Matt Lauer
Encyclopedia
Matthew Todd "Matt" Lauer (born December 30, 1957)
's The Today Show since 1997. He was previously a news anchor in New York 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
. In the early 1990s, Lauer hosted segments of HBO Entertainment News.
n descent on his father's side, as seen on the Today Show's "Finding Our Roots." His parents divorced during his youth, and his father died in 1997. Lauer had become co-host of The Today Show replacing longtime host Bryant Gumbel
in early 1997, not long before his father's death. In 1999, both Lauer and his co-host Katie Couric
initially resisted participation in Today's proposed series about their family roots. The series turned out to be a hit, and Lauer was moved 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."
. He attended Ivy Tech, but dropped out. In 1997, he received his undergraduate degree from Ohio University at the age of 39. He had dropped out of Ohio University's School of Telecommunications in the Spring of 1979. The university awarded him his remaining credits by counting his journalism experience as "independent study" towards his degree.
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. He worked on the show "Talk of the Town" during 1988.
Lauer got his first job in the New York area when he was hired to host a three-hour live interview program, WWOR-TV
's 9 Broadcast Plaza, from 1989–1991. In 1990, he was hired by the Kushner-Locke Company to host a pilot called "Day In Court," executive produced by veteran producer David Sams, who helped to launch the Oprah Winfrey Show into national syndication. The program was retitled, "Trial Watch," when it went to series, and ran on the NBC network for two seasons. Ironically, NBC chose to hire Rob Weller, as host, over Lauer when the program was picked up as a daily series. Lauer moved to WNBC-TV in 1992 where he became co-anchor, alongside Jane Hanson
, of the early weekday news show Today in New York
. After a year, he also filled the role of Live at Five
co-anchor with Sue Simmons
. He held that job until 1996.
Lauer's broad on-camera presence provided him with many opportunities with NBC
's national news organization while working for WNBC
in New York. Lauer filled in as the newsreader on The Today Show for Margaret Larson
when needed from 1992 to 1993. This "audition" period 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 stepped in for 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. He had also filled in for Tom Brokaw
on NBC Nightly News
. As the Today Show news anchor, he also pinch-hit for Bryant Gumbel
on the Today Show 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 the Discovery Channel
and MSNBC
.
" on the Today Show. It was named after the PBS game show Where in the World Is Carmen Sandiego? from which it borrowed the theme song. This segment has sent Lauer to the far reaches of the Earth where he has reported on the importance of each location. In recent years, he has broadcast from locations including Bhutan
, Easter Island
, the Panama Canal
, Iran
, Hong Kong, Croatia
, and the Great Wall of China
. For 2009 NBC announced this popular segment would not be airing because of the country's economy.
On some occasions, interviews conducted by Lauer have escalated into tense exchanges. In a June 2005 interview, Tom Cruise
started an argument with Lauer about psychiatry
and postpartum depression
and called Lauer "glib". In December 2008, three and a half years later, Cruise said that he regrets the exchange, and even playfully arm-wrestled
Matt Lauer in the same studio where the confrontation took place.
In a June 2006 interview with Ann Coulter
, Coulter responded to Lauer's questioning her criticism of September 11, 2001, widows and said, "You're getting testy with me." On December 30, 2009, during an on-set Birthday Party for him, Lauer introduced "Barney Miller" and "Fish" TV star Abe Vigoda
who was standing behind the cameras. Lauer then warmly invited Abe to come over and sit on the couch where Lauer announced that Abe Vigoda was his favorite guest of all times on the "Today" show. The two then discussed Matt's Birthday and Abe's long career.
In November 2006, Lauer and his daughter Romy hosted the Sesame Street direct-to-DVD Sesame Beginnings
: Exploring Together.
Lauer hosted The Greatest American
on the Discovery Channel
, which used Internet
and telephone
voting by viewers to select the winner. Lauer was critical of his own program since it tended to favor well-known figures over others who had less influence in pop culture. Since 1998, he has co-hosted NBC's live coverage of Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade
.
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.)
On June 19, 2007, he interviewed Princes William and Harry
.
Lauer served as the 2009 Class Day speaker at Harvard University's undergraduate commencement ceremonies on June 3, 2009.
