Coordinates	41°52′55″N87°37′40″N
Show name	Today
genre	NewsTalk
creator	Sylvester L. Weaver, Jr.
Presenter	Weekday editionMatt Lauer (1997–present)Ann Curry (2011–present)Natalie Morales (2011–present)Al Roker (1996–present)Savannah Guthrie (2011–present)Hoda Kotb (2007–present)Kathie Lee Gifford (2008–present)Other:Willard Scott (1980–present)Weekend ''Today'' Lester Holt (2003–present) Saturdays: Amy Robach (2007–present)Jenna Wolfe (2007–present)Bill Karins (2009–present)Janice Huff (1995–present)
narrated	Dick Dudley (former)Fred Facey (1984–2006)Les Marshak (current)
theme music composer	John Williams
country	United States
num episodes	17,694 (as of May 14, 2011)
executive producer	Jim Bell
location	NBC StudiosNew York, New York
runtime	240 minutes (4 hours)
network	NBC
picture format	480i (16:9 SDTV),1080i (HDTV)
first aired	January 14, 1952
last aired	present
status	Returning series
related	Early Today
website	http://www.todayshow.com
directed by	Joe Michaels
slogan	Your day is Today }}

''Today'' (also referred to as ''The Today Show'') is an American morning news and talk show airing every morning on NBC. Debuting on January 14, 1952, it was the first of its genre on American television and in the world. The show is also the fourth-longest running American television series. Originally a two-hour program on weekdays, it expanded to Sundays (currently one hour) in 1987 and Saturdays (two hours) in 1992. The weekday broadcast expanded to three hours in 2000, and a fourth hour launched in 2007.

''Today'''s dominance was virtually unchallenged by the other networks until the late 1980s, when it was overtaken by ABC's ''Good Morning America''. ''Today'' retook the Nielsen ratings lead the week of December 11, 1995, and has held onto that position every week since.

In 2002, ''Today'' was ranked #17 on TV Guide's 50 Greatest TV Shows of All Time.

Current cast

The first two hours of the show are anchored by Matt Lauer and Ann Curry, with broadcast meteorologist Al Roker, news anchor Natalie Morales, and Chief Legal Analyst Savannah Guthrie. Roker, Morales and Guthrie also serve as co-hosts of the third hour, while Hoda Kotb and Kathie Lee Gifford co-host the fourth hour. Lauer and Curry typically appear with Roker, Morales and Guthrie at the very beginning of the third hour, occasionally staying on if breaking news warrants it. Weekend editions are anchored by Lester Holt, Amy Robach (Saturdays) and Jenna Wolfe (Sundays), all three of whom frequently contribute to the weekday show.

Guthrie and Morales substitute for Curry, while Guthrie, Holt, MSNBC host Willie Geist and ''Meet the Press'' anchor David Gregory cover for Lauer. CNBC anchor Carl Quintanilla and Saturday co-host Robach occasionally host, mainly during holidays.

Guthrie is also the main fill-in for Morales at the news desk, while Geist, Kotb, MSNBC host Tamron Hall, Quintanilla, Robach and Wolfe have also appeared as news anchor. Various NBC News correspondents appear at the news desk at weekends.

Regular correspondents include Chief White House correspondent and NBC Political Director Chuck Todd, Mike Leonard, Capitol Hill correspondent Kelly O'Donnell, Bob Dotson, Jamie Gangel, and Peter Alexander. Dr. Nancy Snyderman is the network's chief medical correspondent. Jean Chatzky, editor-at-large for Money Magazine, provides weekly financial segments. Sarah Haines is the online correspondent. CNBC correspondents, including Burnett, Amanda Drury, Melissa Francis and Melissa Lee, regularly report from the New York Stock Exchange, while MSNBC and Weather Channel correspondents are frequent contributors. Jenna Bush Hager is a special correspondent for the program.

History

The show's first broadcast aired on January 14, 1952. It was the brainchild of Sylvester L. Weaver, Jr., who was then vice-president of NBC. Weaver was president of the company from 1953 to 1955, during which time ''Today's'' late-night companion ''The Tonight Show'' premiered. In pre-production, the show's proposed title was ''The Rise and Shine Revue''.

''Today'' was the first show of its genre when it signed on with original host Dave Garroway. The show blended national news headlines, interviews with newsmakers, lifestyle features, other light news and gimmicks (including the presence of the chimpanzee J. Fred Muggs as the show's mascot during the early years), and local station news updates. It has spawned several other shows of a similar type, including ABC's ''Good Morning America'', and CBS' ''The Early Show''. In other countries the format was copied – most notably in the United Kingdom with the BBC's ''Breakfast'' and ITV's ''Good Morning Britain''. In Canada with ''Canada AM'' on CTV and in Australia with the Sunrise (TV program) on the Seven Network.

When ''Today'' started, it was seen live only in the Eastern and Central time zones, broadcasting three hours per morning but seen for only two hours in each time zone. Since 1958, ''Today'' is tape-delayed for the different time zones. Partly to accommodate host Dave Garroway's declining health, the program ceased live broadcasts in the summer of 1958, opting instead to broadcast an edition taped the prior afternoon. The experiment, which drew criticism from many sides, ended when John Chancellor replaced Garroway in July 1961. For many years ''Today'' was a two-hour program, from 7:00 a.m. to 9:00 a.m. in all time zones except for Alaska, Hawaii and U.S. Virgin Islands, until NBC expanded it to three hours on October 2, 2000. A fourth hour was added on September 10, 2007. In some markets (such as Boston, Massachusetts, on WHDH-TV), the third and fourth hours of ''Today'' are aired on further tape delay.

During the first three hours, local affiliates are offered a five-minute window at :25 and :55 to insert a local newsbreak, although the show provides additional segments for those affiliates who do not do so.

When breaking news stories warrant, ''Today'' will broadcast a live West Coast edition. The live updates typically do not last longer than the 7:00 a.m. (PT) hour and once completed, will return to the taped East Coast feed. When the anchors welcome the viewers to the show, they will note the current time as being "Pacific Time" and continue to note it as such until the tape delay is started. In some instances, when NBC Special Reports occur during the ''Today'' timeslot, the show's anchors will assume hosting responsibilities.

For the most part, ''Today'' is aired live in the Eastern Time Zone in most markets while taped delayed in the remaining time zones.

Studio

The ''Today'' program first originated from the RCA Exhibition Hall on 49th Street in a space now occupied by the Christie's auction house, just down the block from the current studio. The first set placed a functional newsroom in the studio, which Garroway called "the nerve center of the world." The barrier between backstage and on-stage was virtually nonexistent. Garroway and the on-air staff often walked through the newsroom set. Glimpses of camera crew and technicians were a frequent occurrence, as were off-screen voices conversing with Garroway. Gradually, machines and personnel were placed behind the scenes to assemble the news and weather reports, and the newsroom was gone by 1955. In 1958, the show moved across the street to Studio 3K in the RCA Building, where it remained through the early 1960s.

On July 9, 1962, the show returned to a streetside studio in the space then occupied by the Florida Showcase. On September 13, 1965, ''Today'' moved back to the RCA Building. The network's news programming went to all-color broadcasts at that time, and NBC could not justify allocating four (then-expensive) color cameras to the Florida Showcase studio.

For the next twenty years, the show occupied a series of studios on the third, sixth, and eighth floors of NBC's headquarters; most notably Studio 3K in the 1970s, Studio 8G (adjacent to Studio 8H, home to ''Saturday Night Live'') in the late 1970s and early 1980s, and finally Studio 3B from 1983 to 1994. ''Today'' moved to the current streetside studio on June 13, 1994, providing a link to the show's 1950s origins.

Since the premiere of the 1990s set, the morning shows of each of the major broadcast and cable-news networks has moved streetside—including two of ''Today's'' Rockefeller Center neighbors, Fox News' ''Fox & Friends'' (at Avenue of the Americas) and CNN's ''American Morning''. (In summer 2005, CNN reversed the trend, abandoning its street-level studio and moving upstairs in the Time Warner Center at Columbus Circle.) ABC's ''Good Morning America'' broadcasts from Times Square Studios. In 2006, Studio 1A underwent a major renovation to prepare for 1080i high-definition broadcasting. After the departure of Katie Couric and while a new set was readied (summer of 2006), the program was broadcast from a temporary outdoor studio in Rockefeller Plaza, the same set NBC used at the Olympic Games since 2004 (Athens (2004), in Torino, Italy, (2006), and would be re-used for Beijing (2008). However, it would not be used during in Vancouver (2010), as their studio was the atrium at Grouse Mountain.) During the week of August 28, 2006, the show was moved to a temporary location outside of Studio 1A because MTV was converting the Outdoor Studio into their Red Carpet booth for the 2006 MTV Video Music Awards. A mock set was set up in ''Dateline'''s studio, also used during inclement weather. Also, they used a temporary outdoor set at 30 Rock,and MSNBC's ''Countdown with Keith Olbermann'' (which joined at Studio 1A in 30 Rock on October 22, 2007).

