1. On June 18,2015, Holt was made the permanent anchor of NBC Nightly News following the demotion of Brian Williams.
33 Facts About Lester Holt
1. 2.
Lester Holt followed in the career footsteps of Max Robinson, an ABC News evening co-anchor, and became the first Black male solo anchor for a major network newscast.
3.
Lester Holt moderated the first presidential debate of 2016 to mixed reviews; being credited for fact-checking the candidates for false statements while struggling to keep control of the debate and unable to adhere to time restrictions.
4.
On February 24,2025, it was announced that Lester Holt would leave NBC Nightly News in summer 2025 after ten years as host, and would become the full-time host of NBC news magazine show Dateline following his departure.
5.
Holt was born on March 8,1959, on Hamilton Air Force Base, Marin County, California, the youngest child of four of June and Lester Don Holt His maternal grandparents were born in Jamaica.
6.
Lester Holt's maternal grandfather Canute DeRozario was of Anglo-Indian descent from Spanish Town, and was one of 14 children born to an Indian father from Calcutta, and an English-born White Jamaican mother.
7.
Lester Holt's father was African American from Michigan, with roots in Tennessee.
8.
Lester Holt's father was stationed at Elmendorf Air Force Base in Alaska for four years during the Vietnam War.
9.
Lester Holt was introduced to broadcasting by his older brother, a disc jockey at a local radio station in Anchorage, Alaska.
10.
Lester Holt graduated from Cordova High School in Rancho Cordova in 1977 and majored in government at California State University, Sacramento, though he never graduated, receiving an honorary degree in 2015.
11.
Lester Holt has received honorary Doctorates in Humane Letters from both Rutgers University in 2020 and Villanova University in 2023.
12.
Lester Holt spent 19 years with CBS, as a reporter, anchor, and international correspondent.
13.
Lester Holt became a full-time co-anchor of Weekend Today following the death of previous co-anchor David Bloom.
14.
On May 9,2007, Lester Holt was named anchor of the weekend edition of NBC Nightly News, anchoring the show for eight years before replacing Brian Williams as permanent anchor of the weekday edition.
15.
Lester Holt moderated a presidential debate in 2016, and interviewed President Donald Trump in 2017, where fellow journalists said that he asked tough but appropriate questions.
16.
When Brian Williams took medical leave in 2013 for knee replacement surgery, Lester Holt filled in as weekday anchor.
17.
In 2015, Williams was suspended for reportedly exaggerating a story about the Iraq War, and Lester Holt permanently replaced him as NBC Nightly News anchor.
18.
Lester Holt moderated the Democratic presidential candidates' debate in January 2016, alongside a panel of NBC political reporters, as well as the first presidential debate on September 26,2016.
19.
Journalists said that Lester Holt performed admirably; for example he challenged Trump when Trump said that he originally opposed the war in Iraq, which was proven to be a false statement.
20.
The Washington Post said "Kudos to Lester Holt" for making it clear that stop and frisk was ruled unconstitutional in New York, when Trump said it wasn't.
21.
In May 2017, when Lester Holt interviewed President Trump, they discussed Trump's firing of FBI director James Comey.
22.
In 2020, Lester Holt extensively covered the COVID-19 pandemic and saw a spike in ratings alongside the other evening news shows.
23.
Lester Holt sometimes ended his shows with monologues, reflecting on the pandemic and its impact.
24.
In 2022, Lester Holt announced the death of Queen Elizabeth II in an NBC News Special Report, and in 2023, he interviewed Ebrahim Raisi, president of Iran.
25.
In October 2023, Lester Holt traveled to Israel to cover the 2023 Hamas attack on Israel, and the ongoing Gaza war On November 8,2023, he co-moderated the third GOP Primary Debate, alongside Hugh Hewitt and Kristen Welker.
26.
Lester Holt appeared on the episode "Cleveland" of the NBC sitcom 30 Rock.
27.
Lester Holt did a voice-over in the episode "Sandwich Day," announcing that Jack Donaghy would be a new cabinet member in the Bush administration.
28.
Lester Holt announced the 2006,2007, and 2008 Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show for the USA Network, and was featured in Making Music magazine.
29.
Lester Holt hosted the 2008 Sci-Fi Channel documentary Mystery of the Crystal Skulls.
30.
On May 31,2020, Lester Holt delivered a virtual commencement speech for the 254th graduating class of Rutgers University due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
31.
Stefan Lester Holt graduated in 2009 from Pepperdine University and was the morning news anchor at NBC-owned WMAQ-TV in Chicago.
32.
Lester Holt plays bass guitar and the upright bass and performs in the band Rough Cuts composed mostly of video editors from Dateline NBC.
33.
Lester Holt attends the Manhattan Church of Christ in New York.