Background and career
Willard Herman Scott Jr. (March 7, 1934 – September 4, 2021) was an American weatherman, radio and television personality, actor, narrator, clown, comedian, and author, whose broadcast career spanned 68 years, 65 years with the NBC broadcast network. Scott was notable as a weather reporter on NBC's Today show where he also celebrated US centenarian birthdays and notable anniversaries. Scott was the creator and original performer of McDonald's mascot clown Ronald McDonald. The 6'3", 290 lb. (191 cm, 130 kg) Scott was described by The New York Times as a "garrulous, gaptoothed, boutonnière-wearing, funny-hatted, sometimes toupee-clad, larger-than-life American Everyman". Scott parlayed his national exposure as weather presenter into a highly successful career as a pitchman who promoted an ever-widening range of products the fees for which outstripped his million-dollar annual salary at NBC (equivalent to $2.26 million in 2025). Scott said, "I run me like a conglomerate, because that's what I am. I always keep lots of balls in the air." Scott credited his success to his efforts to make everyone, his audience, his clients feel loved. Scott said, "If you watch, you’ll see that I am trying to weave a web of love. I want to make the whole country feel as if we are one. I may be a cornball, but I am me — not a sophisticated, slick New York wazoo act." Early radio contemporary Johnny Holliday said of Scott, "Everybody he came in contact with just loved the guy. He just had that magic about him, that he made everybody feel special." In Scott's autobiography The Joy of Living he summed his life, saying "If you were to look at my resume, you’d see that I’m ...bald, I’m overweight, I don’t make all the smooth moves and I dress like a slob. I take tremendous pride in the fact that I beat the system."
Scott was born on March 7, 1934, in Alexandria, Virginia, the only child of parents Willard Herman (1905—1977) and Mattie Thelma (née Phillips) Scott (1905—1977). Scott was raised as and remained a fundamentalist Christian who considered becoming a minister before starting his broadcasting career.
Scott showed an early interest in broadcasting. Recounting his first experience visiting a radio station, he said "One day when I was eight, Mom took me to the movies in DC. Afterward, she wanted to shop, so I wandered over to my favorite radio station, WTOP. I introduced myself to the receptionist and told her I was a fan. She took me to the control room and said, 'You can sit here if you stay very quiet. That man will be broadcasting live'. The man was Eric Sevareid, then a correspondent for CBS. He’d just gotten back from Burma, where he’d been lost in the jungle for months. I sat there enthralled as Sevareid recounted his ordeal". At the age of nine, Scott organized a group of 15 boys into a radio club on his neighborhood block. Scott built his own radio station in his family home's basement and sold ads he aired during his low power broadcasts. The club netted about $25 a month (equivalent to $470 in 2025) in advertising revenue from neighborhood businesses. Scott said "...I set to work building a station in our basement. My parents bought me an oscillator, which enabled me to broadcast to 20 neighborhood homes within a 180-foot [50-meter] radius. My friends and I read the news, played tunes on a phonograph, and chattered away. A few months after we started, three men from the FCC showed up. They told us our signal was reaching National Airport — Pan Am’s radios were picking up kids talking and playing records. So ended my basement station". Spending time at local Alexandria radio station WPIK-AM on Friday nights as a teenager, a local disk jockey allowed him to create a radio show called "Lady Make Believe". Scott also served as announcer for the show. Scott also held two part-time disk jockey jobs while in high school, "High School Hit Parade" on WOL 1450 AM and "Dancing Party" on WCFM 99.5 FM.
Scott was 16 years old in 1950 when he worked as an NBC page at WRC (AM), NBC's owned-and-operated radio station in Washington, D.C., for $12 per week (equivalent to $160 in 2025). Scott explained how he started announcing at NBC – "I auditioned to be an announcer but was never hired. Then one of the announcers left for vacation and my boss said, 'What the hell, let Scott fill in — it’s only two weeks.' When he returned, I became a regular substitute".
Scott attended Alexandria, Virginia's George Washington High School. While a freshman in 1947, Scott broadcast a high school news report on a local FM radio station every Saturday. Scott graduated high school in 1951. He was elected class president all four years of his attendance. Named "Our capable and popular class president", he was also voted "Most Likely to Succeed" by his classmates. Scott attended American University, where he worked alongside fellow student Ed Walker at WAMU-AM, the university's radio station (1951—1953). Scott became a member of Alpha Sigma Phi fraternity while at American University and graduated in 1955 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in "philosophy and religion".
Scott enlisted in the U.S. Navy, serving from 1956 to 1958 as a seaman. Then 22 years old, Scott recorded his feelings on November 23, 1956, the day before he enlisted.