On September 13, 2006, ''Today'' moved into its brand new set. The new studio is divided into five different parts on the lower level. It includes the interview area, the couch area, the news desk, the performance/interview/extra space area, and home base, which is where the anchors start the show. A gigantic Panasonic 103-inch plasma monitor is often used for graphic display backgrounds. A kitchen set is located upstairs from the main studio. The blue background that is seen in the opening of the show in home base moves up and down to allow a view of the outside from the home base. New graphics were introduced, which underwent only minor changes until they were updated on September 8, 2009, with the introduction of the new ''Your day is Today'' slogan.

Current on-air staff

Anchors

''Today'' anchors started out as "Communicators." Creator Pat Weaver envisioned a person whose responsibilities would go beyond the bounds of traditional sit-down news anchors. The Communicator would interview, report, moderate dialogue and generally tie the show together into a coherent whole. Garroway and his successors have all followed that model, with little variation. Today, the hosts are expected to do much the same, and on any given day will talk with correspondents, newsmakers and lifestyle experts; introduce and close each half-hour; conduct special segments (such as cooking or fashion) and go on-assignment to host the program from different locations. Although the "Communicator" nomenclature has since dropped out of favor, the job remains largely the same. The principal anchors/hosts of the show include:

Matt Lauer, anchor (1997–present)

Ann Curry, anchor (2011–present)

Natalie Morales, news anchor (2011–present), third-hour anchor (2006–present)

Al Roker, weather anchor (1996–present), third-hour anchor (2006–present)

Savannah Guthrie, third-hour anchor (2011–present)

Hoda Kotb, fourth-hour anchor (2007–present)

Kathie Lee Gifford, fourth-hour anchor (2008–present)

Willard Scott, other (1980–present)

Former on-air staff

Anchors

Dave Garroway (1952–1961)

John Chancellor (1961–1962)

Hugh Downs (1962–1971)

Barbara Walters (1966–1976)

Frank McGee (1971–1974)

Jim Hartz (1974–1976)

Tom Brokaw (1976–1982)

Jane Pauley (1976–1989)

Bryant Gumbel (1982–1997)

Deborah Norville (1990–1991)

Katie Couric (1991–2006)

Meredith Vieira (2006–2011)

News anchors

From the show's inception, the idea of providing the latest news has been critical to the function of the program. In that vein, there has always been at least one person on set whose job it is to prepare and deliver newscasts. In 1952, that person was called ''Today'''s "news editor" or (informally) "news chief." In modern parlance, the term "newsreader" or "news anchor" is preferred. Under the two-hour format, four newscasts would be delivered, once every half-hour. Now there are only three newscasts, delivered at the top of each of the first three hours. Some anchors, including Jim Fleming, Lew Wood, Floyd Kalber and John Palmer, were seasoned journalists before joining the program. Others, including Ann Curry, have used the position to increase their journalistic acumen, at times leaving the newsdesk behind to venture into the field. News anchors have included the following:

Jim Fleming, news anchor (1952–1953)

Merrill Mueller, news anchor (1953)

Frank Blair, news anchor (1953–1975)

Lew Wood, news anchor (1975–1976)

Floyd Kalber, news anchor (1976–1979)

Tony Guida, news anchor (1979)

None (1979–1981; Brokaw and Pauley read headlines during this period.)

Chris Wallace, news anchor (1982)

John Palmer, news anchor (1982–1989)

Deborah Norville, news anchor (1989)

Steven Frazier, news anchor (1990)

Faith Daniels, news anchor (1990–1992)

Margaret Larson, news anchor (1992–1994)

Matt Lauer, news anchor (1994–1997)

Ann Curry, news anchor (1997–2011)

Weather anchors

For the program's first 25 years, weather reports were delivered by the host or newsreader. Dave Garroway would draw the day's weather fronts and areas of precipitation on a big chalkboard map of the United States, based on information gathered earlier in the morning from the U.S. Weather Bureau in Washington, D.C. Subsequent hosts John Chancellor and Hugh Downs dropped the chalkboard weather map concept and instead read a prepared weather summary over a still image of a weather map. When the show went to all-color broadcasts in 1965, weather maps were prepared and projected on a screen behind Frank Blair, who would deliver the forecast immediately after his news summaries. Following Blair's retirement in 1975, Lew Wood took over the newsreader and weather reporting duties. When Floyd Kalber became news anchor in 1976, Wood continued to do the weather (in addition to doing other news, sports, and commercials) until 1978. The weather is reported every half-hour during the program's first three hours, though since Al Roker took over as weather reporter, this is not always the case as an interview by Al at the beginning of the show may air in place of the national weather forecast at least once during the show at certain times during the week, leaving only the local weather inserts by NBC stations.

With the purchase of The Weather Channel by NBC in association with two private equity groups in 2008 and the July 2009 launch of pre-''Today'' program ''Wake Up with Al'' on that network, the forecast segment is now often augmented with reports and observations by Weather Channel staff at the site of a weather event or from the Weather Channel's suburban Atlanta headquarters.

Until the hiring of Bob Ryan in 1978, however, no one on the show had practical experience or academic credentials in meteorology.

''Today'' weather reporters have included:

Bob Ryan, weather anchor (1978–1980)

Willard Scott, weather anchor (1980–1996)

Al Roker, weather anchor (1996–present)

NBC affiliate stations are given a 30 second window to insert a local forecast into the program following the national weather report; Roker's outcue for the local break is ''"That's what's going on around the country, here’s what’s happening in your neck of the woods."'' (A national summary of temperatures from Roker is shown if no local forecast is inserted in the area, international viewers and to those watching outside Studio 1A in Rockefeller Plaza.)

The semi-retired Scott, who gained fame through his antics that included costumes and props, still occasionally appears as Roker's fill-in, and to continue his tradition of wishing "happy birthday" to centenarians. Scott's traditional local cue is ''"Here's what's happening in your world, even as we speak."''

Regular panelists

The job of "panelist" has no set definition. Panelist duties can range from conducting interviews to reporting on a number of topics in-studio and in the field. Regular panelists on the program include the following:

Jack Lescoulie (1952–1965)

Edwin Newman (1952–1984)

Barbara Walters (1966–1974 as ''de facto'' co-anchor; officially titled "co-host" in 1974)

Judith Crist (1964–1973)

Joe Garagiola (1967–1973, 1990–1992)

Gene Shalit (1973–2010)

Jane Pauley (2010-present)

''Today'' Girls

From 1952 to 1964, a notable member of the cast was a woman, often an entertainer, the ''Today'' Girl. Usually, she would discuss fashion and lifestyle, report the weather, cover lighter-fare stories or engage in verbal jousting with Garroway. Estelle Parsons was the first to hold the job, though her title at the time was "Women's Editor". Upon her departure in 1955, the ''Today'' Girl name was adopted. The last to hold the position, Barbara Walters, discussed the job in her autobiography ''Audition: A Memoir''. She wrote that the era was before the Women's Movement, and it was believed that nobody would take a woman seriously reporting "hard news"; Walters described the position as a "tea pourer". In 1966, Walters was promoted to co-host alongside Hugh Downs, and the ''Today'' Girl position was eliminated. Those who held the position were:

Estelle Parsons (official title: "Women's Editor") (1952–1955)

Lee Meriwether (1955–1956)

Helen O'Connell (1956–1958)

Betsy Palmer (1958)

Florence Henderson (1959–1960; co-hosted ''Later Today'' in 1999–2000)

Beryl Pfizer (1960–1961)

Robbin Bain (1961)

Louise King (1962)

Pat Fontaine (1963–1964)

Maureen O'Sullivan (1964)

Barbara Walters (1964–1966)

Controversies and transitions

Gumbel-"Memogate"

In 1989, Gumbel wrote a memo to ''Today Show'' executive producer Marty Ryan which was critical of other ''Today'' personalities. This memo was leaked to the press. In the memo, Gumbel commented that Willard Scott "holds the show hostage to his assortment of whims, wishes, birthdays and bad taste...This guy is killing us and no one's even trying to rein him in". He commented that Gene Shalit's movie reviews "are often late and his interviews aren't very good."

There was enough negative backlash in regard to Gumbel's comments toward Scott that Gumbel was shown making up with Scott on ''Today''.

