| Willard Scott | |
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 Willard Scott (right) with Ed Walker, The Joy Boys (1965) |
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| Birth name | Willard Herman Scott, Jr. |
| Born | March 7 1934 Alexandria, Virginia, USA |
| Years active | 1955 – Present |
Willard Herman Scott, Jr. (born March 7, 1934) is an American media personality and author best known for his work on NBC's Today show and as the original performer of the Ronald McDonald character. Born in Alexandria, Virginia, Scott attended American University in Washington, D.C., and was a member of the Alpha Sigma Phi Fraternity. While there, he met Ed Walker. The two hosted a program on the university radio station WAMU-AM for two years, before moving in 1953 to WRC-AM, the NBC owned-and-operated television station in Washington.
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"The Joy Boys" radio show
From 1955 to 1972, Scott teamed with Ed Walker as co-host of the nightly Joy Boys radio program on WRC-AM. Scott would sketch a list of characters and a few lead lines setting up the situation, which Walker would commit to memory or make notes on his Braille typewriter, due to his blindness since birth. In a 1999 article recalling the Joy Boys at the height of their popularity in the mid-1960s, the Washington Post said they "dominated Washington, providing entertainment, companionship, and community to a city on the verge of powerful change".[1] The Joy Boys show remained on WRC until 1972 when they moved to cross-town station WWDC for another two years. Of their close professional and personal bond which has continued to the present, Scott wrote in his book, The Joy of Living, that they are "closer than most brothers".[2]
Washington, D. C., television roles
Scott spent the 1960s balancing his radio career with jobs as the host of children's television programs. He appeared on WRC-TV in Washington, D.C., playing characters such as Commander Retro and Bozo the Clown (1959–1962).[3] In 1970, Scott began appearing on WRC-TV as a weekday weatherman.
The "Today Show" years
Scott was tapped by NBC in 1980 to become its weatherman for The Today Show, replacing Bob Ryan, who replaced him at WRC-TV and is there to this day. After being inspired by a viewer request, Scott began his practice of wishing centenarians a happy birthday on-air in 1983. During the 1980s, Scott routinely did weather reports on the road, interviewing locals at community festivals and landmarks. He also periodically did the program from Washington, which he still considered his home. During this time, NBC executives told the bald Scott to wear a hairpiece. He complied when in New York, but refused when outside of the studio, resulting in a strange dichotomy on the air. In 1989, Today show co-host Bryant Gumbel wrote an internal memo critical of the show's personalities. The memo was leaked to the media. Gumbel said Scott "holds the show hostage to his assortment of whims, wishes, birthdays and bad taste ... This guy is killing us and no one's even trying to rein him in."[4] This garnered enough of a backlash that Gumbel was shown making up with Scott on the show.[5]
"Ronald McDonald" character
Another television role he performed from 1963 to 1966 was Ronald McDonald for a McDonald's franchise in Washington, D.C.. Scott wrote in his book, The Joy of Living that he originally created the Ronald McDonald character at the fast-food restaurant chain's request.[2] In Morgan Spurlock's documentary film Super Size Me, Eric Schlosser claims that McDonald's replaced Scott on account of his weight, supposedly concerned about McDonald's image.
Recent years
Scott had a small role as Mr. Peter Poole on the late-1980s NBC sitcom The Hogan Family, where his character was married to Mrs. Poole, played by Edie McClurg. He also hosted the NBC telecast of Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade from 1987 until 1997 when he was replaced by Matt Lauer. Although he has retired as the Today show's full-time weatherman, Scott continues to appear frequently on the long-running morning program to wish centenarians a happy birthday and to substitute for regular weatherman Al Roker. He is currently the commercial voice of Smucker's jellies, taking over the job from Mason Adams, which sponsors his Today show birthday tributes. Scott has published several fiction and non-fiction books based on his experiences. American University has recently released some of the old Joy Boys radio broadcasts of the 1960s on CDs.
References
- ^ Marc Fisher, "Washington Comes of Age", Washington Post, September 13, 1999
- ^ a b Willard Scott, The Joy of Living. New York: Coward, McCann & Geoghegan, 1982 (ISBN 0-6981-1130-3).
- ^ Listed References on Wikipedia's "Bozo the Clown" Discussion Page
- ^ Monica Collins, "Memo to NBC: We Love Scott", USA Today, March 1, 1989.
- ^ Brian Donlon, "On Today, it's kiss and make up", USA Today, March 14, 1989.
External links
- Willard Scott at the Internet Movie Database
- A biography on Scott from MSNBC
- Centenarian Birthday Biographies from a media production company's website
- The Joyboys tribute site.
- Willard as a top 40 DJ on the Great98 WRC tribute site.
