the band Slipknot, has died at age 46. Jordison’s family says he died peacefully in his sleep Monday, July 26, 2021. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall, File)

FILE – Actor/comedian Jackie Mason stands beside a bus displaying a sign advertising his TV show, 1992. Mason, a rabbi-turned-jokester whose feisty brand of standup comedy got laughs from nightclubs in the Catskills to West Coast talk shows and Broadway stages, has died. He was 93. Mason died Saturday, July 24, 2021, in Manhattan, the celebrity lawyer Raoul Felder told The Associated Press. (AP Photo/File)

FILE – Biz Markie attends the 20th Century Fox press line on Day 2 of Comic-Con International on July 25, 2014, in San Diego. The hip-hop staple known for his beatboxing prowess, turntable mastery and the 1989 classic “Just a Friend,” has died. He was 57. Markie’s representative, Jenni Izumi, said in a statement that the rapper-DJ died peacefully Friday, July 16, 2021, with his wife by his side. No cause of death was released. (Photo by Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP, File)

In this Oct. 11, 2011, file photo, former U.S. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld speaks to politicians and academics during a luncheon on security in rising Asia, in Taipei, Taiwan. The family of Rumsfeld says he has died. He was 88. (AP Photo/Wally Santana, File)

FILE – In this Oct. 24, 2011 file photo, writer Delia Fiallo speaks during an interview in her home in Coral Gables, Fla. Fiallo, who wrote many successful telenovelas, such as “Cristal” and “Kasandra,” has died on Tuesday, June 29, 2021. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky, File)

Johnny Solinger, former lead singer of rock band Skid Row, died Sunday, June 27, 2021 from liver failure. Photo by Neil H Kitson/Redferns via Getty Images (Redferns via Getty Images/Neil H Kitson)

John Langley, creator of the television show “Cops,” died Saturday, June 26, 2021 of an apparent heart attack during the Coast to Coast Ensenada-San Felipe 250 off-road race in Baja, Mexico. He was 78. AP Photo/Nati Harnik (AP/Nati Harnik)

Frank Bonner, who played the plaid-suit-loving salesman Herb Tarlek on the TV comedy “WKRP in Cincinnati,” died on Wednesday, June 16, 2021. He was 79.

The New Yorker writer Janet Malcolm leaves the Federal Courthouse in San Francisco on June 3, 1993 in the suit trial brought by psychoanalyst Jeffrey Masson, who claims he was misquoted and libeled in a 1983 magazine article. Malcolm, the inquisitive and boldly subjective author and reporter known for her challenging critiques of everything from murder cases and art to journalism itself, has died. She was 86. Malcolm’s death was confirmed Thursday by a spokesperson for The New Yorker, where Malcolm was a longtime staff writer. (AP Photo/George Nikitin, File)

In this Oct. 17, 2003, file photo, actor Ned Beatty poses at New York’s Music Box Theatre where he plays the role of Big Daddy in a new production of Tennessee Williams’ “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof.” Beatty, the indelible character actor whose first film role, as a genial vacationer brutally raped by a backwoodsman in 1972′s “Deliverance,” launched him on a long, prolific and accomplished career, died Sunday, June 13, 2021. He was 83. (AP Photo/Gino Domenico, File)

Gavin MacLeod, Georgia Engel — In this July 31, 2018 file photo shows actor Gavin MacLeod during a panel discussion on the PBS special “Betty White: First Lady of Television” during the 2018 Television Critics Association Summer Press Tour at the Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills, Calif. Gavin MacLeod has died. His nephew told the trade paper Variety that MacLeod died early Saturday, May 29, 2021. (Photo by Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP, File)

Illustrator Eric Carle reads from “Baby Bear, Baby Bear, What Do You See?” on Oct. 1, 2007 in New York. The beloved children’s author and illustrator whose classic works gave millions of kids some of their earliest and most cherished literary memories, has died. Carle was 91. Through books like “Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?” “Do You Want to Be My Friend?” and “From Head to Toe,” Carle introduced universal themes in simple words and bright colors. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer, File)

This March 29, 2016 image released by Meet The Blacks, LLC shows Paul Mooney posing at the premiere of “Meet the Blacks” in Los Angeles. Mooney, a boundary-pushing comedian who was Richard Pryor’s longtime writing partner and whose sage, incisive musings on racism and American life made him a revered figure in stand-up, died of a heart attack at his Oakland, Calif. home on Wednesday. He was 79. (Eric Charbonneau/Meet The Blacks via AP)