Exit Jane Pauley, enter Deborah Norville

By 1989, Deborah Norville replaced John Palmer at the ''Today'' newsdesk and he assumed her previous role on ''Sunrise''. She also began substituting for Tom Brokaw on ''NBC Nightly News''. Shortly after Norville's appointment as ''Today'''s news anchor, the decision was made to feature Norville as an unofficial third host. Whereas Palmer had read the news from a desk separate from where Gumbel and Pauley sat, Norville was seated alongside the program's hosts at the opening and closing of every show. Before long, gossip columns and media observers predicted that NBC would remove Jane Pauley from the program and replace her with Norville in an effort to improve the program's recently declining viewership by young women, the demographic most coveted by morning shows. During this period ''Saturday Night Live'' featured a skit titled "All About Deborah Norville" (a takeoff on the classic film ''All About Eve''), which depicted Norville as ruthlessly scheming to take Pauley's place as ''Today'' co-host.

By late 1989, it was announced that 13-year veteran Pauley would leave ''Today'' at the end of the year. NBC, as expected, announced that Norville would become co-host. An emotional Norville hugged Pauley on the air after the announcement was made, and many at NBC hoped the negative press generated by Norville's increased presence on the program would end. It did not. Prior to the announcement of Pauley's departure, much of the criticism had focused on Norville's youth and beauty, with many branding her "the other woman" and a "home wrecker," in a reference to what some felt seemed like her intent on "breaking up" the television marriage of Gumbel and Pauley.

Negative press only heightened after the announcement of Pauley's resignation, and Norville was put under a gag order by NBC brass which prevented her from defending herself from the widespread and erroneous reports that she somehow orchestrated her rise on ''Today''. In January 1990, the new anchor team of Bryant Gumbel and Deborah Norville, minus Jane Pauley, debuted with disastrous results. Ratings for the program began to plummet. Critics felt that Gumbel and Norville lacked chemistry and many loyal viewers began turning to rival ABC's ''Good Morning America'' (''GMA'').

By the end of 1990, ''Today'', the longtime dominant program, was officially the second place morning show behind ''GMA,'' and most of the blame was pinned on Norville. By the outbreak of the Persian Gulf War in 1991, Norville saw her role as co-host continually minimized. ''Today'' aired special editions of the program called ''America at War'', with Gumbel anchoring most of the show alone. It was not uncommon for Norville not to even make an appearance until the two hour show's second half hour. In addition, she was directed not to initiate conversation on the show and only speak when asked a question by Gumbel. Norville left the show for maternity leave in February 1991. It was announced that Katie Couric would substitute co-host during Norville's absence. Ratings for the program rose immediately following Norville's departure and Couric's arrival.

Midway though her maternity leave, Norville was interviewed by ''People''. In the story, she avoided conversation about her recent trouble on ''Today'', and instead focused on her newborn baby boy. She was photographed breastfeeding her son, a seemingly innocuous event, but NBC management was said to be greatly displeased by this, believing the photo to be in poor taste. By April 1991, in light of improved ratings on ''Today'' and NBC's displeasure at the ''People'' photograph, it was announced that Norville would not return to ''Today'' and that Katie Couric had been named the program's co-host. Norville, it was disclosed, would continue to be paid in accordance with her contract, although she would no longer appear on any NBC News programs.

Rumored Couric-Lauer feud

Beginning in 2003 there were rumors that Katie Couric and Matt Lauer were in the midst of a feud. Reports say that this was due to Katie Couric's prominence, that she was generally perceived as handling the news program, and that she was the only person who could guarantee high ratings for a morning news program.

Couric leaves, Vieira enters

On Wednesday April 5, 2006, Katie Couric announced on her fifteenth anniversary as co-host of ''Today'' that she would leave ''Today'' and NBC News at the end of May to become the new anchor and managing editor of the ''CBS Evening News''. Katie Couric's final broadcast was aired on May 31, 2006. The day's show was dedicated to Couric's fifteen years as one of the show's co-hosts, and celebrated her move to the anchor chair at CBS, where she also became a correspondent for the network's Sunday night program ''60 Minutes''. Couric said during the show, "It's been a pleasure hosting this program, and thank you for fifteen great years." A special video presentation was broadcast, recapping her best moments and news stories on Today during her fifteen years.

The day after Couric's announcement, Meredith Vieira, then a host of ABC's ''The View'' announced on that show that she would take over as Lauer's co-anchor in September. Lauer and Vieira began co-hosting together on September 13, 2006.

On June 1, 2006 (the day after Couric's departure), NBC News announced that for the summer of 2006 ''Today'' would move to a temporary outdoor studio as Studio 1A was going through renovations to prepare for high-definition. On that same day, NBC News launched a new advertisement promoting Vieira's arrival. For the summer of 2006, Couric's anchor seat was filled with various hosts, consisting of Curry, Morales and Campbell Brown (all of whom were considered candidates to replace Couric), until Vieira took over that fall.

Lauer's contract has been secured for the future years. He has signed through 2012 and has received a sizable salary increase.

In March 2010, Vieira signed a contract that would keep her with the program until at least September 2011, though reports state that she will not renew her contract when it expires at that time. Vieira announced on May 9, 2011 that she would depart as co-host in the following month, but would remain at NBC News in an as-yet undetermined role.

Vieira exits, Curry takes over

After announcing her resignation, Vieira departed the program on June 8th, 2011. Former news anchor Ann Curry replaced her, appearing alongside Matt Lauer as co-host. Correspondent Natalie Morales replaced Curry as news anchor, with Al Roker remaining as the weather anchor. Savannah Guthrie joins Morales and Roker as co-host of the third, 9am hour.

Expansion

''Early Today'' and ''Later Today''

The first brand extension was created in 1982. ''Early Today'' was conceived as a lead-in for ''Today''. It even had the same anchors, Bryant Gumbel and Jane Pauley. The program was conceived so local stations could carry the full hour or one of the two half-hours. After a year NBC replaced it with ''NBC News at Sunrise'', anchored by Connie Chung.

In 1999, NBC cancelled ''Sunrise'' and created two brand extensions for ''Today''. One was ''Early Today'' (not to be confused with the earlier incarnation); the program originally was produced by CNBC and focused on business and financial news before switching to general news under the same production staff as ''MSNBC First Look''; it continues to air on many NBC affiliates. Also in the of fall 1999, ''Later Today'', a talk show that was intended to air immediately following the then two-hour ''Today'', was launched with hosts Jodi Applegate, Florence Henderson and Asha Blake. Sagging ratings for that show caused its cancellation in August 2000; it was replaced two months later by the current third hour of ''Today''.

Fourth hour

On September 10, 2007, NBC expanded the show length to four hours, as announced on January 17, 2007 at its press tour sessions. The fourth hour was originally hosted by Curry, Morales, and Hoda Kotb; Kathie Lee Gifford replaced Curry and Morales on April 7, 2008. Without news segments or input from the earlier hosts, the fourth hour operates virtually as a standalone talk show, with an opening "host chat" segment reminiscent of the one popularized by Gifford and Regis Philbin on ''Live with Regis and Kathie Lee'', as well as features focusing on entertainment, fashion and other topics intended to draw in female viewers.

NBC had aired the daytime soap opera ''Passions'' from 1999 to 2007 but dropped it to make room on its schedule for the extended version of ''Today''. The fourth hour of ''Today'' competes with ABC's ''The View'' and CBS's ''The Price Is Right'' in most markets in the Central and Pacific time zones, but most Eastern time stations air it live one hour before those programs. Not all NBC affiliates carry the new hour, including Hearst-owned affiliates KCRA-TV, Sacramento, California; KSBW in Salinas, California; WBAL-TV, Baltimore, Maryland; and WYFF, Greenville, South Carolina.

Today in Two Minutes

On May 3, 2010, the show launched a new online-only feature called "Today in Two Minutes," anchored by ''Today'' News Anchor Natalie Morales. The video provides brief updates on the day's weather, news headlines and other stories, while giving a look ahead to segments appearing later in the morning on the television broadcast. It appears on the program's website each weekday morning. While it shares a name with a news segment on ''Today'' during Dave Garroway's tenure, the current "Today in Two Minutes" otherwise bears little resemblance to its 1952 forebear.

Music

''Today Show'' host Dave Garroway selected Les Brown's ''Sentimental Journey'' as the program's very first theme, used during the entire Garroway era from 1952 to 1961. In 1962, when Hugh Downs became host, Django Reinhardt's "Melodie au Crepuscule" was chosen as the new theme; it was replaced in 1963 by ''Misty'', an instrumental ballad composed by Erroll Garner and performed by Bobby Hackett and John B. Seng.

