Mr. Lauer spent 21 years at “Today,” the longest tenure for the show, and was often at the center of rumored tension among other anchors on the program. After several years as the news reader on “Today,” Mr. Lauer replaced Bryant Gumbel as the co-anchor on Jan. 6, 1997. Jeff Zucker, then the executive producer of “Today,” called Mr. Lauer “the hunk next door.” He added, “It’s great for us that women are attracted to him. On the morning of Sept. 11, 2001, Mr. Lauer was talking to the writer Richard Hack about a new Howard Hughes biography. The actor Tom Cruise joined “Today” to discuss his new movie, “War of the Worlds,” with Mr. Lauer.
Source: New York Times November 29, 2017 15:42 UTC