Actor/comedian Charles Grodin, appears at a news conference announcing him as host of CNBC’s new primetime show “Charles Grodin” in New York on Nov. 15, 1994. Grodin, the offbeat actor and writer who scored as a newlywed cad in “The Heartbreak Kid” and the father in the “Beethoven” comedies, died Tuesday at his home in Wilton, Conn. from bone marrow cancer. He was 86. (AP Photo/Marty Lederhandler, File)

This May 28, 1998 file photo shows Tawny Kitaen. Kitaen, the sultry red-haired actress who appeared in rock music videos during they heyday of MTV, has died. She was 59. Authorities in Orange County, California say she died at her home in Newport Beach on Friday, May 7, 2021. (Bruce C. Strong/The Orange County Register via AP)

Olympia Dukakis, Cher, Cherilyn Sarkisian — In this Jan. 24, 1988 file photo, Actress Olympia Dukakis, winner of a Golden Globe for “Best Performance in a Supporting Role” and Cher, winner of the “Best Performance by an Actress in a musical or comedy”, hold the awards they received for performances in the hit movie “Moonstruck” at the Beverly Hilton Hotel. Olympia Dukakis, the veteran stage and screen actress whose flair for maternal roles helped her win an Oscar as Cher’s mother in the romantic comedy “Moonstruck,” has died. She was 89. (AP Photo/Reed Saxon, File)

anne douglas — Anne Douglas, widow of the late legendary Hollywood actor Kirk Douglas, died April 30 at the age of 102, her family said. (Photo credit should read DAVID MCNEW/AFP via Getty Images)

In this photo provided by Nzazi Malonga, Shock G, left, poses at the “All Eyez On Me” film premiere in Los Angeles on June 14, 2017. Shock G, who blended whimsical wordplay with reverence for ’70s funk as leader of the off-kilter hip-hop group Digital Underground, has died. He was 57. Nzazi Malonga, a longtime friend who served as head of security and helped manage the group, said the rapper-producer was found unresponsive Thursday, April 22, 2021, in a hotel room in Tampa, Fla. (Nzazi Malonga via AP)

Inductee Jim Steinman speaks at the 2012 Songwriters Hall of Fame induction and awards gala in New York on June 14, 2012. Steinman, the Grammy-winning composer and playwright who wrote Meat Loaf’s best-selling “Bat Out Of Hell” debut album as well as hits for Celine Dion, Air Supply and Bonnie Tyler, has died, at 73. Bill Steinman told The Associated Press that his brother died Monday from kidney failure and was ill for some time. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision, File)

Jimmy Carter, Walter Mondale — In this Thursday, Oct. 1, 2009, file photo, former President Jimmy Carter, right, laughs, as his former Vice President Walter Mondale speaks during a reopening ceremony for the newly resigned Carter Presidential Library in Atlanta. Carter was also celebrating his 85th birthday. Mondale, a liberal icon who lost the most lopsided presidential election after bluntly telling voters to expect a tax increase if he won, died Monday, April 19, 2021. He was 93. (AP Photo/John Bazemore, File)

Black Rob performs at the Hot 97 Summer Jam on June 7, 2015, in East Rutherford, N.J. The rapper, known for his hit “Whoa!” and key contributions to Diddy’s Bad Boy Records in the 1990s and early 2000s, has died. He was 52. Black Rob died Saturday, April 17, 2021, in Atlanta, according to longtime friend and former labelmate Mark Curry. (Photo by Scott Roth/Invision/AP, File)

In this March 10, 2009, file photo, former financier Bernie Madoff leaves federal court in Manhattan, in New York. Madoff, the financier who pleaded guilty to orchestrating the largest Ponzi scheme in history, has died in prison, a person familiar with the matter tells The Associated Press. (AP Photo/David Karp, File)

DMX performs during the BET Hip Hop Awards in Atlanta on Oct. 1, 2011. The family of rapper DMX says he has died at age 50 after a career in which he delivered iconic hip-hop songs such as “Ruff Ryders’ Anthem.” A statement from the family says the Grammy-nominated rapper died at a hospital in White Plains, New York, “with his family by his side after being placed on life support for the past few days. He was rushed to a New York hospital from his home April 2. (AP Photo/David Goldman, File)

