Willard Scott to retire after 65 years at NBC

NBC News and the Today Show will have to find someone new to announce 100th birthdays. After 65 years at the network and 35 years on the Today Show, Willard Scott will be retiring.

NBC announced that Scott, 81, is retiring on Tuesday during this morning’s episode of Today. While a longer tribute piece will air, a story about Scott’s famous kiss with Barbara Bush during President George H.W. Bush’s inauguration in 1989 aired today.

“Barbara Bush singled him out," Today co-anchor Matt Lauer said. "A member of the first family chose to single out America's weatherman. And I remember smiling from ear to ear for Willard at that moment.”

NBC is asking viewers to share their favorite Scott moments by using the hashtag #ThankYouWillard.

Scott has been in television since the 1950s, beginning at NBC’s Washington DC affiliate WRC-TV. He was also the original portrayer of McDonald’s Ronald McDonald character. According to his NBC bio, Scott started wishing happy birthday to centenarians in 1983.