Lester Holt
| Lester Holt | |
|---|---|
 Lester Holt (with apron) anchoring Weekend Today |
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| Born | March 8, 1959 [1] Marin County, California, U.S. |
| Education | California State University, Sacramento |
| Occupation | Television journalist Musician |
| Years active | 1981 – present |
| Notable credit(s) | Weekend Today co-anchor (2003–present) NBC Nightly News weekend anchor (2007–present) Dateline NBC anchor (2011–present) |
| Official website | |
Lester Steven Holt (born March 8, 1959) is an American news journalist who anchors the weekend editions of NBC's Today and Nightly News.
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[edit] Early years through college
Holt graduated from Cordova High School, Rancho Cordova, California, in 1977,[2] and holds a degree in government from California State University in Sacramento.[3]
[edit] Career
Holt spent 19 years with CBS beginning in 1981, when he was hired as a reporter for WCBS-TV in New York City. In 1982, he became a reporter and weekend anchor on KNXT in Los Angeles, and the next year he returned to WCBS-TV as a reporter and weekend anchor. In 1986, Holt moved to WBBM-TV in Chicago where he spent 14 years anchoring the evening news. Holt not only worked at the anchor desk, but also reported extensively from troubled spots around the world including Iraq, Northern Ireland, Somalia, El Salvador and Haiti.[3]
Holt joined MSNBC in 2000. In August 2005, he assumed full-time duties at NBC News, where he became a substitute anchor for NBC Nightly News and Today. Holt became a full-time co-anchor of Weekend Today following the untimely death of previous co-anchor David Bloom.[4] Until late 2005, he also anchored a 2-hour daily newscast on MSNBC. On May 9, 2007, Holt was named anchor of the weekend edition of NBC Nightly News, succeeding John Seigenthaler.[5] He also is a current host for NBC's Dateline.
In addition to his primary responsibilities at NBC News, he hosted a special for The History Channel about the 9/11 conspiracy theories, served as a sportsdesk reporter for NBC Sports coverage of the 2008 Summer Olympics,[6] and is the host of Dateline on ID, an edition of Dateline NBC shown on the Investigation Discovery network.[7] In 2008, he narrated a documentary regarding the actual crystal skulls on the Sci-Fi Channel.
[edit] Other work
Holt has made cameo appearances in the films The Fugitive (1993); and Primal Fear (1996); as well as on television shows like the episode "Red, White, or Blue" of the series Due South, and "Fate" of Early Edition. He also appeared on the episode "Cleveland" of the NBC sitcom 30 Rock. He played himself anchoring an NBC newscast, but when he turns towards another camera, he looks straight towards a paranoid Tracy Jordan, who was watching the newscast, and told him that "The Black Crusaders" – a group of African-American performers – are going to get him (Tracy believes that this "group" exists). He also did a voice over in the episode Sandwich Day, announcing that Jack Donaghy would be a new cabinet member in the Bush administration. Tina Fey commented in that episode's commentary that Holt is a great guy and he is very flexible. Holt announced the 2006, 2007 and 2008 Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show for the USA Network. He was also featured in Making Music Magazine.
[edit] Awards
1990: Robert F. Kennedy Journalism award for his work on CBS's 48 Hours: No Place Like Home.
[edit] Personal life
Holt resides in New York City with his wife, Carol, and their two sons, Stefan and Cameron.[8] His grandparents are of Jamaican descent.[9] In his spare time, he plays the bass guitar, which he talked about in the September/October issue of Making Music Magazine.[5][10] [11]
[edit] References
- ^ "Today in history: March 8th". WBBH. 2009-03-09. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/29583078/. Retrieved 2009-03-25.
- ^ http://www.cordovaalumni.com/news/lester.html
- ^ a b "Lester Holt". NBC News. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3688725/. Retrieved 2009-03-25.
- ^ Meadows, Bob (2004-05-24). "National Newshound". People. http://www.people.com/people/archive/article/0,,20150151,00.html. Retrieved 2009-03-25
- ^ a b Hinckley, David (2007-05-13). "TV anchor keeping it real". New York Daily News. http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/tv/2007/05/13/2007-05-13_tv_anchor_keeping_it_real-1.html. Retrieved 2009-03-25.
- ^ Frager, Ray (2008-07-16). "Your NBC Olympics lineup". Medium Well. The Baltimore Sun. http://weblogs.baltimoresun.com/sports/mediumwell/blog/2008/07/your_nbc_olympics_lineup.html.
- ^ "Discovery Times Channel Becomes Investigation Discovery on January 27, With Slate of New Fact-Based Programming" (Press release). Discovery Channel. 2008-01-23. http://corporate.discovery.com/discovery-news/discovery-times-channel-becomes-investigation-disc/.
- ^ http://www.people.com/people/archive/article/0,,20150151,00.html
- ^ Holt, Lester (2007-05-11). "To Jamaica with Mom". allDAY. NBC News. http://allday.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2007/05/11/189148.aspx. Retrieved 2009-03-25.
- ^ Holt, Lester (2007-10-26). "Today's Anchor Chat: Lester Holt". allDAY. NBC News. http://allday.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2007/10/26/429447.aspx. Retrieved 2009-03-25.
- ^ http://www.makingmusicmag.com/features/09sept01.html
[edit] External links
- Lester Holt at the Internet Movie Database
- Lester Holt at MSNBC
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- African American journalists
- African American television personalities
- American television reporters and correspondents
- American television news anchors
- Television news anchors in Los Angeles, California
- Chicago, Illinois television anchors
- NBC News
- California State University, Sacramento alumni
- American people of Jamaican descent
- 1959 births
- Living people