''Misty'' served as ''Today’s'' theme until 1971, when NBC News correspondent Frank McGee joined the show. Composer Ray Ellis penned an entirely new instrumental theme entitled "This is Today", a jazzy, up-tempo piece that served as the program's main theme until 1978. Because ''This is Today'' closely resembled the theme ''Day by Day'' from the musical ''Godspell'', Ellis was successfully sued for copyright infringement and ''This is Today'' was revised. The second version of ''This is Today'' incorporated the familiar NBC chime signature (G-E-C) in a bright, appropriately sunny arrangement that was used until 1981, at the close of the Tom Brokaw-Jane Pauley era. The G-E-C signature was also used throughout the program to introduce and conclude segments, usually in combination with the familiar ''Today Show'' sunburst.

By 1982, ''Today'' had a new anchor, Bryant Gumbel, and a new version of Ellis' ''This is Today'' theme, a looser, more relaxed arrangement that continued to feature the NBC chimes in its melody. A shorter arrangement of ''This is Today'' was used for the show open (featuring a rotating globe and ''Today'' sunburst) from 1983 to 1985. The main theme was used until 1985, and due to its popularity with viewers was resurrected as the show's secondary theme in January 1993. The 1982 theme now serves as the program's official "anniversary" music, used to open and close retrospective segments as ''Today'' approaches its 60th anniversary.

1985 saw the end of the synthesizer era at NBC as composer John Williams wrote a series of themes for all NBC News programs, with a cut entitled ''The Mission'' serving as the principal theme for ''NBC Nightly News with Tom Brokaw''. Williams also composed two themes for ''Today'': an opening fanfare for the program that was derived from the opening of ''The Mission''; and a two-minute closing theme for the show entitled ''Scherzo for Today'', a dramatic arrangement that made heavy use of strings and flutes. In the late 1980s, ''Scherzo'' was played in its entirety multiple times daily during the weather scrolls that ran during local commercial breaks; however, most NBC affiliates preempted these segments with advertising. The new ''Today'' themes—used in tandem with the show's new opening sequence featuring the Statue of Liberty and a new living room studio set—gave the program a distinctly modern look and sound beginning in September 1985. A series of Williams-penned bumpers featuring the ''Mission'' signature were also used to open and close segments.

''Scherzo for Today'' was used as the program's closing theme until 1990, and the ''Mission'' bumpers were used until 1993. (One of them could be heard as a station break lead-in on NBC's ''Meet The Press'' until 2004.) Meanwhile, Williams' opening fanfare has opened the program ever since its 1985 introduction, with two brief interruptions; new opening themes were briefly introduced and quickly discarded in the summer of 1994 (to mark the debut of Studio 1A) and in 2004. The fanfare was iconically accompanied by Fred Facey announcing "From NBC News, this is ''Today''... with (anchor) and (anchor)." Although Facey died in April 2003, His introduction of the Couric/Lauer team was used for the duration of Couric's era (except for special editions requiring special introductions). ''Weekend Today'' announcer Les Marshak became the new voice of the weekday program on September 13, 2006.

Currently, a lighter theme employing the NBC chimes is used to open the show's 7:30 through 9:30 half-hour segments, and also used as a closing theme.

''Weekend Today''

The Sunday edition of ''Today'' debuted on September 20, 1987. Five years later on August 1, 1992, the Saturday edition debuted expanding the ''Today'' schedule to seven days a week. The Sunday broadcast airs for one hour (originally 90 minutes, until the expansion of ''Meet the Press'' to a full hour in 1992), and the Saturday broadcast airs for two hours.

The weekend broadcasts continue the ''Today'' tradition of covering breaking news, interviewing newsmakers, reporting on a variety of popular-culture and human-interest stories, covering health and finance issues and presenting the latest weather reports. NBC feeds the Saturday edition from 7:00 a.m. to 9:00 a.m. and the Sunday edition from 8:00 a.m to 9:00 a.m. (both Eastern Time), although many of the network's affiliates air local newscasts in those time slots and carry the network broadcast later in the morning. NBC's New York, Chicago, San Francisco and Los Angeles owned and operated stations air ''Weekend Today'' simultaneously (but not live) at 9:00 a.m ET, 8:00 a.m. CT and 6:00 am PT.

Weekend editions are tailored to the priorities and interests of weekend viewers—offering special series such as "''Saturday Today'' on the Plaza", featuring live performances by the biggest names in music and Broadway outside the studio throughout the summer.

Current on-air staff

Anchors

Lester Holt, weekend anchor (2003–present)

Amy Robach, Saturday weekend anchor (2007–present)

Jenna Wolfe, Sunday weekend anchor (2007–present)

Bill Karins, Saturday weekend weather anchor (2009–present)

Janice Huff, Sunday weekend weather anchor (1995–present)

Former on-air staff

Anchors

''Sunday Today'' anchors included:

Boyd Matson, weekend anchor (1987–1988)

Maria Shriver, weekend anchor (1987–1990)

Garrick Utley, news anchor (1987–1988) weekend anchor (1988–1992)

Al Roker, weekend anchor (1989–1992)

Katie Couric, weekend anchor (1990–1991)

Mary Alice Williams, weekend anchor (1991–1992)

''Weekend Today'' anchors included:

Scott Simon, weekend anchor (1992–1993)

Jackie Nespral, weekend anchor (1992–1995)

Mike Schneider, weekend anchor (1993–1995)

Giselle Fernandez, weekend anchor (1995–1996)

Jack Ford, weekend anchor (1995–1999)

Carol Martin, weekend anchor (1996)

Jodi Applegate, weekend anchor (1996–1999)

Soledad O'Brien, weekend anchor (1999–2003)

David Bloom, weekend anchor (1999–2003)

Campbell Brown, weekend anchor (2003–2007)

Special editions

Ratings

Week of April 25, 2011/ Day of April 29, 2011 (Wedding of Prince William and Catherine Middleton)

''Today'': 6,424,000/ 9,628,000 viewers

''Good Morning America'': 5,735,000/ 8,650,000 viewers

''The Early Show'': 2,650,000/ unknown viewers

This week was Today's best week since August 11, 2008, which was week of the Beijing Olympics. Also, April 29, was the best single day rating since November 8, 2000, which was the day after the 2000 presidential election.

Week of April 11, 2011

''Today'': 5,662,000 viewers

''Good Morning America'': 4,812,000 viewers

''The Early Show'': 2,659,000 viewers

This week was Today's 800th week at the number one spot. At ABC, Good Morning America compared to last year has closed the gap by 35%, the smallest gap since 2006-2007. However NBC is calling this week the widest margin in six weeks.

Week of January 4, 2009: ''Today'' (8am) averaged 5,998,000 millon viewers, ''Today II'' (9:00am) averaged 4,447,000 total viewers and a 1.4 rating in the A25-54 demo. It was the hour's best ratings since the week of August 11, 2008. ''Today III'' (10:00am) averaged 2,412,000 total viewers and a .8 rating in the demo. It was the most total viewers for the program since the week of December 31, 2007.

Week of October 12, 2008

''Today'': 4,910,000 viewers

''Good Morning America'': 4,250,000 viewers

''The Early Show'': 2,660,000 viewers

Only the first two hours of ''Today'' are counted above. For the sake of Nielsen ratings (but not on-air), NBC refers to the third and fourth hours as ''Today II'' and ''Today III'', respectively. For the week above, ''Today II'' drew 2.9 million viewers and ''Today III''' delivered 1.7 million.

Week of June 30, 2008

''Today'': 4,900,000 viewers

''Good Morning America'': 3,800,000 viewers

''The Early Show'': 2,400,000 viewers

Week of September 11, 2006

''Today:'' 6,320,000 viewers

''Good Morning America'': 4,730,000

''The Early Show'': 2,800,000

International broadcasts

NBC News programming is shown daily on the 24 hour news network Orbit News in Europe and the Middle East. This includes a live broadcast of ''Today''.

In Australia, ''NBC Today'' (titled as such locally to avoid confusion with the local Nine Network program of the same name) airs from 4am Tuesday to Saturday on the Seven Network. Sunday's edition is broadcast at 5:00am on Mondays, following ''Meet The Press''. The program is condensed into a 90 minute broadcast (except for Saturday mornings where the full 2-hour edition is shown), with no local news inserted. However, a news ticker appears at the bottom of the screen, containing National headlines, as well as upcoming information for the Sunrise breakfast show. A national weather map of Australia is inserted during cut-aways to local affiliates for weather. ''Today'' is pre-empted by paid programming on regional Seven affiliates Prime7 and GWN7. The top three U.S. breakfast programs air simultaneously on Australian television with the ''CBS Early Show'' airing on Network Ten and ''Good Morning America'' on the Nine Network.