In this Wednesday July 22, 2020 file photo, Britain’s Prince Philip arrives for a ceremony for the transfer of the Colonel-in-Chief of the Rifles from himself to Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, at Windsor Castle, England. Buckingham Palace says Prince Philip, husband of Queen Elizabeth II, has died aged 99. (Adrian Dennis/Pool via AP, File)

G. Gordon Liddy, a mastermind of the Watergate burglary and a radio talk show host after emerging from prison, died at age 90. (AP)

In this photo from April 30, 2014, Pulitzer Prize-winning author Larry McMurtry poses at his book store in Archer City, Texas. McMurtry died March 25, 2021. He was 84. (AP Photo/LM Otero, File)

AP Photo/LM Otero, File

This Sept. 18, 2005 file photo shows Ron Leibman, left, with his wife Jessica Walter at the 57th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards in Los Angeles. Leibman, who appeared in movies, theater and television in a career that spanned six decades and won a Tony for Tony Kushner’s iconic play ”Angels in America,” has died after an illness at age 82. Walter died March 24, 2021 at age 80. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello, File)

AP Photo/Chris Pizzello, File

SEGAL SAN GIACOMO — Cast members from the NBC “Just Shoot Me,” George Segal, left, and Laura San-Giacomo appear at the TCA winter press tour in Pasadena, Calif. on Jan. 10, 1997. Segal, the banjo player turned actor who was nominated for an Oscar for 1966’s “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?,” and starred in the ABC sitcom “The Goldbergs,” and the NBC sitcom “Just Shoot Me,” died Tuesday, his wife said. He was 87. (AP Photo/Kevork Djansezian, File)

Elgin Baylor stands next to a statue, just unveiled, honoring the Minneapolis and Los Angeles Lakers great, outside Staples Center in Los Angeles on Friday, April 6, 2018. Baylor died March 22, 2021. He was 86. (AP Photo/Reed Saxon)

AP Photo/Reed Saxon

YAPHET KOTTO — Actor Yaphet Kotto appears on his wedding day in Baltimore, Md. on July 12, 1998. Kotto, the commanding actor of the James Bond film “Live and Let Die” and as Lt. Al Giardello on the 90’s NBC police drama “Homicide: Life on the Street, died Monday, March 15, 2021 at age 81. Kotto’s wife, Tessie Sinahon, announced his death Monday in a Facebook post. She said he died Monday in the Philippines. Kotto’s agent, Ryan Goldhar, confirmed Kotto’s death. (AP Photo/John Gillis, File)

Hagler Leonard — In this April 1987 file photo, “Marvelous” Marvin Hagler, left, moves in on “Sugar” Ray Leonard during the third round of a boxing bout in Las Vegas. Leonard won with a split decision. Hagler, the middleweight boxing great whose title reign and career ended with the loss to Leonard in 1987, died Saturday, March 13, 2021. He was 66. (AP Photo/Lennox McLendon, File)

This Nov. 5, 2018 file photo shows radio personality Rush Limbaugh introducing President Donald Trump at the start of a campaign rally in Cape Girardeau, Mo. Limbaugh, the talk radio host who became the voice of American conservatism, has died. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson, File)

Larry Flynt Publications Inc. (LFP) Publisher Larry Flynt comments on the resignation of former New York Governor Eliot Spitzer, during an interview with The Associated Press in his office in Beverly Hills, Calif. on March 14, 2008. Flynt, who turned “Hustler” magazine into an adult entertainment empire while championing First Amendment rights, has died at age 78. His nephew, Jimmy Flynt Jr., told The Associated Press that Flynt died Wednesday, Feb. 10, 2021, of heart failure at his Hollywood Hills home in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes, File)

In this June 11, 2018 photo, Christopher Plummer poses for a portrait to promote his film “Boundaries” in New York. Plummer, the dashing award-winning actor who played Captain von Trapp in the film “The Sound of Music” and at 82 became the oldest Academy Award acting winner in history, died on Friday, Feb. 5, 2021. He was 91. (Photo by Amy Sussman/Invision/AP)

Photo by Amy Sussman/Invision/AP

Actor Hal Holbrook attends the premiere of Disney’s “Planes: Fire & Rescue” at the El Capitan Theatre on July 15, 2014 in Hollywood, California. Holbrook died Jan. 23 at age 95. (Photo by Jason Kempin/Getty Images)

