Willie Geist Recalls His “Most Proud Day” Amid Dad’s Secret Parkinson’s Battle
The TODAY host and his father Bill Geist have been actively raising awareness about the disease.
For three decades, Willie Geist's dad Bill Geist has been living with Parkinson's. Now 80 years old, the veteran award-winning TV journalist battled the disease in secret for years before telling his children and then the rest of the world of his diagnosis.
In 2012, Bill announced on CBS Sunday Morning that he had been diagnosed with the neurological disease. "I've had it for years, told no one, not even my kids. Didn't want them to worry. Didn't want to be seen as 'the sick guy,'" the beloved correspondent and author told viewers at the time. His son said on TODAY that going public with that news "was a big deal for him."
The host of NBC's Sunday TODAY added that his father ultimately realized that he could "help some people" by opening up about his diagnosis. "That was my most proud day, I would say," Willie said in 2012. "That was not easy for him because I know what he's gone through over the years ... Very proud of him, but more proud that he's gonna now help people."
Since then, that's exactly what the Geists have gone on to do. Read on to learn more about their advocacy for Parkinson's research and their close father-son bond.
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Willie Geist's dad Bill Geist inspired him to become an advocate for Parkinson's awareness and research
In 1992, Willie Geist's father Bill was diagnosed with Parkinson's at 47 years old. At the time, the longtime NBC anchor was only in high school and has since become a strong advocate to help raise awareness about the disease. And their bond has only strengthened as they've worked together with the overall mission to find a cure.
For over two decades, Willie has been on the Board of Directors of the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research, the long-running nonprofit founded by the iconic actor who's been living with Parkinson's for over 30 years. Bill has also been involved in the foundation for years as a member of the MJFF's Patient Council.
Along with his father, Willie is also very involved in the American Academy of Neurology's Brain & Life community. The TODAY host also runs marathons in honor of his dad to help raise money for Parkinson's research. In 2021, Willie trained to run the New York City Marathon and told Jimmy Fallon on The Tonight Show he was able to raise about "half a million bucks" for Parkinson's research.
Over the years on TODAY, Willie has highlighted patient stories and has had candid conversations with others who've shared similar experiences with the disease. In 2024, Ryan Reynolds opened up about his own father's 20-year battle with Parkinson's and how they rarely discussed his diagnosis as a family.
"My dad said Parkinson's I think three times in his entire life to me ... I get it. My dad was like a prideful kind of guy," the actor shared during a "Sunday Sitdown" interview, adding that they didn't know what to do when his father started experiencing hallucinations. Reynolds now shares his father's story to raise awareness about symptoms.
"Even just hearing you say it, maybe they can identify it. Oh, this is something specific we can do something about," Willie said during the conversation.
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Willie Geist is proud of dad Bill Geist's long and successful career
Willie learned from one of the best as he went on to follow in his father's career footsteps as a successful journalist. "He's taught me a curiosity, to wonder about the world and to want to know more," Willie shared in an essay for TODAY. "It's always an adventure with my dad, and I think that's a good metaphor for life: It's always an adventure."
For many years after he was diagnosed with Parkinson's, Bill Geist continued to work as a correspondent for CBS News before he retired in 2018. "He worked, traveling the country in a very visible job, for another 25 years after his diagnosis," Willie told Brain & Life. And retirement didn't slow him. In 2019, Bill released a memoir titled Lake of the Ozarks, a project that made his son and family very "proud."
"It is so funny, it's nostalgic, it's touching," Willie gushed to Jenna Bush Hager on TODAY about his father's book. "He's had Parkinson's disease for almost 30 years, and so he's been on TV doing his job. Even the act of sitting down to write this book wasn't as easy as it would've been 10 or 20 years ago, so that's why I'm doubly proud ... You live with the disease and you keep going with your life."
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How Willie Geist's dad Bill Geist motivated him during the NYC Marathon
When Willie set off to run over 26 miles for the New York City Marathon to raise money for Parkinson's research, he trained for many months to get himself ready. And as things got tough on actual race day, he turned to his dad for motivation.
Willie revealed on The Tonight Show that he wrote "Dad" on his arm to remind him to keep going as he hit "walls" throughout the marathon. "You look down and remember why you're doing it. And if it's not going to save your dad, it might save the next generation ... That was pure motivation," he said. "[My dad] swept me across the finish line without question."
From becoming vocal advocates to their successful careers and beyond, there's no doubt that Willie shares an incredibly close bond with his father. Now as a father of two with his wife Christina Geist, Willie's experience as a parent has taught him the power of "vulnerability."
"I think there's something old school about being a dad," Willie Geist said about his kids during a chat with fellow TODAY dads Al Roker, Carson Daly, and Craig Melvin. "You want to, in their eyes, be the hero. And showing that kind of vulnerability, maybe you feel like that puts a little bit of a dent in that. But I think it's so important to do it and reveal that life is not all perfect. Things come up along the way. You are vulnerable."
How to watch Sunday TODAY
New episodes of Sunday TODAY air weekly on Sunday mornings on NBC at 8 a.m. ET and are available to stream the next day on Peacock.