''Today'' is also shown in the Philippines on Talk TV with the weekday editions which airs at 7.00 pm local time on Mondays to Fridays. Weekend Today airs Saturdays at 7:00pm and Sundays at 8:00 pm local time.

In the United Kingdom and across Europe, ''Today'' originally aired on Sky News between 1989 and 1993, and from 1993 and 1998 on NBC Europe. The show was initially aired live in the afternoons until 1995, when it was delayed until the next morning.

In Australia, ''NBC Today'' is shown on 7mate at 9am as a two-hour condensed edition.

See also

"Where in the World is Matt Lauer?"

Today with Kathie Lee and Hoda

References

External links

''“Today”'' official site

''“The Today Show viewers home page and forum”'' The Today Show viewers home page and forum

''Today'' at the Internet Movie Database

''Weekend Today'' official site

“Today” Music History page

''“Today”'' show book with quotes from show staff & backstage personnel on parenting

Category:1952 television series debuts Category:1950s American television series Category:1960s American television series Category:1970s American television series Category:1980s American television series Category:1990s American television series Category:2000s American television series Category:2010s American television series Category:American news television series Category:Black-and-white television programs Category:English-language television series Category:NBC network shows Category:NBC News

da:Today (NBC-program) de:Today (NBC) fa:امروز (برنامه کانال ان‌بی‌سی) fr:Today (NBC) id:Today (program berita NBC) ja:トゥデイ (テレビ番組) pl:Today (program telewizyjny NBC) pt:Today (programa de TV) sh:The Today Show fi:Today (NBC) sv:The Today Show zh:今天 (NBC)

Danny MacAskill, (born 23 December 1985) also known as 'Danny MegaSkill', is a Scottish trials cyclist, from Dunvegan on the Isle of Skye. He is 176 centimeters tall and works professionally as a street trials pro rider for Inspired Bicycles Ltd. He released 'April 2009', a five-and-a-half-minute street trials video, filmed by his flatmate Dave Sowerby, on YouTube on the 19th April 2009. The video quickly gained popular acclaim and widespread media attention. The video features stunts performed by MacAskill set to 'The Funeral' by Band of Horses.

As of April 2009, MacAskill, who was brought up in Dunvegan on the Isle of Skye, had been practicing for more than 12 years. He gave up his job as a mechanic so he could ride full time. He now lives in Edinburgh. In June 2009, MacAskill appeared in the music video for Doves' single "Winter Hill". MacAskill also appeared in a TV-commercial for the new Volkswagen Golf Estate.

On 16 November 2010 MacAskill released a new video "Way back home" sponsored by Red Bull. The video showcases locations around Scotland including Edinburgh Castle, North Berwick, wartime bunkers on the island of Inchgarvie beneath the Forth Bridge and a hydro-electric power station in the Scottish Highlands.. In May 2011 Leica Cameras released a "Go Play" promo video featuring him doing tricks in the city of Cape Town. In August 9th of 2011 Cut Media released a video named "Industrial Revolutions". The video features MacAskill doing tricks in an abandoned Scottish iron works. It was created for Channel 4's documentary Concrete Circus.

References

External links

dannymacaskill.co.uk

Category:People from Skye and Lochalsh Category:Scottish cyclists Category:Living people Category:1985 births

de:Danny MacAskill fr:Danny MacAskill it:Danny MacAskill

Coordinates	41°52′55″N87°37′40″N
Name	Jacqueline Kennedy
Birth date	July 28, 1929
Birth place	Southampton, New York, United States
Death date	May 19, 1994
Death place	New York City, New York, United States
Occupation	First Lady of the United States Book editor at Viking Press (1975–1977) Book editor at Doubleday (1978–1994)
Order	First Lady of the United States
Term start	January 20, 1961
Term end	November 22, 1963
Party	Democratic
Predecessor	Mamie Eisenhower
Successor	Lady Bird Johnson
Religion	Roman Catholic
Spouse	John F. Kennedy (1953–1963, his death) Aristotle Onassis (1968–1975, his death)
Children	Arabella Kennedy (1956–1956) Caroline Bouvier Kennedy (born 1957) John Fitzgerald Kennedy Jr. (1960–1999) Patrick Bouvier Kennedy (1963–1963)
Alma mater	Vassar College – attendedSorbonne – attended The George Washington University (Bachelor of Arts)
Signature	Jacqueline Kennedy Signature.svg }}

Jacqueline Lee Bouvier "Jackie" Kennedy Onassis (July 28, 1929 – May 19, 1994) was the wife of the 35th President of the United States, John F. Kennedy, and served as First Lady of the United States during his presidency from 1961 until his assassination in 1963. Five years later she married Greek shipping magnate Aristotle Onassis; they remained married until his death in 1975. For the final two decades of her life, Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis had a successful career as a book editor. She is remembered for her contributions to the arts and preservation of historic architecture, her style, elegance, and grace. A fashion icon, her famous pink Chanel suit has become a symbol of her husband's assassination and one of the lasting images of the 1960s.

Early life

Jacqueline Lee Bouvier was born in Southampton, New York, to Wall Street stock broker John Vernou Bouvier III (also known as "Black Jack Bouvier") and Janet Norton Lee. Jacqueline had a younger sister, Caroline Lee (known as Lee), born in 1933. Her parents divorced in 1940 and her mother married Standard Oil heir Hugh D. Auchincloss, Jr. in 1942. Through Janet's second marriage, Jacqueline gained a half sister and a half brother, Janet and James Auchincloss.

Her mother's family, the Lees, were of Irish descent, and her father descended from French and English ancestors. Her maternal great grandfather emigrated from Cork, Ireland and later became the Superintendent of the New York City Public Schools. Michel Bouvier, Jacqueline's paternal great-great-grandfather, was born in France and was a contemporary of Joseph Bonaparte and Stephen Girard. He was a Philadelphia-based cabinetmaker, carpenter, merchant and real estate speculator. Michel's wife, Louise Vernou was the daughter of John Vernou, a French émigré tobacconist and Elizabeth Clifford Lindsay, an American-born woman. Jacqueline's grandfather, John Vernou Bouvier Jr., fashioned a more noble ancestry for his family in his vanity family history book ''Our Forebears''. Recent scholarship and the research done by Jacqueline's cousin, John H. Davis, in his book ''The Bouviers: Portrait of an American Family'', have disproved most of these fantasy lineages.

She spent her early years in New York City and East Hampton, New York at the Bouvier family estate, "Lasata". Following their parents' divorce, Jacqueline and Lee divided their time between their mother's homes in McLean, Virginia and Newport, Rhode Island and their father's homes in New York City and Long Island. She attended the Chapin School in New York City.

At a very early age she became an enthusiastic equestrienne, and horse-riding remained a lifelong passion.

Education and young adulthood

Bouvier attended the Holton-Arms School, located in Bethesda, Maryland, from 1942 to 1944 and Miss Porter's School, located in Farmington, Connecticut, from 1944 to 1947.

When she made her society debut in 1947, Hearst columnist Igor Cassini dubbed her "debutante of the year'.

Beginning in 1947, Bouvier spent her first two years of college at Vassar College, located in Poughkeepsie, New York, and then spent her junior year in France – at the University of Grenoble, located in Grenoble, and the Sorbonne, located in Paris – in a study-abroad program through Smith College, located in Northampton, Massachusetts. Upon returning home to the U.S., she transferred to The George Washington University, located in Washington, D.C., graduating in 1951 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in French literature. Bouvier's college graduation coincided with her sister's high school graduation, and the two spent the summer of 1951 on a trip through Europe. This trip was the subject of her only autobiographical book, ''One Special Summer,'' – co-authored with her sister, which is also the only one of her publications to feature her drawings.

Following her graduation, Bouvier was hired as "Inquiring Photographer" for ''The Washington Times-Herald''. The position required her to pose witty questions to individuals chosen at random on the street and take their pictures to be published alongside selected quotations from their responses in the newspaper. During this time, she was engaged to a young stock broker, John Husted, for three months.

Kennedy marriage and family

Bouvier and then-U.S. Representative John Kennedy belonged to the same social circle and often attended the same functions. In May 1952, at a dinner party organized by mutual friends, they were formally introduced for the first time. The two began dating soon afterward, and their engagement was officially announced on June 25, 1953.

Bouvier married Kennedy on September 12, 1953, at St. Mary's Church in Newport, Rhode Island in a Mass celebrated by Boston's Archbishop Richard Cushing. An estimated 700 guests attended the ceremony and 1,200 attended the reception that followed at Hammersmith Farm.

The wedding cake was created by Plourde's Bakery in Fall River, Massachusetts. The wedding dress, now housed in the Kennedy Library in Boston, Massachusetts, and the dresses of her attendants were created by designer Ann Lowe of New York City.

