CNN’s weather guy, Rob Marciano, is taking a break from sunshine and storm clouds, and is headed to Entertainment Tonight, where he will become an anchor of celebrity gossip and pop culture news. The man’s fine hair cut and strong jaw should make a nice contrast to ET’s Nancy O’Dell, whom Marciano will begin hosting with in early 2013.
Entertainment Tonight announced the news this morning, noting Marciano will officially join the team in January of 2013. The news should be a welcome relief to the long-running entertainment program, which has been seeking a replacement for former host Mark Steines since he left ET during the summer (oddly enough, Marciano even has the same coloring and groomed hair as Steines). ET executive producer Linda Bell Blue says the family is happy to include Marciano in the lineup.
"Rob brings with him a passion for news, a wealth of knowledge about the entertainment industry and an enormous amount of charisma that viewers have been responding to for years. We know he will be an outstanding fit for our show.”
The move will certainly be a change-up for Marciano, who is more noted for heading into the field during big events like Hurricane Katrina and the BP oil spill (where he actually cleaned up beaches and saved wildlife during the special Rescue: Saving the Gulf) than for talking about diet tips and recent celebrity marriages. Still, going from an occasional field expert and weatherman to a major co-hosting chair must feel like a win for Marciano. I don’t blame him. If a person isn’t the absolute best (or there are no open slots), there’s only so far a person can move up at CNN, and I wouldn’t mind bantering about pop culture with Nancy O’Dell, either.
