America’s Favorite Soccer Mum is Back!
Kathie Lee Gifford has decided to make her morning comeback!
After bidding farewell as Regis’ associate less than a decade ago, she recently said yes to be a coanchor for the fourth hour of NBC’s Today Show.
The statement, broadcasted last Monday, will bring the lively talk diva back to am TV starting April 7. She will grab a place next to Hoda Kotb in the 10 a.m. to 11 a.m. time.
“I am truly honored to join the Today Show family, many of whom have been friends and colleagues of mine for years,” Gifford said in a statement. “And I’m especially looking forward to working with Hoda, a bright and beautiful woman I admire very much. Together I hope we will bring a fresh and fun perspective to the topics that affect all of our daily lives.”
Today host Matt Lauer announced the perky maven’s comeback, who, over a sequence of unforgettable TV clips as background, depicted her as “fearless” and “a little untamed,” then grabbed Michael Corleone’s (The Godfather Part III) line to tag her latest stint: “Just when they thought I was out, they drag me back in.”
“It couldn’t be worse timing in some ways. I’m eight years older, 10 pounds heavier, and a half inch shorter and just in time for HD television. It makes no sense,” the 54-year-old Gifford joked with the Today gang.
Meredith Vieira asked Gifford what persuaded her to sign up after a long hiatus, Gifford gamely cited:
“Timing is everything in life. It was the right time when I left the show all those years ago, for my family especially, and my son’s going off to college this fall,” she said, adding with a laugh that son Cody is “6-3 and obnoxious.”
Although Today’s first three hours sustains a strong ratings lead over competitor ABC’s Good Morning America and CBS’ The Early Show, the extended version, hosted by Ann Curry and reporters Natalie Morales, Tiki Barber and Kotb that started last Sept. 10, 2007, has been increasingly dropping audience to syndicated rivals like Rachael Ray, Judge Judy and The Tyra Banks Show.
Curry will stay in her seat as news anchor in the 7 a.m. and 9 a.m. slots and would carry on to co-host with Al Roker the 9 a.m. hour. They will be joined by Morales, and then will stay on as national reporter for Today and serve other NBC News programs.
Gifford signed up for Live in 1985 and stayed for 15 years squabbling with Philbin. She resigned in July 2000 due to family reasons (she wants to make more quality time with them), launching a spectacle of guest hosts prior to Philbin and producers decided on Kelly Ripa to be her permanent substitute in 2001.
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