The newlyweds honeymooned in Acapulco, Mexico, before settling in their new home in McLean, Virginia. Kennedy suffered a miscarriage in 1955 and gave birth to a stillborn baby girl in 1956. That same year, the couple sold their estate, Hickory Hill, to Robert Kennedy and his wife Ethel Skakel Kennedy, moving to a townhouse on N Street in Georgetown. Kennedy subsequently gave birth to a second daughter, Caroline, in 1957, and a son, John, in 1960, both via Caesarian section.

August 23, 1956 November 27, 1957 November 25, 1960 August 7, 1963

!Name!!Birth!!Death!!Notes
Arabella Kennedy	|	August 23, 1956	Stillbirth>Stillborn daughter.
Caroline Bouvier Kennedy	|		Married to Edwin Schlossberg; has two daughters and a son. She is the last surviving child of Jacqueline and John F. Kennedy.
John F. Kennedy, Jr.	John Fitzgerald Kennedy, Jr.	|	July 16, 1999	Carolyn Bessette. Both Kennedy and his wife died in a plane crash, as did Lauren Bessette, Carolyn's sister, on July 16, 1999, off Martha's Vineyard in a Piper Saratoga>Piper Saratoga II HP piloted by Kennedy.
Patrick Bouvier Kennedy	|	August 9, 1963	Died from Hyaline Membrane Disease, today more commonly called Infant respiratory distress syndrome.

First Lady of the United States

Campaign for Presidency

On January 3, 1960, John Kennedy announced his candidacy for the Presidency and launched his nationwide campaign. Though she had initially intended to take an active role in the campaign, Kennedy learned that she was pregnant shortly after the beginning of the campaign. Due to her previous difficult pregnancies, Kennedy's doctor instructed her to stay at home. From Georgetown, Kennedy participated in her husband's campaign by answering letters, taping television commercials, giving televised and printed interviews, and writing a weekly syndicated newspaper column, "Campaign Wife." She made rare personal appearances.

As First Lady

In the general election on November 8, 1960, John F. Kennedy narrowly beat Republican Richard Nixon in the U.S. presidential election. A little over two weeks later, Jacqueline Kennedy gave birth to the couple's first son, John, Jr. When her husband was sworn in as president on January 20, 1961, Kennedy became, at age 31, one of the youngest First Ladies in history, behind Frances Folsom Cleveland and Julia Tyler.

Like any First Lady, Kennedy was thrust into the spotlight and while she did not mind giving interviews or being photographed, she preferred to maintain as much privacy as possible for herself and her children.

Kennedy is remembered for reorganizing entertainment for White House social events, restoring the interior of the presidential home, her taste in clothing worn during her husband's presidency, her popularity among foreign dignitaries, and leading the country in mourning after JFK's 1963 assassination.

Kennedy ranks among the most popular of First Ladies.

Social success

As First Lady, Kennedy devoted much of her time to planning social events at the White House and other state properties. She often invited artists, writers, scientists, poets, and musicians to mingle with politicians, diplomats, and statesmen.

Perhaps due to her skill at entertaining, Kennedy proved quite popular among international dignitaries. When Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev was asked to shake President Kennedy's hand for a photo, Khrushchev said, "I'd like to shake her hand first." Jacqueline was well received in Paris, France, when she visited with her husband, and when she traveled with Lee to Pakistan and India in 1962.

White House restoration

The restoration of the White House was Kennedy's first major project as First Lady. She was dismayed during her pre-inauguration tour of the White House to find little of historic significance in the house. The rooms were furnished with undistinguished pieces that she felt lacked a sense of history. Her first efforts, begun her first day in residence (with the help of society decorator Sister Parish), were to make the family quarters attractive and suitable for family life. Among these changes was the addition of a kitchen on the family floor and rooms for her children. Upon almost immediately exhausting the funds appropriated for this effort, Kennedy established a fine arts committee to oversee and fund the restoration process and asked early American furniture expert Henry du Pont to consult.

While her initial management of the project was hardly noted at the time, later accounts have noted that she managed the conflicting agendas of Parish, du Pont, and Boudin with seamless success; she initiated publication of the first White House guidebook, whose sales further funded the restoration; she initiated a Congressional bill establishing that White House furnishings would be the property of the Smithsonian Institution, rather than available to departing ex-presidents to claim as their own; and she wrote personal requests to those who owned pieces of historical interest that might be, and later were, donated to the White House.

On February 14, 1962, Kennedy took American television viewers on a tour of the White House with Charles Collingwood of CBS News. In the tour she said, "I just feel that everything in the White House should be the best—the entertainment that's given here. If it's an American company you can help, I like to do that. If not—just as long as it's the best." Working with Rachel Lambert Mellon, she oversaw redesign and replanting of the White House Rose Garden and the East Garden, which was renamed the Jacqueline Kennedy Garden after her husband's assassination. Her efforts on behalf of restoration and preservation at the White House left a lasting legacy in the form of the White House Historical Association, the Committee for the Preservation of the White House which was based upon her White House Furnishings Committee, a permanent Curator of the White House, the White House Endowment Trust, and the White House Acquisition Trust.

Broadcasting of the White House restoration greatly helped the Kennedy administration. The U.S. government sought international support during the Cold War, which it achieved by affecting public opinion. The First Lady's celebrity and high profile status made viewing the tour of the White House very desirable. The tour was filmed and distributed to 106 countries since there was a great demand from the elite as well as people in power to see the film. In 1962 at the 14th Annual Emmy Awards (NBC, May 22), Bob Newhart emceed from the Hollywood Palladium; Johnny Carson from the New York Astor Hotel; and NBC newsman David Brinkley hosted at the Sheraton Park Hotel in Washington D.C., and took the spotlight as a special Academy of Television Arts and Sciences Trustees Award was given to Jacqueline Kennedy for her CBS-TV tour of the White House. Lady Bird Johnson accepted for the camera-shy First Lady. The Emmy statuette is on display in the Kennedy Library located in Boston, Massachusetts. Focus and admiration for Jacqueline Kennedy took negative attention away from her husband. By attracting worldwide public attention, the First Lady gained allies for the White House and international support for the Kennedy administration and its Cold War policies.

Foreign trips

Before the Kennedys visited France, a television special was shot in French with the First Lady on the White House lawn. After arriving in the country, she impressed the public with her ability to speak fluent French, as well as her extensive knowledge of its history. Jacqueline had been aided in her learning of the French language by the prominent Puerto Rican educator María Teresa Babín Cortés. At the conclusion of the visit, ''Time'' magazine seemed delighted with the First Lady and noted, "There was also that fellow who came with her." Even President Kennedy joked, "I am the man who accompanied Jacqueline Kennedy to Paris — and I have enjoyed it!"

At the urging of John Kenneth Galbraith, U.S. Ambassador to India, she undertook a tour of India and Pakistan, taking her sister Lee Radziwill along with her, which was amply documented in photojournalism of the time as well as in Galbraith's journals and memoirs. At the time, Ambassador Galbraith noted a considerable disjunction between Kennedy's widely-noted concern with clothes and other frivolity and, on personal acquaintance, her considerable intellect.

While in Karachi, Pakistan, she found some time to take a ride on a camel with her sister. In Lahore, Pakistan, Pakistani President Ayub Khan presented the First Lady with a much-photographed horse, Sardar (the Urdu term meaning "leader"). Subsequently this gift was widely misattributed to the king of Saudi Arabia, including in the various recollections of the Kennedy White House years by President Kennedy's friend, journalist and editor Benjamin Bradlee. While at a reception in her honor at the Shalimar Gardens, Kennedy told guests "all my life I've dreamed of coming to the Shalimar Gardens. It's even lovelier than I'd dreamed. I only wish my husband could be with me."

Death of younger son

Early in 1963, Kennedy became pregnant again and curtailed her official duties. She spent most of the summer at the Kennedys' rented home on Squaw Island, near the Kennedy family's Cape Cod compound at Hyannis Port, where she went into premature labor on August 7, 1963. She gave birth to a boy, Patrick Bouvier Kennedy, via emergency Caesarian section at Otis Air Force Base, five and a half weeks prematurely. His lungs were not fully developed, and he died at Boston Children's Hospital of hyaline membrane disease (now known as respiratory distress syndrome) on August 9, 1963.

Assassination and funeral of John F. Kennedy

On November 21, 1963, the First Couple left the White House for a political trip to Texas, stopping in San Antonio, Houston, and Fort Worth that day. After a breakfast on November 22, the Kennedys flew from Fort Worth's Carswell Air Force Base to Dallas's Love Field on Air Force One, accompanied by Texas Governor John Connally and his wife Nellie. She was wearing a bright pink Chanel suit. A motorcade was to take them to the Trade Mart where the President was scheduled to speak at a lunch. The First Lady was seated next to her husband in the limousine, with the Governor and his wife seated in front of them. Vice President Johnson and his wife followed in another car in the motorcade.

