by Hoda Kotb
“Hoda, we’re offering you a trip to a private island,” Branson said in his lovely accent.
I was thinking, Oh, Lord—is that under $100? We can’t accept big gifts. If I had to return those damn shoes, surely an island getaway is out.
So fun. I just like Piers’s confidence and free spirit. (By the way, Piers, I really fancy books and music, too.) Viewers respond well to our guest hosts. It’s fun for them to watch people they’re interested in reveal themselves outside of their comfort zones. It’s also fun for me and Kathie Lee, because it shakes the show up a little, and then we look forward to getting back into our regular rhythm together.
• • •
The guests on our show are equally as intriguing. By far, the majority are kind and appreciative and gracious. Even after the cameras go dark. Some are accompanied by a slew of handlers and helpers, but most are not. Especially the big stars. They walk in only with their celebrity and their enthusiasm about the project they’re promoting. I admit that I do get “pinch me” moments. Like the morning James Taylor and Carole King both sat down with us. Can you imagine? The soundtrack of my life sitting next to the other soundtrack. I tried my best not to make doe eyes and fawn over them. I did hug James Taylor at the end. I hugged him. I didn’t care. I went in for the big one. Aretha Franklin, Sophia Loren, Shirley MacLaine, Queen Latifah—mindblowers. It’s all weird. I gotta say. One morning Julie Andrews walked by in the hallway and I felt eight years old again. As I said earlier, it’s not as intriguing for Kathie Lee because she’s interviewed so many celebrities during her years on live TV. The only star I’ve seen KLG weak-kneed about was Kevin Costner. He got her good. She got really dressed up on that day.
Kathie Lee came up with the idea of inviting our moms on as guests from time to time to cook their favorite holiday recipes. Kathie Lee’s mom, Joanie, decided one visit to prepare cottage cheese balls, while my mom chose garlic shrimp. Because it’s too hard to complete a recipe during a short TV segment—especially for amateurs—the Today show has a kitchen guru named Bianca who prepares the featured food using the recipes supplied by the guests. Still, my mom was very nervous. “I don’t know what to say!” she told me. I kept reassuring her, “Mom, it’s Kathie Lee and her mother. We’re not going to be able to get a word in edgewise. Don’t worry.” Both moms got their hair and makeup done by Laura and Mary. My mom wanted her look to be conservative. “Let’s keep it light, okay? I don’t want to be all glamorous.” We had such a good time cooking with Sami and Joanie. They were great sports and did their best to follow instructions. I still crack up picturing them trying to go with the flow as we went to the first commercial break. The producers coached them to do something for the cameras as we “teased” what was coming up next. My mom smiled and fake-stirred the garlic shrimp, and Joanie began waving her hands in a circular motion, at a loss for something to do. They were hilarious and cute. After the show, people on the street actually stopped my mom to tell her how much they enjoyed her cooking segment. That was a thrill for her, but nothing topped the fact that Al Roker talked to her. Al is my mom’s favorite and she basically stalks him when she’s at NBC with me. “Al talked to me!” she’ll report back. “Yes, Mom. Al is very nice.” Kathie Lee and I love having our moms on the show. What’s better than sharing your real family with your work family?
A recipe for fun
Larry King was a guest in May of 2009. The television and radio talk show legend had written a book titled My Remarkable Journey, and our fourth-hour set was a stop on his book tour. Apparently, in part of the book, Larry talks about his desire to be cryogenically preserved. Well, before the cameras even turned on, we gave him an idea of what that would be like in the here and now. The upstairs set of Studio 1A is an icebox. If we could, we’d wear earmuffs and parkas to combat the frigid temperatures. Unfortunately, that’s where we put Larry as he waited for his segment, slated for the downstairs studio. His teeth were chattering when he finally joined us downstairs.
“What are you trying to do, friggin’ kill me?” Larry yelled at us through blue lips.
Can’t you just hear him saying that?
Thankfully, we ended up having fun with it. The whole segment became him accusing us of trying to “friggin’ off him.” I’m pretty sure his book got shortchanged. Now the barometer (or thermometer) for how cold the studio feels is measured on the LK index.
