Willard Scott, who served as the Today show’s weatherman for more than 30 years, has died, according to NBC News. He was 87. Scott spent his final hours “surrounded by family, including his daughters Sally and Mary and his lovely wife, Paris,” tweeted Today weatherman Al Roker. “He was truly my second dad and [I] am where I am today because of his generous spirit. Willard was truly a broadcast icon.” Scott, who portrayed Ronald McDonald in early McDonald’s commercials, joined Today in 1980. Aside from delivering the weather, Scott was perhaps best-known for wishing newly-centenarian Today viewers a happy birthday.

“I do a lot of schmoozing,” Scott told The New York Times in 1987. “I’m like a dog. You just open the door and I go, ‘Rrrr, rrrr,’ and then I lick everybody’s face.”