Dustin Diamond, photographed here in 2016, died Monday, Feb. 1, 2021, according to his manager. (Getty Images/Noel Vasquez)

Hilton Valentine of the British pop group The Animals. — Hilton Valentine (upper left), founding guitarist of English rockers The Animals, is credited with coming up with one of the most famous opening riffs of the 1960s. He died on Friday, Jan. 29, 2021 at age 77, according to the band’s label ABKCO Music. This photo is from 1983. (AP Photo, File)

FILE – In this Nov. 1, 2017 file photo, Cicely Tyson, a cast member in “Last Flag Flying,” poses at the premiere of the film at the Directors Guild of America in Los Angeles. Tyson, the pioneering Black actress who gained an Oscar nomination for her role as the sharecropper’s wife in “Sounder,” a Tony Award in 2013 at age 88 and touched TV viewers’ hearts in “The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman,” has died. She was 96. Tyson’s death was announced by her family, via her manager Larry Thompson, who did not immediately provide additional details. (Photo by Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP, File)

Photo by Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP, File

FILE – Cloris Leachman attends the premiere of “The Comedian” during the 2016 AFI Fest on Nov. 11, 2016, in Los Angeles. Leachman stars in the faith-based film “I Can Only Imagine” which has made over $22 million in just six days of release on a $7 million budget. Leachman, a character actor whose depth of talent brought her an Oscar for the “The Last Picture Show” and Emmys for her comedic work in “The Mary Tyler Moore Show” and other TV series, has died. She was 94. (Photo by Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP, File)

Longtime radio host Larry King died at age 87 at Cedars Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles on Saturday, January 23, 2021, where he was admitted for COVID-19 complications in December, after previously surviving a heart attack and stroke. (AP/Jae C. Hong)

Actor Gregory Sierra, best known for his roles in “Sanford and Son” and “Barney Miller,” died on January 4 from cancer, his widow Helene Tabor confirmed to CNN Friday. He was 83. (Courtesy ABC Television)

In this May 17, 1970, file photo, Atlanta Braves’ Hank Aaron, center, who became the ninth player in Major League history to get 3,000 hits, kisses a baseball alongside Famer Stan Musial and Braves owner Bill Bartholomay, in Cincinnati. Aaron died Jan. 22, 2021. He was 86. (AP Photo/Gene Smith, File)

AP Photo/Gene Smith, File

Baseball Hall of Famer Don Sutton died on Tuesday, Jan. 19, 2021 at age 75. In this photo, Atlanta Brave broadcaster and former Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher and baseball Hall of Fame member Don Sutton rides in a car around the field before a baseball game against the Los Angeles Dodgers Monday, July 20, 2015, in Atlanta. Sutton was inducted the Atlanta Braves Hall of Fame earlier in the day. (AP Photo/John Bazemore)

<p><a href="https://wtop.com/national/2021/01/phil-spectors-death-resurrects-mixed-reaction-from-skeptics/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Read Phil Spector’s obituary</a></p> — In this May 29, 2009 file photo, music producer Phil Spector sits in a courtroom for his sentencing in Los Angeles. Spector, the eccentric and revolutionary music producer who transformed rock music with his “Wall of Sound” method and who was later convicted of murder, died Saturday, Jan. 16, 2021, at age 81. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong, Pool, File)

Joanne Rogers, an an accomplished concert pianist who celebrated and protected the legacy of her husband, the beloved children’s TV host Mister Rogers, died Jan. 14 in Pittsburgh. She was 92. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar, File)

FISCHBACHER — FILE – German illusionist Siegfried Fischbacher of the duo ” Siegfried & Roy” holds their trophies after receiving the World Entertainment Award at the World Award 2003 ceremony in Hamburg, northern Germany, on Oct.22, 2003. German news agency dpa is reporting that Fischbacher, the surviving member of duo Siegfried & Roy has died in Las Vegas at age 81. The news agency said Thursday that Fischbacher’s sister, a nun who lives in Munich, confirmed his death of cancer. (AP Photo/Fabian Bimmer, File)

<p><a href="https://wtop.com/celebrities/2021/01/police-academy-actress-marion-ramsey-dies-at-73/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Read Marion Ramsey’s obituary</a>.</p> — Actress Marion Ramsey, seen here in 2013, died Jan. 8 in Los Angeles at the age of 73. (WireImage/James Lemke Jr)