Matt Lauer appears as himself in the Land of the Lost
movie, appearing in the beginning when Rick Marshall (Will Ferrell
) appears on his show and single-handedly ruins his career. Lauer appears again at the end of the film, when Rick shows up with his new book, Matt Lauer Can Suck It. Both scenes ended in violent physical confrontation between the two, with the staff trying to break them up. The first confrontation was caused by Marshall, who, after storming off, charges at Lauer, prompting him to defend himself with a fire extinguisher. The second occurred when Lauer attacked Marshall after he gloats how his new book's title was legally acceptable.
Lauer has also co-hosted the opening ceremonies of the Olympic Games
. He has broadcast with Bob Costas
the opening ceremonies of the 2008 Summer
and 2010 Winter Olympics
, carrying what his former co-host Katie Couric
had done since the 2000 Summer Olympics
.
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
's The Today Show since 1997. He was previously a news anchor in New York and a local talk-show host in Boston
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
, Philadelphia, Providence
Providence, Rhode Island
Providence is the capital and most populous city of Rhode Island and was one of the first cities established in the United States. Located in Providence County, it is the third largest city in the New England region...
and Richmond
Richmond, Virginia
Richmond is the capital of the Commonwealth of Virginia, in the United States. It is an independent city and not part of any county. Richmond is the center of the Richmond Metropolitan Statistical Area and the Greater Richmond area...
. He was also host of PM Magazine
PM Magazine
PM/Evening Magazine was a television series with a news and entertainment format. It was syndicated to stations throughout the United States...
(or "Evening Magazine" 1980-1986)
and worked for ESPN
ESPN
Entertainment and Sports Programming Network, commonly known as ESPN, is an American global cable television network focusing on sports-related programming including live and pre-taped event telecasts, sports talk shows, and other original programming....
in the 1980s as a sideline reporter
Sideline reporter
A sideline reporter, also known as a field reporter, courtside reporter , clubhouse reporter or dugout reporter , rinkside reporter or inside-the-glass reporter , on-court reporter , hole reporter , or boundary rider , is a member of the...
. In the early 1990s, Lauer hosted segments of HBO Entertainment News.
Early life
He was born in New York, New York, the son of Marilyn Kolmer, a boutique owner, and Jay Robert Lauer, a bicycle-company executive. Lauer is of RomaniaRomania
Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...
n descent on his father's side, as seen on the Today Show's "Finding Our Roots." His parents divorced during his youth, and his father died in 1997. Lauer had become co-host of The Today Show replacing longtime host Bryant Gumbel
Bryant Gumbel
Bryant Charles Gumbel is an American television journalist and sportscaster. He is best known for his 15 years as co-host of NBC's The Today Show. He is the younger brother of sportscaster Greg Gumbel.-Early life:...
in early 1997, not long before his father's death. In 1999, both Lauer and his co-host Katie Couric
Katie Couric
Katherine Anne "Katie" Couric is an American journalist and author. She serves as Special Correspondent for ABC News, contributing to ABC World News, Nightline, 20/20, Good Morning America, This Week and primetime news specials...
initially resisted participation in Today's proposed series about their family roots. The series turned out to be a hit, and Lauer was moved 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."
Career
Lauer is a School of Media Arts and Studies (formally the School of Telecommunications) graduate of Ohio UniversityOhio University
Ohio University is a public university located in the Midwestern United States in Athens, Ohio, situated on an campus...
. He attended Ivy Tech, but dropped out. In 1997, he received his undergraduate degree from Ohio University at the age of 39. He had dropped out of Ohio University's School of Telecommunications in the Spring of 1979. The university awarded him his remaining credits by counting his journalism experience as "independent study" towards his degree.
Lauer began his television career in 1979 as a producer of the 12 o'clock news for WOWK-TV
WOWK-TV
WOWK-TV is the CBS-affiliated television station for the Tri-States and Kanawha Valley area of West Virginia that is licensed to Huntington which is the second largest market east of the Mississippi River. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on VHF channel 13 from a transmitter...
in Huntington
Huntington, West Virginia
Huntington is a city in Cabell and Wayne counties in the U.S. state of West Virginia, along the Ohio River. Most of the city is in Cabell County, for which it is the county seat. A small portion of the city, mainly the neighborhood of Westmoreland, is in Wayne County. Its population was 49,138 at...
, West Virginia
West Virginia
West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian and Southeastern regions of the United States, bordered by Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Ohio to the northwest, Pennsylvania to the northeast and Maryland to the east...
. 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
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
, Philadelphia, Providence
Providence, Rhode Island
Providence is the capital and most populous city of Rhode Island and was one of the first cities established in the United States. Located in Providence County, it is the third largest city in the New England region...
and Richmond
Richmond, Virginia
Richmond is the capital of the Commonwealth of Virginia, in the United States. It is an independent city and not part of any county. Richmond is the center of the Richmond Metropolitan Statistical Area and the Greater Richmond area...
. He was also host of PM Magazine
PM Magazine
PM/Evening Magazine was a television series with a news and entertainment format. It was syndicated to stations throughout the United States...
from 1980-1986 and worked for ESPN
ESPN
Entertainment and Sports Programming Network, commonly known as ESPN, is an American global cable television network focusing on sports-related programming including live and pre-taped event telecasts, sports talk shows, and other original programming....
in the 1980s. He worked on the show "Talk of the Town" during 1988.
Lauer got his first job in the New York area when he was hired to host a three-hour live interview program, WWOR-TV
WWOR-TV
WWOR-TV, virtual channel 9 , is the flagship station of the MyNetworkTV programming service, licensed to Secaucus, New Jersey and serving the Tri-State metropolitan area. WWOR is owned by Fox Television Stations, a division of the News Corporation, and is a sister station to Fox network flagship...
's 9 Broadcast Plaza, from 1989–1991. In 1990, he was hired by the Kushner-Locke Company to host a pilot called "Day In Court," executive produced by veteran producer David Sams, who helped to launch the Oprah Winfrey Show into national syndication. The program was retitled, "Trial Watch," when it went to series, and ran on the NBC network for two seasons. Ironically, NBC chose to hire Rob Weller, as host, over Lauer when the program was picked up as a daily series. Lauer moved to WNBC-TV in 1992 where he became co-anchor, alongside Jane Hanson
Jane Hanson
Jane Hanson currently co-hosts New York Live on NBC-TV in New York. She joined WNBC-TV in September 1979. She hosted the Emmy Award-winning Jane Hanson's New York on WNBC-TV. She became host in 2003 after serving as co-anchor of Today in New York from 1988-2003...
, of the early weekday news show Today in New York
Today in New York
Today in New York is an early-morning local news and entertainment television program on WNBC in New York City, New York.It is broadcast pre-Today from 4:30 a.m. to 7 a.m. weekdays. On the weekends, the program is branded as Weekend Today in New York and is broadcast from 6 a.m to 7 a.m. and later...
. After a year, he also filled the role of Live at Five
Live at Five
Live at Five is a name used by several television stations in some countries to refer to their 5:00pm newscasts or talk shows.* The name was coined by WNBC-TV in New York City in 1980 for a lifestyle and celebrity news show...
co-anchor with Sue Simmons
Sue Simmons
Susan "Sue" Simmons has been the lead female news anchor at WNBC television in New York City since 1980.-Background:Simmons grew up in the New York City neighborhood of Harlem; her father was John Simmons, a renowned jazz bassist whose compatriots included Louis Armstrong, Art Tatum, John...
. He held that job until 1996.
NBC News
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
's national news organization while working for WNBC
WNBC
WNBC, virtual channel 4 , is the flagship station of the NBC television network, located in New York City. WNBC's studios are co-located with NBC corporate headquarters at 30 Rockefeller Plaza in midtown Manhattan...
in New York. Lauer filled in as the newsreader on The Today Show for Margaret Larson
Margaret Larson
Margaret Larson is a 25-year veteran of broadcast journalism. Her most notable position was with NBC News. She worked as a foreign correspondent from 1990 to 1992, and Today Show News Anchor from 1992 to 1993, later returning as a correspondent for Dateline NBC...
when needed from 1992 to 1993. This "audition" period 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 stepped in for Scott Simon
Scott Simon
Scott Simon is an American journalist and the host of Weekend Edition Saturday on National Public Radio.- Life and career :...
, Mike Schneider and Jack Ford
Jack Ford (news anchor)
Jack Ford is an American television news personality specializing in legal commentary who has spent over two decades in front of the TV camera as host and presenter of numerous information and entertainment programs.-Early life:...
as the co-host of Weekend Today
Weekend Today
Weekend Today is the unofficial title of the weekend editions of Today, an American morning news and talk show which airs daily on NBC.-History:...
, and for Ann Curry
Ann Curry
Ann Curry is an American television news journalist and co-anchor on NBC's morning television program Today. She is the former news anchor on Today, a role she began in March 1997, and was the host of Dateline NBC from 2005-2011.Curry is a Board Member at the IWMF .-Biography:Curry was born in...
as anchor of the former NBC News
NBC News
NBC News is the news division of American television network NBC. It first started broadcasting in February 21, 1940. NBC Nightly News has aired from Studio 3B, located on floors 3 of the NBC Studios is the headquarters of the GE Building forms the centerpiece of 30th Rockefeller Center it is...
program NBC News at Sunrise
NBC News at Sunrise
NBC News at Sunrise was an early morning news program produced by NBC News from 1983 to 1999. The program featured the top news headlines of the morning, sports and weather reports, and business segments. Many of the program's anchors also appeared on The Today Show...
from 1992 to 1997. He had also filled in for Tom Brokaw
Tom Brokaw
Thomas John "Tom" Brokaw is an American television journalist and author best known as the anchor and managing editor of NBC Nightly News from 1982 to 2004. He is the author of The Greatest Generation and other books and the recipient of numerous awards and honors...
on NBC Nightly News
NBC Nightly News
NBC Nightly News is the flagship daily evening television news program for NBC News and broadcasts. NBC Nightly News has aired from Studio 3B, located on floors 3 of the NBC Studios is the headquarters of the GE Building forms the centerpiece of 30th Rockefeller Center it is located in the center...
. As the Today Show news anchor, he also pinch-hit for Bryant Gumbel
Bryant Gumbel
Bryant Charles Gumbel is an American television journalist and sportscaster. He is best known for his 15 years as co-host of NBC's The Today Show. He is the younger brother of sportscaster Greg Gumbel.-Early life:...
on the Today Show 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 the Discovery Channel
Discovery Channel
Discovery Channel is an American satellite and cable specialty channel , founded by John Hendricks and distributed by Discovery Communications. It is a publicly traded company run by CEO David Zaslav...
and MSNBC
MSNBC
MSNBC is a cable news channel based in the United States available in the US, Germany , South Africa, the Middle East and Canada...
.
Career highlights
Beginning in 1998, Lauer has embarked on a once-yearly five-day globe-spanning adventure called "Where in the World is Matt Lauer?Where in the World is Matt Lauer?
Where in the World is Matt Lauer? is a segment on NBC's Today show, which features co-host Matt Lauer traveling the world to various locations within one week. The title is similar to the children's computer game and PBS game show Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego?, and the segment's opening...
" on the Today Show. It was named after the PBS game show Where in the World Is Carmen Sandiego? from which it borrowed the theme song. This segment has sent Lauer to the far reaches of the Earth where he has reported on the importance of each location. In recent years, he has broadcast from locations including Bhutan
Bhutan
Bhutan , officially the Kingdom of Bhutan, is a landlocked state in South Asia, located at the eastern end of the Himalayas and bordered to the south, east and west by the Republic of India and to the north by the People's Republic of China...
, Easter Island
Easter Island
Easter Island is a Polynesian island in the southeastern Pacific Ocean, at the southeasternmost point of the Polynesian triangle. A special territory of Chile that was annexed in 1888, Easter Island is famous for its 887 extant monumental statues, called moai, created by the early Rapanui people...
, the Panama Canal
Panama Canal
The Panama Canal is a ship canal in Panama that joins the Atlantic Ocean and the Pacific Ocean and is a key conduit for international maritime trade. Built from 1904 to 1914, the canal has seen annual traffic rise from about 1,000 ships early on to 14,702 vessels measuring a total of 309.6...
, Iran
Iran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
, Hong Kong, Croatia
Croatia
Croatia , officially the Republic of Croatia , is a unitary democratic parliamentary republic in Europe at the crossroads of the Mitteleuropa, the Balkans, and the Mediterranean. Its capital and largest city is Zagreb. The country is divided into 20 counties and the city of Zagreb. Croatia covers ...
, and the Great Wall of China
Great Wall of China
The Great Wall of China is a series of stone and earthen fortifications in northern China, built originally to protect the northern borders of the Chinese Empire against intrusions by various nomadic groups...
. For 2009 NBC announced this popular segment would not be airing because of the country's economy.
On some occasions, interviews conducted by Lauer have escalated into tense exchanges. In a June 2005 interview, Tom Cruise
Tom Cruise
Thomas Cruise Mapother IV , better known as Tom Cruise, is an American film actor and producer. He has been nominated for three Academy Awards and he has won three Golden Globe Awards....
started an argument with Lauer about psychiatry
Psychiatry
Psychiatry is the medical specialty devoted to the study and treatment of mental disorders. These mental disorders include various affective, behavioural, cognitive and perceptual abnormalities...
and postpartum depression
Postpartum depression
Postpartum depression , also called postnatal depression, is a form of clinical depression which can affect women, and less frequently men, typically after childbirth. Studies report prevalence rates among women from 5% to 25%, but methodological differences among the studies make the actual...
and called Lauer "glib". In December 2008, three and a half years later, Cruise said that he regrets the exchange, and even playfully arm-wrestled
Arm wrestling
Arm wrestling is a sport with two participants. Each participant places one arm on a surface with their elbows bent and touching the surface, and they grip each other's hand...
Matt Lauer in the same studio where the confrontation took place.
In a June 2006 interview with Ann Coulter
Ann Coulter
Ann Hart Coulter is an American lawyer, conservative social and political commentator, author, and syndicated columnist. She frequently appears on television, radio, and as a speaker at public events and private events...
, Coulter responded to Lauer's questioning her criticism of September 11, 2001, widows and said, "You're getting testy with me." On December 30, 2009, during an on-set Birthday Party for him, Lauer introduced "Barney Miller" and "Fish" TV star Abe Vigoda
Abe Vigoda
Abe Vigoda is an American movie and television actor. Vigoda is well known for his portrayal of Sal Tessio in The Godfather, and for his portrayal of Detective Sgt. Phil Fish on the sitcom television series Barney Miller from 1975–1977 and on its spinoff show Fish that aired from February 1977 to...
who was standing behind the cameras. Lauer then warmly invited Abe to come over and sit on the couch where Lauer announced that Abe Vigoda was his favorite guest of all times on the "Today" show. The two then discussed Matt's Birthday and Abe's long career.
In November 2006, Lauer and his daughter Romy hosted the Sesame Street direct-to-DVD Sesame Beginnings
Sesame Beginnings
Sesame Beginnings is a line of products and a video series, spun off the children's television series Sesame Street. The line is targeted towards infants and their parents, and products are designed to increase family interactivity.-Product line:...
: Exploring Together.
Lauer hosted The Greatest American
The Greatest American
The Greatest American was a four-part American television series hosted by Matt Lauer in 2005. The show featured biographies and lists of influential persons in U.S. history, and culminated in a contest in which millions in the audience nominated and voted for the person they felt was the "greatest...
on the Discovery Channel
Discovery Channel
Discovery Channel is an American satellite and cable specialty channel , founded by John Hendricks and distributed by Discovery Communications. It is a publicly traded company run by CEO David Zaslav...
, which used Internet
Internet
The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...
and telephone
Telephone
The telephone , colloquially referred to as a phone, is a telecommunications device that transmits and receives sounds, usually the human voice. Telephones are a point-to-point communication system whose most basic function is to allow two people separated by large distances to talk to each other...
voting by viewers to select the winner. Lauer was critical of his own program since it tended to favor well-known figures over others who had less influence in pop culture. Since 1998, he has co-hosted NBC's live coverage of Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade
Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade
The Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, often shortened to Macy's Day Parade, is an annual parade presented by Macy's. The tradition started in 1924, tying it for the second-oldest Thanksgiving parade in the United States along with America's Thanksgiving Parade in Detroit, and four years younger than...