“God, it’s freezing in here!” we’ll say. “But not as cold as when we almost killed Larry King.”
Kathie Lee and I both agree that one of our favorite interviews was Beyoncé. The twenty-eight-year-old superstar agreed to a taped interview the day after one of the biggest nights of her life. Hours earlier, Beyoncé had set a record for the most Grammy Award wins by a female artist in one night. On January 31, 2010, she took home six statues (after being nominated for ten) at the 52nd Annual Grammy Awards. Her hit song “Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)” won Song of the Year. No doubt exhausted and heading out for the South American leg of her “I AM . . .” world tour, Beyoncé somehow made time to chat with us. We were given fifteen minutes. Our producers found an office building located near Union Square for the interview, and crews spent their usual two hours creating a beautiful temporary set for us.
When Beyoncé walked into the room, we were blown away by her beauty and presence. She’s about 5 feet 7, but her red heels added several inches. She wore a gorgeous short dress, designed in her favorite color, red. She was a knockout. Her frame is sexy and solid and she carries herself with confidence around every curve. She dropped down into the chair with a friendly “Hey!” We most often hear Beyoncé’s singing voice, so it was almost odd to hear her speak. Her words were laced with a touch of Texas twang. (Beyoncé was born and raised in Houston.) As her people began touching up her hair and makeup, all I could think was, There’s absolutely nothing wrong with her! Bring that stuff over here!
From the minute Beyoncé sat down, there was something refreshing about her. There were no walls, no talking points, and no glazed look stars sometimes get from having to tell the same story a hundred times. Beyoncé simply brought herself. Because we had such a short amount of time, Kathie Lee and I got right into her Grammy Awards sweep the night before. In unison, we reeled off the list of female artists she’d out-Grammied, with her now total of sixteen.
“Barbra Streisand, eight. Tina Turner, eight,” we marveled. “Celine Dion, five.”
Beyoncé’s beautiful jaw dropped. She was in shock.
“That is so scary” was her humble reaction.
We asked her how she could possibly stay so grounded while her world was so clearly in orbit.
“Being around my family keeps me grounded. My mother is a very special woman. She is very honest with me as well as my husband, and my female friends—we call ourselves the Blackbirds.” She smiled. “It’s great to know when I take off all the makeup and heels that I have a life and I have warmth and I have reality.”
And you know what? We believed her. We could picture her at home, grabbing a handful of popcorn, just hanging out with the people she loves. We then asked her how she manages to stay out of the tabloids and protect her privacy with her rapper husband Jay-Z.
“I think I’m a little too busy!” she laughed. “I think I work so much that when I’m getting off the stage and I’ve given one hundred percent, all I want to do is go to the hotel, get in some UGGs, and watch television.”
Beyoncé is a workhorse and I’m a sucker for that. I love anyone who’s busting it to pursue his or her passion. She told us that when she’s working on an album she misses acting. When she’s doing a film, she’s eager to record new music. “The longer you do something, the harder it is to top yourself and try to discover what you haven’t done yet,” she explained. “It’s challenging to always try to grow and have your fans grow with you.”
It was weird sitting across from Beyoncé because she is so normal and fun. We laughed about her watching a marathon of the TV show The Jerse
y Shore in her hotel room. It was so easy to lose sight of her superstardom. Oh, Lord, it’s Beyoncé! I’d remind myself. A month earlier, she had launched her signature fragrance, Heat. (And why not, right? What else is she doing but singing, songwriting, producing records, acting, and modeling? Workhorse.) Kathie Lee had a bottle of Heat in her hand and commented about how sexy it looked and that the red and gold color combination mimicked the dress Beyoncé was wearing. The superstar said they were her two favorite colors and joked that the bottle was shaped like her.
“My figure’s kind of like that,” Beyoncé laughed. “Heavy at the bottom.”
