Brian Douglas Williams was born on May 5,1959 and is an American journalist and television news anchor.
49 Facts About Brian Williams
2.
Brian Williams was a correspondent for NBC Nightly News starting in 1993, before his promotion to anchor and managing editor of the broadcast in 2004.
3.
In February 2015, Williams was suspended by NBC News for six months for "misrepresent[ing] events which occurred while he was covering the Iraq War in 2003".
4.
Brian Williams announced in November 2021 that he would be leaving MSNBC and NBC News at the completion of his contract the following month, when he hosted his final episode of The 11th Hour.
5.
Brian Williams lived in Elmira, New York, for nine years before moving to Middletown Township, New Jersey, when he was in junior high school.
6.
Brian Williams graduated from Mater Dei High School, a Roman Catholic high school in the New Monmouth section of Middletown.
7.
Brian Williams was the editorial editor for the school newspaper during his high school years.
8.
Brian Williams suffered an accident during a football game that left him with a crooked nose.
9.
Brian Williams did not earn a degree, ultimately interning in the White House Press office during the administration of President Jimmy Carter.
10.
Brian Williams later called leaving college one of his "great regrets".
11.
Brian Williams first worked in broadcasting in 1981 at KOAM-TV in Pittsburg, Kansas.
12.
Brian Williams joined NBC News in 1993, where he anchored the national Weekend Nightly News and was chief White House correspondent.
13.
Brian Williams served as primary substitute anchor on The NBC Nightly News with Tom Brokaw, and its weekend anchor.
14.
Brian Williams reported the accident and death of Diana, Princess of Wales.
15.
Brian Williams became anchor of NBC Nightly News on December 2,2004, replacing the retiring Tom Brokaw.
16.
In December 2004, when Brian Williams took the helm, he had to apologize for saying there are "bigger problems" than newsroom diversity.
17.
The New York Times characterized Brian Williams' reporting of the hurricane as "a defining moment".
18.
In 2009, Brian Williams was awarded the Walter Cronkite Award for Excellence in Journalism by Arizona State University.
19.
Brian Williams shared a 2014 Emmy awarded for an NBC News Special on the Boston Marathon bombing.
20.
In February 2015, Brian Williams was suspended for six months from the broadcast for misrepresenting his experience in the 2003 invasion of Iraq.
21.
On February 4,2015, Brian Williams apologized for and recanted his disproven Iraq War story, which he had told on a Nightly News broadcast on January 30,2015.
22.
Brian Williams claimed that a military helicopter he was traveling in had been "forced down after being hit by an RPG".
23.
Reynolds and other crew members said Brian Williams had been aboard one of a separate group of helicopters from the helicopter that had been fired upon, which was flying about half an hour behind and was forced to make an emergency landing because of a sandstorm rather than an attack.
24.
Additional soldiers soon came forward to confirm that Brian Williams was not in the group of helicopters that had come under fire and that Brian Williams had inserted himself into the event.
25.
On February 10,2015, NBC News President Deborah Turness suspended Brian Williams without pay for six months from his position as Managing Editor and Anchor of the Nightly News for having misrepresented the Iraq incident.
26.
In September 2015, Brian Williams returned to the air as MSNBC's chief anchor.
27.
News events that Brian Williams has since covered for MSNBC include Pope Francis's trip to the United States; the 2015 Umpqua Community College shooting; and terrorist attacks in Paris, San Bernardino, Brussels, and Nice.
28.
In January 2016, Brian Williams added the role of chief elections anchor for MSNBC and subsequently debuted in the new role during coverage of the 2016 Iowa caucuses.
29.
Brian Williams frequently appeared on The Daily Show as a celebrity guest interviewed by Jon Stewart and in 2007, made regular cameos as a giant head sidekick looking on Jon Stewart and helping out with pronunciations of foreign names and occasionally other foreign affairs all beginning at the premiere of the new Daily Show set.
30.
Brian Williams appeared on the Weekend Update segment of the season 32 premiere of Saturday Night Live, hosted by Dane Cook.
31.
Brian Williams then hosted a season 33 episode on November 3,2007, becoming the first, and still only, sitting network news anchor to host the show.
32.
Brian Williams appeared on Sesame Street in a 2007 episode, announcing the word of the day, "squid", in a special broadcast.
33.
Brian Williams appeared on Sesame Street again in a 2008 episode, reporting for Sesame Street Nightly News about the "mine-itis" outbreak, becoming a victim.
34.
Brian Williams was the host of the 2009 Annual Sesame Workshop Benefit Gala.
35.
Some in the media dubbed this the new "Battle of the Brians", as NBC's Williams compared his own modest set to CTV's expensive Olympic studio.
36.
Brian Williams regularly appeared on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, where he slow jams the news of the previous week as Fallon sings and reiterates what Brian Williams says, with The Roots providing the musical backing.
37.
Brian Williams has made numerous appearances on Late Show with David Letterman.
38.
Brian Williams has appeared on Late Night with Conan O'Brien, where he took part in numerous skits and interviews.
39.
Brian Williams made frequent guest appearances on NBC's television comedy 30 Rock, as a caricatured version of himself.
40.
Brian Williams is seen once on the show taunting Tina Fey's character, Liz Lemon.
41.
Brian Williams was the commencement speaker at Bates College in May 2005, The Catholic University of America in May 2004, Ohio State University in June 2008, and at the University of Notre Dame in 2010.
42.
Brian Williams was the commencement speaker for Elon University's graduating class of 2013, which included his son Douglas.
43.
Brian Williams collaborated on the Encyclopedia of World History from Backpack Books published in 2003.
44.
Brian Williams has written for publications including The New York Times and Time magazine.
45.
For example, Brian Williams referred inconsistently to a suicide inside the New Orleans Superdome after Katrina.
46.
In 2008, Brian Williams said he was "at the Brandenburg Gate the night the wall came down", while CBS and other sources report that he did not arrive until the next day.
47.
Brian Williams said he flew into Baghdad with SEAL Team Six, but Special Operations Command spokesman Ken McGraw stated the SEALs do not embed journalists.
48.
Brian Williams married Jane Gillan Stoddard, at the First Presbyterian Church of New Canaan, Connecticut, on June 7,1986.
49.
From 2006 to 2015, Brian Williams was a member of the board of directors of the Medal of Honor Foundation; he resigned days after his suspension from NBC.