3 “Today” Anchors Only Lasted a Year. Here’s What They Said About Abruptly Leaving the Show
3 “Today” Anchors Only Lasted a Year. Here’s What They Said About Abruptly Leaving the Show
Francesca GarianoThu, April 30, 2026 at 10:30 AM UTC
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John Chancellor on 'Today' on July 17, 1961 ; Deborah Norville on 'Today' on February 9, 1990 ; Ann Curry on 'Today' on August 9, 2011 in New York CityCredit: NBC News/NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty; Al Levine/NBC/NBC NewsWire; Peter Kramer/NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty -
The Today show first began airing in 1952 and throughout its nearly 80 years on TV, there have been over a dozen anchors
John Chancellor, Deborah Norville and Ann Curry had brief stints on the show
Norville and Curry have gone on to work on other TV programs
Since Today's inception in January 1952, there have been several famous faces behind the news desk.
Among the longest tenured hosts of the show are Katie Couric and Bryant Gumbel, who both led the program for 15 years. Savannah Guthrie has been in the seat since 2012 and reported alongside Hoda Kotb for seven years before Craig Melvin stepped in following Kotb’s departure in 2025.
Speaking to PEOPLE about her 1991 departure in May 2025, Deborah Norville said she had been “unfairly targeted as having pushed out” Jane Pauley, explaining, "Not all the [career] pivots were by choice. I left Today. I resigned before they could push me out.”
Here are three anchors who appeared on the Today show for one year and where they are now.
01 of 03
John Chancellor
John Chancellor on 'Today' on July 17, 1961 ; John Chancellor on July 14, 1993Credit: NBC News/NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty; Margaret Norton/NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty Images via Getty
John Chancellor replaced Dave Garroway, the founding host of Today, in July 1961 after joining the NBC News staff in 1950, per The New York Times. Chancellor remained at Today for a little over a year, but officially departed in September 1962.
Speaking to the Television Academy, the journalist looked back at his brief time on the morning news program. He revealed that he was recruited while he was on assignment in Moscow, adding, “So I came back and soldiered on and did the Today show but managed to get out of it as soon as I decently could.”
Following Today, Chancellor remained in the NBC family and became a political correspondent for NBC News. By 1968, he joined what was known then as the Huntley-Brinkley Report as a senior correspondent.
After Chet Huntley retired, Chancellor became the anchor and the show was renamed NBC Nightly News. He was one of the faces until 1982, though he continued to give political commentary on the show until 1993 before he retired.
Chancellor died of stomach cancer on July 12, 1996, at the age of 68 at his home in Princeton, N.J., The New York Times reported.
02 of 03
Deborah Norville
Deborah Norville on 'Today' on February 9, 1990 ; Deborah Norville on November 10, 2025Credit: Al Levine/NBC/NBC NewsWire; Eileen T. Meslar/Chicago Tribune/Tribune News Service via Getty
Norville joined Today in September 1989 as an anchor. A few months later, she became a co-host in January 1990 after Pauley departed the program, according to Adweek.
The following year, Norville went out on maternity leave and made the decision not to return to the show in April 1991, per The New York Times.
Norville reflected on her departure from Today during a May 2025 interview with PEOPLE, sharing that she “went through a major depression.” She added, "I didn't think I'd ever work in broadcasting again — and there were plenty in the business who agreed with that assessment."
After a short stint in radio, Norville returned to television in 1992 as a news correspondent for CBS before she was named anchor of Inside Edition in 1995, where she remained for 30 years.
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In April 2025, Norville announced that she would be leaving the series, sharing that it was "time to do something new” and she was “motivated by family.” Her final episode of Inside Edition aired in May 2025.
Since then, she has received a Lifetime Achievement Award at the 2025 Daytime Emmy Awards and begun hosting a game show The Perfect Line.
Apart from her TV work, Norville is also a prolific author. She’s written several books, including 1997’s Back on Track: How To Straighten Out Your Life When It Throws You a Curve and 2007’s Thank You Power: Making the Science of Gratitude Work for You.
Norville has also authored knitting and crochet pattern books, as well as two children’s books.
03 of 03
Ann Curry
Ann Curry on 'Today' on August 9, 2011 in New York City ; Ann Curry on October 14, 2025 in New York CityCredit: Peter Kramer/NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty; Slaven Vlasic/Getty for Equality Now
After serving as a news anchor for the morning television series for about 13 years, Ann Curry officially became a co-anchor on Today in June 2011 alongside longtime host Matt Lauer, who was later fired in November 2017 amid sexual assault allegations.
Curry’s time as co-anchor was short-lived and she announced she was leaving the show in June 2012.
Years after her exit in January 2018, Curry told PEOPLE that leaving Today “hurt like hell.” At the time, she explained, “It hurt so much, but I learned a lot about myself. I can say I’ve done nothing wrong. I’ve been honest and true. I’ve tried to stay pure.”
She told Elle in September 2020 that she still didn’t “really understand” her abrupt departure from the show. She added, “I know I did nothing wrong. I know I was good at my job.”
After her stint at Today, Curry remained with NBC for several years in different capacities, including as an anchor-at-large and correspondent across the NBC News portfolio.
She officially left the company in January 2015, per Variety, in order to start her own production company, with financial backing from NBCUniversal.
Curry was away from television for several years following her exit from NBC. She eventually returned to screens in January 2018 for a six-part PBS docuseries We’ll Meet Again.
Before the premiere, she told PEOPLE that she felt that she was “not done,” explaining, “If I can contribute work that matters, especially in this time when people are yearning for it, then I’d like to.”
The broadcast journalist said she was “stronger now” years after her departure. She added, “I’m smarter. I’m happier, as happy as I’ve ever been. And my compassion has only grown. When you go through the pain and learn the lessons, you will be changed for the better.”
Since then, Curry has served as the host and executive producer of the 2019 docuseries Chasing the Cure.
on People
Source: “AOL Entertainment”
