The "Today" show host Matt Lauer eulogized actress and friend Florence Henderson on the show Friday morning, hours after it was announced that the beloved actress had died.
"It's so sad … I love looking back at some of those moments," Lauer said of his departed friend. "In all my years in this business I don't think I've ever met anyone so talented and so popular who had so much humility and so little ego ... She was the most down to earth, humbled, grounded person I've met."
Lauer praised Henderson's role as Carol Brady on "The Brady Bunch," which spanned five seasons from 1969 to 1974.
"Could there have been a better role for Florence Henderson than Mrs. Brady? She nurtured everybody. She was so caring," Lauer said.
Lauer also said Henderson was like a second mother and always asked to see photos of their children and spouses whenever she came to visit.
"Every time you saw her and she walked into the studio, first thing was the hug then the kiss and then it wasn't some kind of mandatory greeting where she'd say, 'How are you, and how is your family?' She meant it."
Tamron Hall called Henderson a close friend that had a "nurturing spirit" and spoke of an incident in which Henderson helped calm Hall's nerves before a catwalk event.
"She had a wicked sense of humor," Lauer said. "She could catch you of guard with her jokes."
Lauer expressed sympathies for Henderson's family and for all the fans who were mourning the loss of their sitcom mom.
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