We loved her! And we could have stayed for an hour. Even Beyoncé seemed surprised when our fifteen minutes ended. “It’s over?” she asked. We definitely experienced quality over quantity with her. That girl is impressive within ten seconds. I’m so glad I met Beyoncé in person. That makes my time with her on my iPod even more fun.
P.S.
How about this for a blast from the past? Some thirty-five years later, I got to meet the hunk from the poster on the back of my bedroom door. In April of 2010, Erik Estrada was a guest on the fourth hour of Today. How crazy is that? My junior high heartthrob in the flesh! Erik was so nice and gave me a big hug. He flashed that signature Ponch smile (his teeth are still really white!) just like I remember from the CHiPs days. He’s now involved with a nationwide task force that hunts down sexual predators who prowl the Internet for kids. Three decades later, my guy fights crime for real!
21
THE PEACOCK FAMILY
Okay. Corny alert. But this is true: the people I work with feel like family. Matt, Al, Meredith, Ann, Natalie, the producers, and the crew are all top-notch. Sure, none of us is perfect, but these guys are perfectly wonderful to call colleagues. If you watch the Today show and get the sense that we like each other, you’re right. There’s no phoniness.
“That’s right, Meredith [ fake smile and chuckle]. So, tell us about the weather, Al [cheesy wink; stiff turn to camera 1].”
There’s none of that.
We really do like each other. We know each other well, too. There’s no way to avoid it—we’re up at odd hours together when people’s true colors come out, we spend 24/7 together on long trips covering the Olympics or other big news events, and there are daily deadlines, which tend to reveal character and attitude. After getting to know all these folks, I can honestly say there is a collective spirit of gratitude. Everyone is thankful to work on the Today show and no one person feels like it’s my show. It’s our show.
I credit Today show executive producer Jim Bell for a lot of that “Go, Team” tone. Jim came to NBC News from NBC Olympics in 2005. He also played defensive tackle at Harvard. At 6 feet 4, 250 pounds, Jim is a commanding figure, but it’s his watch that’s the real power player. When you head up four hours of morning television, you’d better be able to fire off solid decisions under deadline pressure like a human Gatling gun. Jim does it exceptionally well. (Check our ratings.) Whenever I walk into his office, I make my point quickly. Bang-bang! Jim’s tough, but as kind as they come. He’s raising four boys and his strong and kind wife, Angelique, makes you love him even more. I’m grateful Jim’s our leader, and I can’t say enough for my teammates.
Meredith and Matt, seated; Steve Capus, Al, Jim Bell, Ann, and me
Every morning, Al Roker walks into the makeup room doing a song and dance. You never see a rain cloud around that guy. One February, Al and I flew to New Orleans to ride a float together in the Krewe of Argus Parade in Jefferson Parish. We rode on Fat Tuesday and did our show live from the parade route. This is going to sound ridiculous, but there’s something exhilarating and exhausting about riding on a float. There’s a lot of waiting, and then sudden yelling and connecting with hundreds of people. I don’t know why, but it somehow wears you out. After the show, our flight home was delayed and we arrived back in New York City late in the evening.
Just a few hours later, I was sitting in the makeup chair like a zombie, getting ready for the show. In walked Al. “Hellllllooooooo. Look. it’s Hooooooooda!” he chirped. I couldn’t believe it. He acted like he got a full night’s sleep, when I know he slept for maybe two hours. I said to him, “How do you do it?” He answered through that huge smile, “Let me tell you why I’m happy. It’s because my dad drove a city bus, and I get to come to 30 Rock every single day and work.” That told me all I need to know about Al Roker. Done.
Again, that’s the common thread at the Today show. A thread that stitches the word: grateful. All the people you watch have worked hard to get where they sit. No one had a gimme. Their investment of time and effort paid off, and because that doesn’t always happen, they feel lucky. Matt is the perfect example of setting the right tone for the show. He’s always polite and respectful. If he’s dashing in to make a segment, there’s no rudeness or abruptness with the crew. “Excuse me, Antoine. I’m sorry, I just have to get in here,” he’ll say, moving through the bodies. He’s also one of the funniest people I know and one of the most considerate. Matt was the first person who called me when I got out of the recovery room after my breast cancer surgery.
