Willard Scott, longtime “Today” show weatherman, has died at the age of 87
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Willard Scott, the iconic “Today” show weatherman, died Saturday morning at the age of 87, NBC spokesperson Elizabeth Bader confirmed to USA TODAY.
“Today”‘s Al Roker shared the news on Instagram, calling Willard “a man of his times, the ultimate broadcaster.” The genial Scott was known as the show’s signature weatherman until he announced his semi-retirement in 1996, when Roker took over the job.
“We lost a beloved member of our @todayshow family this morning,” Roker shared Saturday. “Willard Scott passed peacefully at the age of 87 surrounded by family, including his daughters Sally and Mary and his lovely wife, Paris. He was truly my second dad and am where I am today because of his generous spirit. … There will never be anyone quite like him.”
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USA TODAY reached out to the “Today” show for comment.
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Katie Couric also paid tribute on Twitter.
“I am heartbroken that the much loved Willard Scott has passed away. He played such an outsized role in my life & was as warm & loving & generous off camera as he was on. Willard, you didn’t make it to the front of the Smucker’s jar, but you changed so many lives for the better,” she tweeted alongside an old photo of the two.
I am heartbroken that the much loved Willard Scott has passed away. He played such an outsized role in my life & was as warm & loving & generous off camera as he was on. Willard, you didn’t make it to the front of the Smucker’s jar, but you changed so many lives for the better.♥️ pic.twitter.com/aePQnZxf5O
— Katie Couric (@katiecouric) September 4, 2021
In 2015, the longtime NBC weatherman officially retired from the “Today” show after 35 years. During his time on the show, Scott was well known for using Smucker’s jelly jars to wish happy birthday to viewers turning 100 or older and had the distinction of being the first person to play Ronald McDonald, appearing in commercials in the Washington area starting in 1963.
Prior to joining “Today,” Scott hosted the “Joy Boys” radio show on NBC’s radio station WRC from 1955 to 1974.
He is survived by wife Paris Keena, whom he married in 2014, as well as his two daughters, Mary and Sally.
Contributing: Maria Puente
Ed Asner, the actor and activist adored as gruff Lou Grant on TV’s classic “The Mary Tyler Moore Show” and spinoff “Lou Grant,” died Aug. 29 at age 91. The star had more than 400 screen credits and won seven Emmy Awards (a record for a male actor), five of them for his role as Lou, plus two more for his work in the blockbuster miniseries “Rich Man, Poor Man” and “Roots.”
“We are sorry to say that our beloved patriarch passed away this morning peacefully,” his family posted on the actor’s official Twitter account, where he tweeted as recently as two days before his death. “Words cannot express the sadness we feel. With a kiss on your head – Goodnight dad. We love you.”
Former child star Matthew Mindler, who starred in “Our Idiot Brother,” was found dead after being missing since Aug. 26. He was 19.
Mindler was enrolled in Millersville University in Pennsylvania, which reported him missing two days after he did not return to his room. University president Daniel A. Wubah announced Aug. 28 that Mindler had been found dead. His body was discovered in a wooded area near campus, according to Millersville University spokesperson Janet Kacskos.
“This is a time of grief for the family, our campus and the community,” Wubah wrote in a letter on Twitter. “I ask that the campus community come together to support each other, and our students, during this difficult time.”
Drummer Kenny Malone, a prolific session player who played on hits for Dolly Parton, Merle Haggard, Dobie Gray and many others, has died. He was 83.
Malone’s friend and former bandmate Dave Pomeroy said he died on Aug. 26 after being diagnosed with COVID-19.
“He expanded the vocabulary of Nashville drumming, and was always an innovator who invented his own unique style of hand drumming, often combining sticks and brushes with hand percussion to create a unique sound and feel that left lots of space for other instruments and the vocals,” said Pomeroy in a statement.
Brian Travers, saxophonist and founding member of UB40, died Aug. 22, 2021, at the age of 62 after a lengthy battle with brain cancer. The band’s hits over the decades included reggae versions of Neil Diamond’s “Red Red Wine” and The Temptations’ “The Way You Do The Things You Do.” The band confirmed the news on their official Twitter account on Aug. 23, 2021.