After the motorcade turned the corner onto Elm Street in Dealey Plaza, the First Lady heard what she thought to be a motorcycle backfiring, and did not realize that it was a gunshot until she heard Governor Connally scream. Within 8.4 seconds, two more shots had rung out, and she leaned toward her husband. The final shot struck the President in the head. Shocked, she climbed out of the back seat and crawled over the trunk of the car. Her Secret Service agent, Clint Hill, later told the Warren Commission that he thought she had been reaching across the trunk for a piece of the President's skull that had been blown off. Hill ran to the car and leapt onto it, directing her back to her seat. The car rushed to Dallas's Parkland Hospital, and on arrival there, the president's body was rushed into a trauma room. The First Lady, for the moment, remained in a room for relatives and friends of patients just outside.

A few minutes into her husband's treatment, accompanied by the President's doctor, Admiral George Burkley, she left her folding chair outside Trauma Room One and attempted to enter the operating room. Nurse Doris Nelson stopped her and attempted to bar the door to prevent her from entering. She persisted, and the President's doctor suggested that she take a sedative, which she refused. "I want to be there when he dies," she told Burkley. He eventually persuaded Nelson to grant her access to Trauma Room One, saying "It's her right, it's her prerogative."

Later, when the casket arrived, the widow removed her wedding ring and slipped it onto the President's finger. She told aide Ken O'Donnell, "Now I have nothing left."

After the president's death, she refused to remove her blood-stained clothing, and regretted having washed the blood off her face and hands. She continued to wear the blood-stained pink suit as she went on board Air Force One and stood next to Johnson when he took the oath of office as President. She told Lady Bird Johnson, "I want them to see what they have done to Jack."

Kennedy took an active role in planning the details of her husband's state funeral, which was based on Abraham Lincoln's. The funeral service was held at Cathedral of St. Matthew the Apostle, Washington D.C., and the burial at Arlington National Cemetery; the widow led the procession there on foot and would light the eternal flame at the grave site, a flame that had been created at her request. Lady Jeanne Campbell reported back to ''The London Evening Standard'': "Jacqueline Kennedy has given the American people... one thing they have always lacked: Majesty."

Following the assassination and the media coverage which had focused intensely on her during and after the burial, Kennedy stepped back from official public view. She did, however, make a brief appearance in Washington to honor the Secret Service agent, Clint Hill, who had climbed aboard the limousine in Dallas to try to shield her and the President.

Life following the JFK assassination

A week after the assassination, Jacqueline was interviewed in Hyannisport, Massachusetts, on November 29 by Theodore H. White of ''Life'' magazine. In that session, she compared the Kennedy years in the White House to King Arthur's mythical Camelot, commenting that the President often played the title song of Lerner and Loewe's musical recording before retiring to bed. She also quoted Queen Guinevere from the musical, trying to express how the loss felt.

Her steadiness and courage after her husband's assassination and funeral won her admiration around the world. Following his death, Kennedy and her children remained in their quarters in the White House for two weeks, preparing to vacate. They spent the winter of 1964 in Averell Harriman's home in the Georgetown section of Washington, D.C., before purchasing her own home on the same street. Later in 1964, in the hope of having more privacy for her children, Kennedy decided to buy an apartment on Fifth Avenue in New York City and sold her new Georgetown house and the country home in Atoka, Virginia, where she and her husband had intended to retire. She spent a year in mourning, making few public appearances; during this time, Caroline told one of her teachers that her mother cried frequently.

Kennedy perpetuated her husband's memory by attending selected memorial dedications. These included the 1967 christening of the U.S. Navy aircraft carrier (decommissioned in 2007), in Newport News, Virginia, and a memorial in Hyannisport. They also included the dedication of the United Kingdom's official memorial to President Kennedy at Runnymede, England, and the dedication of a park near New Ross, Ireland. She oversaw plans for the establishment of the John F. Kennedy Library, which is the repository for official papers of the Kennedy Administration. Original plans to have the library situated in Cambridge, Massachusetts, near Harvard University, proved problematic for various reasons, so it is situated in Boston. The finished library, designed by I.M. Pei, includes a museum and was dedicated in Boston in 1979 by President Jimmy Carter.

In November 1967, during the midst of the Vietnam War, ''Life'' magazine recognized Jacqueline as "America's unofficial roving ambassador" during her visit to Cambodia when she met with Chief of State Norodom Sihanouk. During the visit, Kennedy joined Sihanouk on a visit to Angkor Wat. At that point, diplomatic relations between the U.S. and Cambodia had been broken since May 1965.

Onassis marriage

In June 1968 when her brother-in-law Robert F. Kennedy was assassinated, she came to fear for her life and that of her children, saying "If they're killing Kennedys, then my children are targets...I want to get out of this country." On October 20, 1968, she married Aristotle Onassis, a wealthy, Greek shipping magnate, who was able to provide the privacy and security she needed for herself and her children.

The wedding took place on Skorpios, Onassis's private island in the Ionian Sea, Greece. After her marriage to Onassis, Jacqueline lost her Secret Service protection and her franking privilege, both of which are entitlements to a widow of U.S. president. As a result of the marriage, the media gave her the nickname "Jackie O", which remained a popular shorthand reference to her. She became the target of paparazzi who were following her.

Then tragedy struck again, as Aristotle Onassis's only son Alexander died in a plane crash in January 1973. Onassis's health began deteriorating rapidly and he died in Paris, on March 15, 1975. Jacqueline's financial legacy was severely limited under Greek law, which dictated how much a non-Greek surviving spouse could inherit. After two years of legal battle, she eventually accepted from Christina Onassis, Onassis's daughter and sole heir, a settlement of $26 million, waiving all other claims to the Onassis estate.

During their marriage, the couple resided in a home they rented in Bernardsville, New Jersey.

Later years

Onassis's death in 1975 made her, then nearly 46, a widow for the second time. Now that her children were older, she decided to find work that would be fulfilling to her. Since she had always enjoyed writing and literature, in 1975 Jacqueline accepted a job offer as an editor at Viking Press. But, in 1978, the President of Viking Press, Thomas H. Guinzburg, authorized the purchase of the Jeffrey Archer novel ''Shall We Tell the President?'', which was set in a fictional future presidency of Edward M. Kennedy and described an assassination plot against him. Although Guinzburg cleared the book purchase and publication with Onassis, upon the publication of a negative ''New York Times'' review which asserted that Onassis held some responsibility for its publication, she abruptly resigned from Viking Press the next day. She then moved to Doubleday as an associate editor under an old friend, John Sargent, living in New York City, Martha's Vineyard and the Kennedy Compound in Hyannis, Massachusetts. From the mid 1970s until her death, her companion was Maurice Tempelsman, a Belgian-born industrialist and diamond merchant who was long separated from his wife.

She also continued to be the subject of much press attention, most notoriously involving the photographer Ron Galella. He followed her around and photographed her as she went about her day-to-day activities, obtaining candid, iconic photos of her. She ultimately obtained a restraining order against him and the situation brought attention to paparazzi-style photography. In 1995, John F. Kennedy Jr. allowed Galella to photograph him at public events.

Among the many books she edited was Larry Gonick's ''The Cartoon History of the Universe''. He expressed his gratitude in the acknowledgments in Volume 2.

Jacqueline Onassis also appreciated the contributions of African-American writers to the American literary canon. She encouraged Dorothy West, her neighbor on Martha's Vineyard and the last surviving member of the Harlem Renaissance, to complete the novel ''The Wedding'' (1995), a multi-generational story about race, class, wealth, and power in the U.S.; West acknowledged Onassis's encouragement in the foreword. The novel, which received literary acclaim when it was published by Doubleday, was later adapted into a television miniseries of the same name (1998) starring Halle Berry.

She also worked to preserve and protect America's cultural heritage. The notable results of her hard work include Lafayette Square in Washington, D.C, and Grand Central Terminal, New York City's historic railroad station. While she was First Lady, she helped to stop the destruction of historic homes in Lafayette Square, because she felt that these buildings were an important part of the nation's capital and played an essential role in its history. Later, in New York City, she led a historic preservation campaign to save from demolition and renovate Grand Central Terminal. A plaque inside the terminal acknowledges her prominent role in its preservation. In the 1980s, she was a major figure in protests against a planned skyscraper at Columbus Circle which would have cast large shadows on Central Park; the project was cancelled, but a large twin towered skyscraper would later fill in that spot in 2003, the Time Warner Center.

