Pauley’s Last ‘Today’ Filled With Teary Eyes and Colleagues’ Praise

Jane Pauley bid a tearful farewell to the “Today” show this morning following a nostalgic review of her 13 years on the early morning NBC news program.

“I’m not going to say goodby,” she said, dabbing her eyes and recalling Frank McGee, one of her predecessors on the show. “He never said goodby. He said, ‘Never go far.’ I won’t and don’t you.”

“It’s been a remarkable year for me, and next year promises to be very interesting, too,” she said in thanking the network and “especially you viewers who have been loyal to the show.”

Last October, Pauley formally told the “Today” audience she was leaving the show to start a prime-time news program for NBC and that she regretted reports about infighting with colleagues Bryant Gumbel and Deborah Norville.

Norville, who signed a five-year contract with NBC last fall and is currently the newscaster on “Today,” will take over Pauley’s job as “Today” co-anchor.

Today, Pauley was essentially a guest on her own show and listened as Gumbel, Norville and other “Today” regulars praised her for her years on the TV front lines.

“I used to watch you on TV, and I never dreamed we would get to be such good friends and that I would have the chance to continue the legacy,” Norville said as today’s show neared its end at 9 a.m.

Gumbel praised Pauley’s consistent ability and told her, leaning over and patting her on the knee, his voice choking, “You know where I stand.”

Weatherman Willard Scott called Pauley a “class act” and said, “We love you,” a feeling Pauley said was mutual.

During the final show, bits of some of the more than 3,000 “Today” shows Pauley has done were flashed on the screen as the tune “These Foolish Things Remind Me of You” played in the background.

They showed Pauley’s first appearance on the show as a 25-year-old from the Midwest, telling her audience she bet they were “wondering how I got here.”

Pauley will host a prime-time special in March called “Changes: Conversations with Jane Pauley,” and then begin work on a prime-time news program that is now under development and is expected to begin airing next summer.

Pauley said in October that she decided to leave the show because she was ready for a change.