Tom T. Hall, a Country Music Hall of Fame artist who wrote unassuming songs with distinct depth, died Aug. 20 at age 85 at his home in Franklin, Tennessee, according to his son, Dean Hall.
A consummate country songwriter who captured life’s intimate details with lighthearted songs such as “I Like Beer,” penned the classic “That’s How I Got To Memphis” and showcased era-defining sharpness with “Harper Valley PTA,” Hall entered the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2008, alongside Emmylou Harris, The Statler Brothers and Ernest Stoneman.
His songbook of country hits includes “(Old Dogs, Children and) Watermelon Wine,” “A Week in a Country Jail,” “I Love” … and the list goes on.
Carl “Chucky” Thompson, a music producer who helmed hits for artists like Notorious B.I.G. and Mary J. Blige, has died. He was 53.
Thompson’s publicist Tamar Juda confirmed the news in a statement to USA TODAY on Aug. 9. She did not disclose his cause of death.
“It is with a very heavy heart that I can confirm the passing of Chucky Thompson,” she wrote. “To anyone in his orbit, you know how generous he was with his energy, creativity and love. Both the music industry, and the world has lost a titan.”
Thompson got his start in go-go music as part of Chuck Brown’s band The Soul Searchers. As a producer, he had a hand in bringing forth hit songs like Notorious B.I.G.’s “Big Poppa” and Faith Evans’ “Soon As I Get Home,” as well as Blige’s 1994 album “My Life.”
Jane Withers, a major child star of the 1930s, who starred alongside James Dean, Elizabeth Taylor and Rock Hudson as an adult in “Giant,” died on Aug. 7 at age 95. Withers found renewed popularity in the 1960s as Josephine the Plumber in classic Comet cleanser commercials.
Her daughter, Kendall Errair, confirmed that Withers died surrounded by loved ones in Burbank, California.
“My mother was such a special lady. She lit up a room with her laughter, but she especially radiated joy and thankfulness when talking about the career she so loved and how lucky she was,” Errair said in the statement.
Markie Post, who played the public defender in the 1980s sitcom “Night Court” and was a regular presence on television for four decades, has died. She was 70.
Post’s manager, Ellen Lubin Sanitsky, said Post died August 7 in Los Angeles after a years-long battle with cancer.
Post was a longtime television regular who appeared in shows from “Cheers” to “Scrubs.” But she was best known for her seven-season run on NBC’s “Night Court,” the Manhattan municipal court sitcom that ran from 1984 to 1992 and starred Harry Anderson as Judge Harry T. Stone.
“General Hospital,” “Days of Our Lives” and “Port Charles” actor Jay Pickett died July 30 on the set of the Western movie “Treasure Valley” in Idaho.
The veteran daytime drama actor, 60, starred in 372 episodes of “Port Charles as Frank Scanlon. Pickett, an excellent horseback rider, became a Western movies actor. “Treasure Valley” director Travis Mills wrote on the film’s official Facebook page “He was doing what he loved: acting, riding horses, making movies. And he was magnificent.”
Dusty Hill, a founding member of ZZ Top and the iconic band’s bassist, died in his sleep at his Houston, Texas home, according to a statement shared with USA TODAY. He was 72.
“We, along with legions of ZZ Top fans around the world, will miss your steadfast presence, your good nature and enduring commitment to providing that monumental bottom to the ‘Top’…You will be missed greatly, amigo,” bandmates Billy Gibbons and Frank Beard said in a statement.
Rick Aiello, the son of late actor Danny Aiello, died on July 26 after his battle with pancreatic cancer, his wife Arlene confirmed in a statement. “Ricky was a wonderful father, husband and a good friend to so many people,” she said. “After losing his brother and then his Dad, he continued to show such courage and strength throughout his own battle with cancer.”
Rick followed in his dad’s footsteps and started his acting career in the 1980s, starring alongside his father in Spike Lee’s 1989 film “Do the Right Thing.”
Phyllis Gould, one of the millions of women who worked in defense plants in World War II and who later relentlessly fought to honor those “Rosie the Riverters,” died on July 20, 2021, from complications of a stroke, the San Francisco Chronicle reported.
Suzzanne Douglas, the actress known for her roles in “The Parent ‘Hood” and “When They See Us,” died on July 6. She was 64. Douglas appeared in numerous films and television shows throughout her career, including “Bones,” “The Good Wife,” “Law & Order: Criminal Intent,” 2003’s “School of Rock,” 1998’s “How Stella Got Her Groove Back” and 2015’s “Whitney.”