FILE – In this April 11, 2018, file photo, former Los Angeles Dodgers manager Tommy Lasorda attends a news conference in Los Angeles. Tommy Lasorda, the fiery Hall of Fame manager who guided the Los Angeles Dodgers to two World Series titles and later became an ambassador for the sport he loved during his 71 years with the franchise, has died. He was 93. The Dodgers said Friday, Jan. 8, 2021, that he had a heart attack at his home in Fullerton, California. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes, File)

Tanya Roberts, Victoria Leigh Blum — FILE – Tanya Roberts stars as Kiri in the adventure movie “The Beastmaster,” on Dec. 16, 1981. Roberts, who captivated James Bond in “A View to a Kill” and appeared in the sitcom “That ’70s Show,” died Monday, Jan. 4, 2021, several hours after she was mistakenly declared dead by her publicist and her partner. Roberts’ partner Lance O’Brien confirmed her death Tuesday after picking up her personal effects at a Los Angeles hospital. She was 65. (AP Photo/Wally Fong, File)

FILE – In this Nov. 20, 2009 file photo, Sacramento Kings coach Paul Westphal looks on during an NBA basketball game against the Dallas Mavericks in Dallas. Westphal, the Hall of Fame basketball player, has died. The Phoenix Suns confirmed his death Saturday, Jan. 2, 2021. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez, File)

Yaphet Kotto, the actor known for his role in “Alien” and as James Bond villain Mr. Big in “Live and Let Die,” died at age 81 on March 15. Pictured: Yaphet Kotto and Pam Grier look cautiously around the corner of a government building in a scene from the film ‘Friday Foster’, 1975. (Photo by American International Pictures/Getty Images)

(1/84)

Share This Gallery:

NEW YORK (AP) — 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.”

“He played such an outsized role in my life and was as warm and loving and generous off-camera as he was on,” Katie Couric tweeted.

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 birthday greetings to viewers who turned 100 years old by putting their faces on Smucker’s jelly jars and delivering weather updates in zany costumes.

According to NBC, he once took up a viewer’s dare to appear in drag to win a $1,000 donation to the USO, the charity for military families, by dressing up as the Brazilian singer Carmen Miranda. The stunt wasn’t new for the genial Scott: he played Bozo the Clown when he hosted a children’s TV show in the 1960s and Ronald McDonald in commercials in the Washington area.

He often dressed as Santa Claus at the National Tree Lighting ceremony throughout the 1980s and co-anchored NBC’s coverage of the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade between 1987 to 1997. In one memorable moment on live television, First Lady Barbara Bush gave him a kiss during the 1989 inauguration parade of her husband, President George H.W. Bush.

“(The president) said, ‘I didn’t know you knew Willard Scott.’ I said, ‘I don’t know Willard Scott. I just love that face.’ ” the first lady recalled.

Scott handed the reins to Roker in 1996, occasionally filling in for him for the next decade before fully retiring in 2015.

He is survived by his wife, Paris Keena, whom he married in 2014, and two daughters with Mary Dwyer Scott, his wife of 43 years until she died in 2002.

Willard Scott, weatherman on NBC’s ‘Today’ show, dies at 87

Share This Gallery:

Related News

California man to be sentenced for hate crime in the killing of a gay college student

Trump’s pick of Rubio as America’s top diplomat jolts Latin America, long accustomed to US neglect

As Trump picks Florida men for top jobs, new political possibilities open up in the Sunshine State

Recommended

DC Council holds first hearing on Capital One Arena plans

Trump meets with Argentina's president, the first foreign leader he's met with since election

Arlington Co. to hold final vote on whether to use sharpshooters to reduce deer population

Sign up for or manage your WTOP email subscriptions

Willard Scott, weatherman on NBC’s ‘Today’ show, dies at 87

Share This Gallery:

Related News

California man to be sentenced for hate crime in the killing of a gay college student

Trump’s pick of Rubio as America’s top diplomat jolts Latin America, long accustomed to US neglect

As Trump picks Florida men for top jobs, new political possibilities open up in the Sunshine State

Recommended

DC Council holds first hearing on Capital One Arena plans

Trump meets with Argentina's president, the first foreign leader he's met with since election

Arlington Co. to hold final vote on whether to use sharpshooters to reduce deer population

Related Categories:

Tags: