Happy 60th Anniversary to “The Today Show”

Got up early to watch The Today Show this morning and I’m so glad I did.

What an amazing reunion of past hosts – a group that has had some of the most successful careers in the history of television news.

Barbara Walters, the first woman co-host of The Today Show (1964-76) and the first female co-anchor of a network evening newscast (ABC in 1976). Then there’s Katie Couric, co-host from 1991-2006 and the first woman to be the solo anchor of a network evening newscast. And my personal favorite, Jane Pauley co-host from 1976-89 who went on to co-anchor Dateline NBC for about a dozen years. Also, kudos to Deborah Norville who showed up looking lovely and acting gracious despite her rocky tenure as co-host between Pauley and Couric. Then there is Couric’s successor, Meredith Viera whose five-year stint was preceded by nearly a decade on The View and a stint as a correspondent for 60 Minutes.

As for the guys, what a group! The great Hugh Downs who was responsible for elevating Walters to co-host (they would anchor 20-20 together for years and years). One of his successors was Jim Hartz who anchored with Walters. Tom Brokaw co-anchored with Pauley for five years before heading off to anchor NBC Nightly News for decades. He was succeeded by Bryant Gumbel who stayed for 15 years. The show’s currents hosts are Matt Lauer and Ann Curry.