From her apartment windows in New York City she had a splendid view of a glass enclosed wing of the Metropolitan Museum of Art which displays the Temple of Dendur. This was a gift from Egypt to the U.S. in gratitude for the generosity of the Kennedy administration, who had been instrumental in saving several temples and objects of Egyptian antiquity that would otherwise have been flooded after the construction of the Aswan Dam.

Death

In January 1994 Onassis was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, a form of cancer. Her diagnosis was announced to the public the following month. The family and doctors were initially optimistic, and she stopped smoking at the insistence of her daughter, having previously been a three-pack-a-day smoker. Onassis continued her work with Doubleday, but curtailed her schedule. By April, the cancer had spread, and she made her last trip home from New York Hospital-Cornell Medical Center on May 18, 1994. A large crowd of well-wishers, tourists, and reporters gathered on the street outside her apartment. Onassis died in her sleep at 10:15 p.m. on Thursday, May 19, two and a half months before her 65th birthday. In announcing her death, Jacqueline's son, John Kennedy Jr., stated, "My mother died surrounded by her friends and her family and her books, and the people and the things that she loved. She did it in her own way, and on her own terms, and we all feel lucky for that."

Onassis' funeral was held on May 23 at Saint Ignatius Loyola Church in Manhattan — the church where she was baptized in 1929, and confirmed as a teenager. At her funeral, her son John described three of her attributes as the love of words, the bonds of home and family, and the spirit of adventure. She was buried alongside President Kennedy, their son Patrick, and their stillborn daughter Arabella at Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Virginia.

In her will, Onassis left her children Caroline and John an estate valued at $43.7 million by its executors.

Fashion icon

During her husband's presidency, Jacqueline Kennedy became a symbol of fashion for women all over the world. She retained French-born American fashion designer and Kennedy family friend Oleg Cassini in the fall of 1960 to create an original wardrobe for her as First Lady. From 1961 to late 1963, Cassini dressed her in many of her most iconic ensembles, including her Inauguration Day fawn coat and Inaugural gala gown as well as many outfits for her visits to Europe, India and Pakistan. In her first year in the White House, Kennedy spent $45,446 more on fashion than the $100,000 annual salary her husband earned as president. Her clean suits with a skirt hem down to middle of the knee, three-quarter sleeves on notch-collar jackets, sleeveless A-line dresses, above-the-elbow gloves, low-heel pumps, and famous pillbox hats were an overnight success around the world that quickly became known as the "Jackie" look. Although Cassini was her primary designer, she also wore ensembles by French fashion legends such as Chanel, Givenchy, and Dior. More than any other First Lady her style was copied by commercial manufacturers and a large segment of young women.

In the years after the White House, her style changed dramatically. Gone were the modest "campaign wife" clothes. Wide-leg pantsuits, large lapel jackets, gypsy skirts, silk Hermès head scarves and large, round, dark sunglasses were her new look. She often chose to wear brighter colors and patterns and even began wearing jeans in public. Beltless, white jeans with a black turtleneck, never tucked in, but pulled down over the hips, also was a fashion trend that she set.

Throughout her lifetime, Kennedy acquired a large collection of exquisite and priceless jewelry. Her triple-strand pearl necklace designed by American jeweler Kenneth Jay Lane became her signature piece of jewelry during her time as First Lady in the White House. Often referred to as the "berry brooch," the two fruit cluster brooch of strawberries made of rubies with stems and leaves of diamonds, designed by French jeweler Jean Schlumberger for Tiffany & Co., was personally selected and given to her by her husband several days prior to his inauguration in January 1961. Schlumberger's gold and enamel bracelets were worn by Kennedy so frequently in the early and mid-1960s that the press called them "Jackie bracelets". His white enamel and gold "banana" earrings were also favored by her. Kennedy wore jewelry designed by Van Cleef & Arpels throughout the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s. Her sentimental favorite was the wedding ring given to her by President Kennedy, also from Van Cleef & Arpels.

Honors and memorials

A high school named Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis High School for International Careers, was dedicated by New York City in 1995, the first high school named in her honor. It is located at 120 West 46th Street between Sixth and Seventh Avenues, and was formerly the High School for the Performing Arts.

In December 1999, Onassis was among 18 included in Gallup's List of Widely Admired People of the 20th Century, from a poll conducted of the American people.

The main reservoir in Central Park, located in New York City, New York, was renamed in her honor as the Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis Reservoir.

The Municipal Art Society of New York presents the Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis Medal to an individual whose work and deeds have made an outstanding contribution to the city of New York. The medal was named in honor of the former MAS board member in 1994, for her tireless efforts to preserve and protect New York City's great architecture. At George Washington University, a residence hall located on the southeast corner of I and 23rd streets NW in Washington, D.C., was renamed Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy Onassis Hall in honor of the alumna.

The White House's East Garden was renamed the Jacqueline Kennedy Garden in her honor.

In 2007, her name and her first husband's were included on the list of people aboard the Japanese ''Kaguya'' mission to the moon launched on September 14, as part of The Planetary Society's "Wish Upon The Moon" campaign. In addition, they are included on the list aboard NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter mission.

A school and an award at the American Ballet Theatre have been named after her in honor of her childhood study of ballet.

The companion book for a series of interviews between mythologist Joseph Campbell and Bill Moyers, ''The Power of Myth'', was created under the direction of Onassis, prior to her death. The book's editor, Betty Sue Flowers, writes in the ''Editor's Note'' to ''The Power of Myth'': "I am grateful... to Jacqueline Lee Bouvier Kennedy Onassis, the Doubleday editor, whose interest in the books of Joseph Campbell was the prime mover in the publication of this book." A year after her death in 1994, Moyers dedicated the companion book for his PBS series, ''The Language of Life'' to Onassis. The dedication read: "To Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis. As you sail on to Ithaka." Ithaka was a reference to the C.P. Cavafy poem that Maurice Tempelsman read at her funeral.

A white gazebo is dedicated to Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis on North Madison Street in Middleburg, Virginia. Jacqueline and President Kennedy frequented the small town of Middleburg and intended to retire in the nearby town of Atoka. She also hunted with the Middleburg Hunt numerous times.

Cultural depictions

See also

List of First Ladies of the United States

List of George Washington University people

List of Smith College people

List of Vassar College people

.

References

Further reading

Abbott, James A (1995). ''A Frenchman in Camelot: The Decoration of the Kennedy White House by Stéphane Boudin''. Boscobel Restoration Inc. ISBN 0-9646659-0-5.

Abbott James A., and Elaine M. Rice (1998). ''Designing Camelot: The Kennedy White House Restoration''. Van Nostrand Reinhold. ISBN 0-442-02532-7.

Abbott, James A (2006). ''Jansen''. Acanthus Press. ISBN 0-926494-33-3.

Baldrige, Letitia (1998). ''In the Kennedy Style: Magical Evenings in the Kennedy White House''. Doubleday. ISBN 0-385-48964-1.

Bowles, Hamish; Schlesinger, Jr., Arthur M.; Mellon, Rachel (2001). ''Jacqueline Kennedy: The White House Years''. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. bulfinch Press/Little, Brown and Company. ISBN 0-8212-2745-9.

Cassini, Oleg (1995). ''A Thousand Days of Magic: Dressing the First Lady for the White House''. Rizzoli International Publications. ISBN 0-8478-1900-0.

Perry, Barbara A. (2004). ''Jacqueline Kennedy: First Lady of the New Frontier''. University Press of Kansas. ISBN 978-0-7006-1343-4.

Taraborrelli, J. Randy (2000). ''Jackie, Ethel, Joan: Women of Camelot''. Warner Books. ISBN 0-446-52426-3.

West, J.B. with Mary Lynn Kotz (1973). ''Upstairs at the White House: My Life with the First Ladies''. Coward, McCann & Geoghegan. SBN 698-10546-X.

Wolff, Perry (1962). ''A Tour of the White House with Mrs. John F. Kennedy''. Doubleday & Company.

''Exhibition Catalogue, Sale 6834: The Estate of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis April 23–26, 1996''. Sothebys: 1996.

''The White House: An Historic Guide''. White House Historical Association and the National Geographic Society: 2001. ISBN 0-912308-79-6.

External links

Jacqueline Kennedy speaking to the nation

McFadden, Robert D. (May 20, 1994). "Death of a First Lady ; Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis Dies of Cancer at 64" (obituary). ''The New York Times''. Retrieved May 18, 2011.

John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum. Life of Jacqueline B. Kennedy

Jacqueline Kennedy's 1967 visit to Angkor Wat

National First Ladies' Library

Last Will and Testament of Jackie Onassis

 — contains much of "the Camelot interview."

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