.
Lauer guest-starred as himself on a live episode of Will & Grace
Will & Grace
Will & Grace was an American television sitcom that was originally broadcast on NBC from September 21, 1998 to May 18, 2006 for a total of eight seasons. Will & Grace remains the most successful television series with gay principal characters...
in early 2006. (Former co-anchor Katie Couric
Katie Couric
Katherine Anne "Katie" Couric is an American journalist and author. She serves as Special Correspondent for ABC News, contributing to ABC World News, Nightline, 20/20, Good Morning America, This Week and primetime news specials...
had guest-starred as herself on an episode of the same NBC sitcom a few years earlier.)
On June 19, 2007, he interviewed Princes William and Harry
Prince Harry of Wales
Prince Henry of Wales , commonly known as Prince Harry, is the younger son of Charles, Prince of Wales and the late Diana, Princess of Wales, and fourth grandchild of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh...
.
Lauer served as the 2009 Class Day speaker at Harvard University's undergraduate commencement ceremonies on June 3, 2009.
Matt Lauer appears as himself in the Land of the Lost
Land of the Lost (film)
Land of the Lost is a 2009 American science-fiction comedy film directed by Brad Silberling and starring Will Ferrell, Danny McBride and Anna Friel, based on the 1974 Sid and Marty Krofft TV series of the same name.-Plot:...
movie, appearing in the beginning when Rick Marshall (Will Ferrell
Will Ferrell
John William "Will" Ferrell is an American comedian, impressionist, actor, and writer. Ferrell first established himself in the late 1990s as a cast member on the NBC sketch comedy show Saturday Night Live, and has subsequently starred in the comedy films Old School, Elf, Anchorman, Talladega...
) appears on his show and single-handedly ruins his career. Lauer appears again at the end of the film, when Rick shows up with his new book, Matt Lauer Can Suck It. Both scenes ended in violent physical confrontation between the two, with the staff trying to break them up. The first confrontation was caused by Marshall, who, after storming off, charges at Lauer, prompting him to defend himself with a fire extinguisher. The second occurred when Lauer attacked Marshall after he gloats how his new book's title was legally acceptable.
Lauer has also co-hosted the opening ceremonies of the Olympic Games
Olympic Games
The Olympic Games is a major international event featuring summer and winter sports, in which thousands of athletes participate in a variety of competitions. The Olympic Games have come to be regarded as the world’s foremost sports competition where more than 200 nations participate...
. He has broadcast with Bob Costas
Bob Costas
Robert Quinlan "Bob" Costas is an American sportscaster, on the air for the NBC network since the early 1980s.-Early life:...
the opening ceremonies of the 2008 Summer
2008 Summer Olympics opening ceremony
The 2008 Summer Olympics opening ceremony was held at the Beijing National Stadium, also known as the Bird's Nest. It began at 8:00 pm China Standard Time on August 8, 2008, as 8 is considered to be a lucky number. The number 8 is associated with prosperity and confidence in Chinese culture...
and 2010 Winter Olympics
2010 Winter Olympics opening ceremony
The Opening Ceremony of the 2010 Winter Olympics was held on February 12, 2010 beginning at 6:00 pm PST at BC Place Stadium in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. This was the first Olympic opening ceremony to be held indoors...
, carrying what his former co-host Katie Couric
Katie Couric
Katherine Anne "Katie" Couric is an American journalist and author. She serves as Special Correspondent for ABC News, contributing to ABC World News, Nightline, 20/20, Good Morning America, This Week and primetime news specials...
had done since the 2000 Summer Olympics
2000 Summer Olympics
The Sydney 2000 Summer Olympic Games or the Millennium Games/Games of the New Millennium, officially known as the Games of the XXVII Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event which was celebrated between 15 September and 1 October 2000 in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia...
.
Career timeline
- 1989–1991: 9 Broadcast Plaza host
- September 1992–September 1994: Today in New York co-anchor
- August 1993–September 1996: early evening newscast News Channel 4/Live at Five co-anchor
- June 13, 1994–January 3, 1997: Today news anchor
- January 6, 1997–present: Today co-anchor