Richard Donner, the directer of beloved films like “Superman” and “The Goonies,” died July 5. He was 91. Donner also directed the 1988 Christmas classic “Scrooged,” featuring Bill Murray as a selfish television executive, and 1992’s coming-of-age drama “Radio Flyer.”
Multifaceted Italian entertainer Raffaella Carrà, a child performer who became a show-business sensation in television, music and film, died July 5 after a lengthy private illness. She was 78. Carrà, known as “the queen of Italian TV,” was embraced as a gay icon in her later years and enjoyed a career that spanned six decades.
Joanne Linville, who made a memorable “Star Trek” appearance as a Romulan commander in the original TV series, died June 20 in Los Angeles at age 93.
In a statement to USA TODAY, her family said Linville “lived a full life. One whose spirit, passion for art and life was an inspiration to all who had the pleasure of knowing her. A loving mother and proud grandmother.”
Linville was a frequent TV guest star and film actor from the 1950s through the 1980s, with roles in more than 100 shows and movies.
John Paragon, best known for his role as Jambi the Genie on 1980s children’s show “Pee-wee’s Playhouse,” has died at age 66. Paragon died April 3 of heart disease and chronic alcohol abuse at his home in Palm Springs, California, according to the Riverside County Coroner’s Office.
In 1981, Paragon first played Jambi – also voicing another character, Pterri the pterodactyl – in an adult comedy special called “The Pee-wee Herman Show.” He also had roles on “Seinfeld” and “Star Trek: Deep Space Nine,” and collaborated with fellow Groundlings alum Cassandra Peterson on shows and movies based around Peterson’s 1980s Elvira character.
Janet Malcolm, the inquisitive and boldly subjective author and reporter known for her challenging critiques of everything from murder cases and art to journalism itself, died at 86, a spokesperson for The New Yorker confirmed Thursday.
The author of numerous influential books and magazine stories, the Prague native practiced a kind of post-modern style in which she often called attention to her own role in the narrative, questioning whether even the most conscientious observer could be trusted.
“Gone Girl” actor Lisa Banes died Monday, 10 days after being injured in a hit-and-run accident while crossing a street in New York City, police said.
Banes appeared in numerous television shows and movies, including “Gone Girl” in 2014 and “Cocktail” with Tom Cruise in 1988. On television, she had roles on “Nashville,” “Madam Secretary,” “Masters of Sex” and “NCIS.” She also acted on stage regularly, including Broadway appearances in the Neil Simon play “Rumors” in 1988, in the musical “High Society” in 1998 and in the Noel Coward play “Present Laughter” in 2010.
LGBTQ rights pioneer and subject of the acclaimed documentary “Love Wins,” Emily Sonnessa, right, died at age 91 on Friday, June, 11, according to her obituary posted by Ely Funeral Home.
She met her wife Jan Moore, left, in 1960, and the two were together for decades before being joined in a civil union ceremony in 2007. New Jersey legalized same-sex marriage in October 2013, and the couple was married the next month. According to their wedding announcement published in the Asbury Park Press, part of the USA TODAY Network, Sonnessa was 84, Moore was 77, and their wedding date, Nov. 20, was their 44th anniversary.
Richard Robinson, who as the longtime head of Scholastic Inc. presided over such bestsellers as J.K. Rowling’s “Harry Potter” novels and Suzanne Collins’ “The Hunger Games” series along with a wide range of educational materials, reading clubs and book fairs, has died. He was 84.
The children’s publishing giant announced that Robinson died Saturday, but did not immediately provide a cause.
“We are deeply saddened by the sudden passing of Dick Robinson,” Scholastic’s board of directors said in a statement. “Dick was a true visionary in the world of children’s books and an unrelenting advocate for children’s literacy and education with a remarkable passion his entire life.”
Gavin MacLeod, known for his TV stardom in shows like “The Mary Tyler Moore Show” and “Love Boat,” died. He was 90.
Variety and TMZ reported the longtime TV actor’s death after getting confirmation from his nephew, Mark See.
