Celebrity News

Willie Geist relies on son to turn in early for ‘Today’ gig

The night before his first early morning on the job at NBC’s “Today,” Willie Geist was reminded not to stay up too late by his young son. The former “Morning Joe” host was spotted Sunday night at a dinner thrown by P.J. Clarke’s owner Philip Scotti in honor of UCLA’s Operation Mend, a program that helps military servicemen in need of reconstructive surgery after being wounded in Iraq and Afghanistan. Geist introduced several of the soldiers in attendance during a touching speech. But soon after, during the three-course meal, Geist’s sleepy son George, 3, was overheard telling him, “Daddy we have to go home.” Geist previously filled in for Matt Lauer before being named a new co-host of the 9 a.m. hour on “Today.”