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EspañolMATT LAUER
'Matthew Todd Lauer' (December 30, 1957)
"Matt Lauer - Filmography", .
and a local talk-show host in Boston, Philadelphia, Providence, and Richmond. He was also host of ''PM Magazine'' (or "Evening Magazine" 1980-1986)
and worked for ESPN in the 1980s as a sideline reporter.
| Contents |
| Background |
| Personal history |
| Marriage and family |
| Education |
| Career |
| Some career highlights |
| Notes |
| External links |
Background
Personal history
Lauer was born on December 30, 1957 in New York City and grew up in Greenwich, Connecticut, the son of parents Marilyn and Robert Lauer (a bicycle-company executive), who divorced during his youth. His dad, Robert Lauer, died of cancer in 1997, soon after Lauer joined the cast of ''The Today Show''.Jeffrey Zaslow, "The Lauer Within", interview with Matt Lauer, ''USA Weekend'', April 30, 2000, accessed July 17, 2007. In 1999, he and cohost Katie Couric initially resisted Today's series on their family roots. The series turned out to be a hit, and Lauer was moved, too, by what he learned about his immigrant ancestors. "My dad was Jewish. My mom is not. So I was not raised anything. I do feel a desire now to find something spiritual. Getting married and wanting to have kids has something to do with that."
Marriage and family
He was married from 1982 until 1989 to Nancy Alspaugh (1955- ), a television producer. The marriage ended in divorce and the couple had no children. From 1989 until 1996, he dated Kristen Gesswein, a television newscaster. They were briefly engaged. In 1998, he married Annette Roque, a Dutch model: "We got married in a church, and when I go to churches and temples, I do feel something. I'm happy to be there. The minister who married us said he considers churches high places, elevated. I agree." They now have three children.
Education
Matt Lauer attended Ohio University in Athens, Ohio, leaving four credits shy of graduation in 1979; however, he returned to complete the credits and graduate, by writing a paper on work experience and delivering the commencement address, with a degree in communications in 1997. To this day he remains a big supporter of Ohio University and frequently refers to his time there as "the best of my life."
Career
Lauer began his television career in 1979 as a producer of the 12 o'clock news for WOWK-TV in Huntington, West Virginia. By 1980, he had become an on-air reporter on the 6 and 11 o'clock newscasts. He then started to move around the country to further his career, hosting a number of weekly information and talk programs in Boston, Philadelphia, Providence, and Richmond. He was also host of ''PM Magazine'' from 1980-1986 and worked for ESPN in the 1980s.
Lauer got his first job in the New York area when he was tapped to host a three-hour live interview program, WWOR-TV's ''9 Broadcast Plaza'', from 1989-1991. He moved to WNBC-TV in 1992, where he became co-anchor on the early weekday news show ''Today in New York'', alongside Jane Hanson. After a year, he also filled the role of ''Live at Five'' co-anchor with Sue Simmons, and held that role until 1996.
Lauer's on-camera presence provided him with many opportunities with NBC's national news organization while working in their New York O&O. Lauer filled in as the newsreader on ''The Today Show'' for Margaret Larson when needed from 1992 to 1993. This "audition" allowed him to join ''The Today Show'' full-time in January 1994 as news anchor, while still co-anchoring ''Today in New York'' and ''Live at Five''.
Lauer pinch-hit for NBC newscasters Scott Simon, Mike Schneider, and Jack Ford as the co-host of ''Weekend Today'', and for Ann Curry as anchor of the former NBC News program ''NBC News at Sunrise'' from 1992 to 1997. Lauer had also filled in for Tom Brokaw on the ''NBC Nightly News''. As the ''Today Show'' news anchor, he also stepped in for Bryant Gumbel and Katie Couric in the ''Today Show'' hosting chair when required before being named the official co-anchor on January 6, 1997, after Gumbel stepped down.
In addition to his duties on the ''Today Show'', Lauer has also hosted programming on Discovery Channel and MSNBC.
Some career highlights
In 2002, in a surprising move, Lauer changed his hairstyle from a full head of hair to a buzzcut. This gave Lauer substantial media attention and he became the object of several on-air jokes from his ''Today'' co-hosts.
Beginning in 1998, Lauer has embarked on a once-yearly five-day globe-spanning called "Where in the World is Matt Lauer?", named after ''Where in the World Is Carmen Sandiego?'' from which it borrowed the theme song. This segment of the ''Today Show'' has sent Lauer to the far reaches of the Earth, where he has reported on the importance of the location. In recent years, he has broadcast from locations including Easter Island, the Panama Canal, Hong Kong, Croatia, and the Great Wall of China.
On two particular occasions, tensions have escalated in interviews Lauer has conducted. In a June 2005 interview, Tom Cruise started an argument with Lauer about psychiatry and postpartum depression and called Lauer "." In a June 2006 interview with Ann Coulter, Coulter seemed to take offense at Lauer's questioning her criticism of September 11, 2001 widows and said, "You're getting testy with me."
Lauer hosted ''The Greatest American'' on the Discovery Channel, which used Internet and telephone voting by viewers to select the winner. Lauer was rather critical of his own program, since it tended to favor well-known figures over others who had less influence in pop culture.
Since 1998, has co-hosted NBC's live coverage of Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade.
In April 2006, Lauer made an announcement that he intends to stay with ''Today'' until 2011.
Lauer guest-starred as himself on a live episode of ''Will & Grace'' in early 2006. (Former co-anchor Katie Couric had guest-starred as herself on an episode of the same NBC sitcom a few years earlier.)
''Today'' celebrated Lauer's 10th year anniversary on January 6, 2007 with surprise visits from Bryant Gumbel and Katie Couric.
He shares his birthday of December 30 with his ''Today'' co-anchor Meredith Vieira, though Vieira is older by four years.
On June 19, 2007, he interviewed Prince Harry and Prince William of the United Kingdom.Matt Lauer, "In Honor of Diana: Two Princes Speak on the 10th Anniversary of Their Mother's Death", transcript of interview (updated), ''MSNBC'', June 19, 2007, accessed July 17, 2007.
Notes
External links
★ MSNBC bio
★ Matt's Video Blog
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