What Is Keith Morrison's Net Worth and Salary?
Keith Morrison is a Canadian broadcast journalist who has a net worth of $8 million. Keith Morrison's annual salary at "Dateline NBC" is $3 million. Morrison began his professional career working in news publishing for the "Saskatoon Star Phoenix" in the mid-1960s. He then moved to television, serving as an anchor for multiple stations in Saskatchewan, Toronto, and Vancouver. In the early '70s, he became a newsreader, anchor, and producer for "Canada AM," and then went on to work for "CTV National News," "The Journal," and "Midday."
Morrison relocated to Los Angeles in the mid-1980s and subsequently became NBC's West Coast correspondent for both "NBC Nightly News" and the "Today Show." After briefly returning to Canada to work as the co-anchor for "Canada AM" and the substitute anchor for "CTV National News," he was hired as a correspondent for "Dateline NBC." He has worked for "Dateline" since 1995, and his style of reporting has been parodied on "Saturday Night Live."
Connection to Matthew Perry
A fun little fact about Keith Morrison is that he was "Friends" actor Matthew Perry's stepfather. Keith married Matthew's mother, Suzanne, in 1981. Matthew was 12 years old at the time. Keith and Suzanne would eventually have four children together, daughters Caitlin, Emily, and Madeline and son Willy. Keith also has a son named Michael from a previous marriage. Sadly, Matthew passed away in October 2023 at the age of 54. His death was caused by the "acute effects of ketamine," and other contributing factors were drowning, the effects of buprenorphine, and coronary artery disease.
Early Life
Keith Morrison was born on July 2, 1947, in Lloydminster, Saskatchewan, Canada. After finishing high school, he attended the University of Saskatchewan.
Career
After finishing his studies, Morrison began working as a reporter and anchor at various local stations in Saskatchewan, Vancouver, and Toronto. He joined CTV's "Canada AM" in 1973 as a newsreader. He also worked as a reporter and weekend anchor as well as a producer. As a reporter at CTV, he won awards for his coverage of the Yom Kippur War.
From 1975 to 1976, Keith worked as a reporter on "CTV National News" and also served as National Affairs Correspondent and substitute anchor on the show from 1976 to 1979. In 1982, he joined the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation as the substitute anchor and Chief Political Correspondent for "The Journal," the network's nightly public affairs program. Morrison remained in the role until 1986. He also co-hosted "Midday," the network's newsmagazine show that he helped create, from 1984 to 1985.
In 1986, Keith moved to Los Angeles and began working as the anchor at the 5 p.m. and 11 p.m. news shows for KNBC-TV. In 1988, he joined NBC News as a West Coast correspondent for the "NBC Nightly News" and the "Today Show." He covered the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989. He also contributed to a number of acclaimed hour-long documentaries and magazine segments for various NBC programs while also continuing to anchor on KNBC.
In 1992, Morrison returned to Canada and became the co-anchor of the leading national morning news program, "Canada AM," on CTV. He also began hosting "The Editors" on PBS. Additionally, he worked as the substitute anchor for "CTV National News." He was expected to eventually replace Lloyd Robertson, a famed anchor, until Morrison was ousted in a network shakeup. It was believed that at the time he was ousted, he was campaigning to replace Robertson. While still working on "Canada AM," Robertson once referred to the then Canadian Prime Minister Brian Mulroney as "whatshisname." This led to Mulroney canceling a planned live appearance on the program.
In 1995, Morrison returned to NBC as a correspondent for "Dateline NBC." He has remained in the position since that time. He has become well-known for his interviews with many prominent political and cultural figures. He has become so prominent in the culture that he has appeared as himself on various television series, including on an episode of "Seinfeld" in which he reports the arrest of Kramer after he is accused of being a serial killer.
Keith has also been parodied in popular culture. He was portrayed on "Saturday Night Live" in a sketch starring Bill Hader. He also appeared on an episode of "Late Night with Seth Meyers" as himself, parodying his characteristic dramatic delivery of real-life murder mysteries that he is known for on "Dateline."
Personal Life
Morrison married Suzanne Perry in 1981. She worked as a writer, consultant, news anchor, and political fundraiser who had also served as the Press Secretary to Canadian Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau. Together, the couple have had four children – Caitlin, Emily, Willy, and Madeleine. He additionally has a son from a previous marriage named Michael. Keith was the stepfather to actor Matthew Perry, his wife's son from a previous marriage.