MacLeod’s acting career took off when he was cast as the news writer for the fictional “Mary Tyler Moore Show” WJM-TV news station, earning two Golden Globe nominations for that role. In the late 70s he became the lead for ABC’s “The Love Boat.” He manned the MS Pacific cruise ship as Capt. Merrill Stubing.
Kay Lahusen, a pioneering LGBTQ rights activist who chronicled the movement’s earliest days through her photography and writing, has died. She was 91. Known as the first openly gay U.S. photojournalist, Lahusen died Wednesday at Chester County Hospital outside Philadelphia, following a brief illness.
Lahusen advocated for gay civil rights years before the 1969 Stonewall uprising in New York helped launch the modern LGBTQ era. She captured widely published images of some of the nation’s first protests.
Eric Carle, the beloved children’s author and illustrator whose classic “The Very Hungry Caterpillar” and other works gave millions of kids some of their earliest literary memories, died May 23 at age 91.
“‘Caterpillar’ is a book of hope: you, too, can grow up and grow wings,” he said in 1994.
Through books including “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.
Pervis Staples (far left) – whose tenor voice complemented his father’s and sisters’ (from left, Cleotha, Pops, Mavis and Yvonne) in the legendary gospel group The Staple Singers – died May 6 at his home in Dalton, Illinois at age 85. The group gained fame in the 1960s by singing music that urged change on a variety of social and religious issues. The Staple Singers gained a huge audience with their first No. 1 hit, “I’ll Take You There,” in 1972 and followed with top 40 hits “Respect Yourself,” “Heavy Makes You Happy” and “If You’re Ready (Come Go With Me).”
Songwriter Jim Steinman, known for penning hit songs like “I’d Do Anything for Love (But I Won’t Do That),” died April 19, according to his brother Bill Steinman. He was 73. Steinman wrote and produced Meat Loaf’s hit albums “Bat Out of Hell” and “Bat Out of Hell II.”
Alma Wahlberg (second from right), the famous Wahlberg family matriarch who appeared on their family reality show “Wahlburgers,” died at age 78, her children announced April 18.
“I feel blessed to have been brought into this world by, raised by, taught by and set on my life’s path by, such an amazing woman,” Donnie Wahlberg (right) wrote in an Instagram tribute.
She had nine children: Michelle, Paul (second from left), Arthur, Jim, Tracey, Robert, Donnie, Mark (left), and Debbie, who died in 2003 at age 43. Their father, Alma Wahlberg’s ex-husband, Donald Wahlberg, died in 2008.
Paul Ritter, a Tony-nominated actor known for his work in theater, film and TV, died April 5 at age 54 after suffering from a brain tumor, his representative confirmed to USA TODAY.
Born in the United Kingdom, Ritter most recently starred as patriarch Martin Goodman in the British television series “Friday Night Dinner,” which ran from 2011 to 2020. In 2009, he received a Tony nomination for his lead role in the play “The Norman Conquests” and appeared as Eldred Worple in the 2009 film adaptation of “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince.” He also appeared in the 2019 “Chernobyl” miniseries.
Bestselling children’s author Beverly Cleary, who introduced young readers across three generations to the love of reading through such characters as Ramona Quimby and Henry Huggins, died on March 25. She was 104.
Who could forget Ramona, the star of Cleary’s popular book series, which began with “Beezus and Ramona,” about a rebellious rugrat who struggles with her father’s unemployment. In 2010, her book was adapted to the big-screen feature “Ramona and Beezus,” starring Selena Gomez.
Jahmil French, an actor who appeared in “Degrassi: The Next Generation” from 2009 to 2013, died at age 29, his agent confirmed on March 2. His cause of death was not provided.
“It is with a heavy heart that I confirm the passing of a dear friend and client Jahmil French,” Gabrielle Kachman told USA TODAY. “He will be remembered by many for his passion for the arts, his commitment to his craft, and his vibrant personality. I ask that you keep his family and friends in your thoughts and prayers at this difficult time.”
Jazz legend Chick Corea died Feb. 9 after battling cancer. He was 79.
“It is with great sadness we announce that on February 9th, Chick Corea passed away at the age of 79, from a rare form of cancer which was only discovered very recently,” a statement shared to Corea’s Facebook page Thursday read.
