![]() ![]() In 1996, Scott stepped into retirement and was replaced by weather person Al Roker. Joined with the team of John Palmer, Bryant Gumbel, and Jane Pauley, the morning show catapulted to first place in the ratings for the time slot. Ryan, who had a bachelor’s degree in physics and a masters in atmospheric science, was replaced by Scott to help boost ratings against Good Morning America. To make way for Scott, NBC fired meteorologist Rob Ryan. Scott had no background in science nor any interest in the science itself in an interview, he had said anyone can tell the weather if they “have the telephone number to the National Weather Service.” On WRC-TV, he used different stunts and antics to get attention from his audience, including dressing up as a groundhog for Ground Hog’s day. As a result of that, Scott became the first Ronald McDonald character on TV.īeyond playing a clown, Willard Scott started to report the weather for WRC-TV in 1967. That inspired McDonald’s to tap him to serve as a clown for their television advertising campaign. In addition to his radio program, Scott played the star of “Bozo the Clown” on WRC-TV, from 1952 to 1962. Willard Scott appears as “Ronald McDonald” on WTAE-TV in 1969. Known more as a court jester for the morning news show than a meteorologist, Scott would dress up in flashy outfits, wish 100+ year olds happy birthdays, and occasionally discuss the weather before tossing the broadcast to local affiliates for more weather information.Īfter earning a bachelor’s degree in philosophy and religion from American University, Scott paired off with a classmate, Ed Walker, to host a comedic radio show known as the “Joy Boys” on WRC-AM from 1955 to 1972 and on WWDC-AM from 1972 to 1974. In 1980, NBC television hired Scott for the Today Show to compete against ABC Television’s Good Morning America. His wife, Paris Keena Scott, said he died after suffering from a brief illness, but did not elaborate on what the illness was. Image: NBCįamous for being a long-term weather person on NBC’s “Today Show” and for being McDonalds original Ronald McDonald clown, Willard Scott, at age 87, passed away at his home in Delaplane, Virginia. "I don't know how you guys get up at this time every single day," he said in a talk-back with KWWL's Today in Iowa co-anchor Ryan Witry.Willard Scott debuted on The Today Show on NBC in 1980. He says he woke up at 2:30 am to report for his first hit on air that day, which was at 4:34 a.m. "Tune in for the next couple hours to watch me progressively get crankier and crankier." "This is a really long show," he said to preface the 3 1/2-hour broadcast. He brought the humor he usually uses in his own show - the one he referred to when he quipped, "Can I go back to my regular job?" - to cover the storm. It has more than 180,000 likes and has been viewed over 25 million times since Woodley posted it Thursday morning. The popular tweet, posted by Woodley himself, features a compilation video of Woodley cracking jokes while reporting on the weather from outside the KWWL building. h0RL9tVQqg- Mark Woodley December 22, 2022 This is what you get when you ask the sports guy to come in to cover a blizzard in the morning show.
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