Matt, Meredith, Ann, Al, and Natalie are asked to pop around the globe, often at a moment’s notice. You never hear any of them complain about being tired or away from their families. They just go, and do, and do it again. One morning in the makeup room, I knew Matt had just gotten back from some Timbuktu-ish place and I asked him when he got back. “Oh, around midnight.” That meant: somewhere between midnight and six o’clock in the morning, Matt arrived back home, studied for all his segments, slept?, and came into work. I’m not saying talent doesn’t earn the dollars to do it, it’s just the consistent good attitude that I find priceless. Even the crew members who are up all night prepping the Today show sets always greet me with, “Good morning, Hoda!” They’ll yell from atop a ladder, “How was your night?” I’ve been there long enough now to know that all the goodwill is genuine. It’s just a fun place to work.
The person who makes me laugh every day is Meredith. In the name of decorum, I can’t share half the things she says, but trust me—the woman is brilliant. In February of 2008, Today took the show on the road for a “Fire and Ice” special. We broadcast shows from chilly Warren, Vermont, then flew to hot Miami for shows there. Thankfully, we all got stuck in Florida due to travel delays up north. The whole gang was happily trapped and we spent the afternoon soaking up sun by the pool and enjoying some cocktails.
As we sat around a table, I blurted out, “Oh, my gosh. I have to tell you this funny story about my watch!” Well, that’s like chumming the water for Meredith’s sense of humor. She immediately stood up and yelled to everyone, waving her arms, “Hold the phone, everybody! Hoda has a really”—her fingers do air quotes—“interesting story about her watch!” Then to the pool waiter, “Excuse me, we’re gonna need some double shots, because she’s about to tell a really (air quotes again) interesting story about her watch that went missing.” I was laughing so hard I could barely tell the tale of how a guy with a metal detector found my watch. That is interesting, right?!
For laughs, Meredith. For energy, Ann Curry. When that woman walks into the makeup room, the energy meter spikes. She should be called Amp Curry. Ann has an energy source that she can focus like a laser beam, and she uses it when she talks to people. Whether it’s an interview on the couch, or a face in the crowd, or a colleague in the makeup chair, she’s 110 percent interested.
“So, how ya doin’?” she’ll say to me in the morning, as I’m sitting in the makeup chair. I’ll glance over at the clock and see that she’s one minute away from her newscast.
“Did that thing go okay for you last night?” she’ll continue.
“Yep.” I’ll say, chopping my answer. “Ann, you have one minute.”
“Okay. But you’re good?”
She really does want to know.
No one loves what she does more than Ann. Especially the pursuit of a story. I
f you were to offer her the option of anchoring the news or chasing a story, she’d be out the door in a second. Always. For as beautiful and put-together as she is on air, Ann is the first one to be wandering the halls without makeup after the show. She’s the comfy gal, the jeans-and-T-shirt gal. And throw in a pair of Energizer Bunny slippers.
Perhaps the nicest person I know at NBC is Natalie Morales. She’s the kind of girl who’s so pretty that women want to hate her. But no one can, because she’s so damn nice. Natalie sees the good side of everybody. She’s also smart and her world is organized. Everything’s highlighted, underlined, and neatly stacked.
“What is that?’ I’ll ask her.
Ladies’ night: Ann Curry, Melissa Lonner, me, Bobbie Thomas, Natalie Morales, Tammy Filler
“Oh, just my segments,” she’ll say, completely on top of everything.
I don’t know where she finds the time—juggling work, two kids, and a husband. The great thing about Natalie is, you can also throw her into any random situation and she’s just as good. She handles it all beautifully. But one warning: Natalie is fiercely competitive when it comes to athletics. The girl can burn it up! When Self magazine asked us to compete in a triathlon, Natalie ranked in the top three of her age group. I barely finished. I’d put my money on Natalie any day.
Like I warned you, corny alert—but, when it comes to my Today show family, I’m as proud as a peacock.