Craig Melvin is taking the day off from hosting the TODAY Show on May 20, with Savannah Guthrie instead joined by Willie Geist.
Savannah, 54, and Sunday TODAY host Willie, 51, assured viewers at the top of the show, though, that his absence came for a very special reason – his birthday!
© Getty Images"Willie in for Craig this morning, who takes his birthday off every year," she confirmed, immediately changing the subject to another figure with a birthday today – Cher, who celebrates her milestone 80th birthday today.
Willie joked: "Cher turning 80, Craig Melvin, also 80. Which is very surprising, he looks like a million bucks!" The live show did dedicate an entire segment to Cher's big day.
The official TODAY page on Instagram celebrated the anchor with a collection of photos spanning his years on the show (and beyond), with a caption that read: "Happy birthday to our co-anchor, glass half full host, sports connoisseur and candle maker, Craig Melvin!"
Co-host Sheinelle Jones sent him a birthday message in the comments as well, while Savannah took to her Instagram Stories with an excerpt from Craig's speech at the Villanova University commencement ceremony the day before, writing alongside it: "Wise and beautiful words, happy birthday @craigmelvinnbc."
On May 19, the dad-of-two received an honorary doctorate degree from the Pennsylvania university, and delivered the commencement speech to the graduating class of 2026. He spoke passionately about pulling inspiration from his late brother Lawrence, who passed away in 2020 after a battle with colorectal cancer.
© Getty ImagesKeeping the university's slogan of "Veritas, Unitas, Caritas" (transl: "truth, unity, love") in mind, he said of his late brother, a baptist minister: "My brother Lawrence was a Baptist minister. He died five and a half years ago from colorectal cancer. He was just 43."
"He left behind a beautiful wife and two young children, and he preached about love often," Craig continued. "He could quote scripture the way many of us can quote song lyrics, and I assure you, he is getting quite the kick out of me right now. His little brother up here, about to quote a Catholic saint at a Catholic university. Augustine said, 'Love, and do what you will.'"
"Six words. That's the whole thing. At first read, it sounds dangerous, like permission to do anything. But Augustine meant the opposite. He meant that if love lives inside, the outside takes care of itself."
Craig concluded his speech with: "Class of 2026 — these three words you carry today, Veritas, Unitas, Caritas — they live or die at the mirror. Live them so that the person in the glass is your friend."
Craig, and his wife Lindsay Czarniak, are active participants in fundraising for and spreading awareness on colorectal cancer and care for those affected, even hosting the Bottoms Up charity golf invitational to raise funds for research.
© Getty Images"Unfortunately this type of cancer does not get the kind of attention – and consequently the resources – that other cancers do," he previously shared with HELLO!. "We are trying to change that. We want to destigmatize the cancer. Nobody wants to talk about their colon or their rectums or blood in their stool. But slowly this is shifting."
