Dad-son anchors Lester and Stefan Holt set for special Father’s Day
Every weekday at 4 p.m., NBC “Nightly News” anchor Lester Holt and his son Stefan Holt, who is the co-anchor of NBC 4 New York’s 4 p.m. newscast, come together at 30 Rock to film a teaser for the upcoming nightly broadcast. “There’s a three-minute commercial break, so we do a quick catch up,” Lester, 60, says.
“It’s funny to see my co-workers react,” says Stefan, 32, “because they say, ‘That’s Lester Holt, the “Nightly News” anchor.’ But he is also my dad. We have a cool relationship as colleagues, but first and foremost, he’s my dad.”
Together, the father-and-son news duo have covered world-moving events like Fidel Castro’s funeral and wildfires in California. But last week, while Lester was on assignment in Europe for the 75th anniversary of D-Day, he missed the birth of Stefan’s second son, Samuel. (His older son, Henry, is 21 months old.) So this Father’s Day weekend, the Holt men (including his other son, Cameron, 29) will welcome the newest addition to the family.
“Now I have two grandkids, so it’s going to be an extra special Father’s Day,” adds Lester.
Here Lester and Stefan tell The Post about their father-and-son weekend.
Lester: Stefan has this wonderful suburban home with a backyard and barbecue, so we will default to his place.
Stefan: I am the grill master, so I will probably be over the barbecue cooking up something. Are we having burgers or steaks, Dad?
Lester: I am always a big fan of when he does fajitas on the grill and makes the guacamole. Morgan — Stefan’s wife — is from Texas, so we all enjoy the Tex-Mex thing. Generally, my younger son brings a six-pack of beer which is requisite for these get-togethers. He’s the unofficial beer curator and likes surprising us with interesting ones. I think I convinced him to bring Peroni. That’s my favorite.
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Stefan: One thing I love about weekends is when we come into the city and stay at my parents’ place. When it’s time to put Henry to bed, Mom and Dad will say, “We’ll watch him. Go sneak out and have a date night.” Morgan and I will go out and hit a restaurant. I love San Carlo [Osteria Piemonte] on Thompson Street or Blue Ribbon Sushi. I like the Dutch. In the morning, we’ll have brunch. Henry is a big fan of the biscuits at Bubby’s. We’re into exploring.
Lester: One thing we are doing a lot of is home-cooked meals. We’re both known in the public eye, so sometimes it’s nice to have privacy, let your hair down and talk about whatever.
Stefan: What garners the most eye rolls are our conversations about airplanes.
Lester: Three weeks ago, Stefan and I went to JetBlue academy in Florida and learned how to fly airbuses in a simulator and in the classroom. It was a total geekout weekend, and I think our respective spouses consider us geeks.
Stefan: I have fond memories [as a kid] of going with him to the air show in Oshkosh [Wis.]. I am a licensed pilot and have always had a passion for aviation. And we always talked about current events as a family, at the dinner table or family functions. I remember as a kid listening to the police scanner with my dad.
Lester: We’re both certifiable news junkies. I had Stefan over for dinner one Saturday night and heard sirens, so I flipped on the scanner and there was a major fire at a church down the street. We grabbed our coats, and we’re videoing the fire. He’s calling into the office and sending the video back and forth.
I think we got into a bit of trouble [with our wives]. We came back and dinner was cold.