In 1968, Corea replaced Herbie Hancock in Miles Davis’ group, playing on the landmark albums “In a Silent Way” and “Bitches Brew.” He formed his own avant-garde group, Circle, and then founded Return to Forever. He’s worked on many other projects, including duos with Hancock and vibraphonist Gary Burton. With 23 Grammy awards, he is the artist with the most jazz wins in the show’s 63-year history.
Larry Flynt, ‘King of Smut’ and unlikely free-speech champion, died Feb. 10 at his home in Los Angeles at age 78. Flynt’s brother Jimmy Flynt confirmed the death to the USA TODAY Network.
Crude, rude and outspoken, Flynt made his fortune in the early 1970s after he turned a racy newsletter for his Ohio strip clubs into Hustler magazine.
His sexually explicit magazine trampled over boundaries set by competitors, such as Playboy, and set the stage for court battles over obscenity that redefined the meaning of “community standards” and made Flynt a self-styled champion of free speech.
Dustin Diamond, best known for playing Samuel “Screech” Powers on TV’s “Saved by the Bell,” died Feb. 1 after a short battle with cancer. He was 44 and had been diagnosed just three weeks earlier, his publicist Roger Paul told USA TODAY. Post-Screech, he toured as a stand-up comedian and appeared on reality TV shows (including “Celebrity Big Brother” and “Weakest Link”) and in movies (“Dickie Roberts: Former Child Star”).
Electronic pop artist and musician Sophie Xeon, popularly known as just Sophie died. on Jan. 30. She was 34.
“Tragically our beautiful Sophie passed away this morning after a terrible accident,” the artist’s family said an emailed statement provided by Sophie’s representative, Ludovica Ludinatrice. “True to her spirituality she had climbed up to watch the full moon and accidentally slipped and fell. She will always be here with us. The family thank everyone for their love and support and request privacy at this devastating time.”
On Jan. 28, Cicely Tyson, the pioneering Black actress who gained an Oscar nomination for her role as the sharecropper’s wife in “Sounder” and touched TV viewers’ hearts in “The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman,” has died. She was 96. “With heavy heart, the family of Miss Cicely Tyson announces her peaceful transition this afternoon,” her family said in a statement provided by manager Larry Thompson.
Song Yoo-jung, a South Korean actress, died at age 26, her agency, Sublime Artist Agency, announced on social media Jan. 25. No cause of death was given.
According to Sublime Artist Agency’s website, Song appeared in the Korean show “Make a Wish” from 2014 to 2015. The website also notes that Song acted in the 2013 show “Golden Rainbow,” the 2017 show “School 2017” and the 2019 web drama “Dear My Name.”
Harry Brant, a rising model and son of supermodel Stephanie Seymour and publisher Peter M. Brant, died Jan. 17 at 24.
The younger Brant died of an accidental overdose, his family said in a statement to The New York Times, saying “his life was cut short by this devastating disease.”
“He was a creative, loving and powerful soul that brought light into so many people’s hearts,” the statement said. “He was truly a beautiful person inside and out.”
Michael Apted, the acclaimed British director of the “Up” documentary series and films as diverse as the Loretta Lynn biopic “Coal Miner’s Daughter” and the James Bond film “The World Is Not Enough,” has died. He was 79.
A representative for the Directors Guild of America said his family informed the organization that he passed on Jan. 7. No cause was given.
Tanya Roberts, who starred in the 1985 James Bond film “A View to A Kill,” as well as classic TV series “Charlie’s Angels” and “That ’70s Show,” died on Jan. 4. Roberts’ longtime partner Lance O’Brien told USA TODAY that the actress died at Cedars-Sinai Hospital in Los Angeles, where she was taken when she collapsed after walking her dogs on Christmas Eve.
In a statement, Roberts’ publicist Mike Pingel said her cause of death stemmed from complications of a urinary tract infection “which spread to her kidney, gallbladder, liver and then bloodstream.”
Gerry Marsden, the British singer who was instrumental in turning the song “You’ll Never Walk Alone” from the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical “Carousel” into one of the great anthems in the world of football, died at the age of 78.
After speaking to Marsden’s family, his friend Pete Price announced in an Instagram post on Jan. 3 that the Gerry and the Pacemakers frontman died after a short illness related to a heart infection.
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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Iconic ‘Today’ show weatherman Willard Scott dies at 87: ‘The ultimate broadcaster’
