Hoda Kotb Mourns Death of ‘Sweet Friend’

Today Show co-anchor Hoda Kotb shared a tribute to Jimmy Neary, the legendary New York City pub owner who died on Oct. 1 at age 91. During a segment on Today Thursday, Kotb mentioned that his Irish pub Neary’s on Manhattan’s East Side was Kathie Lee Gifford’s favorite restaurant in the city. In her own tribute to Neary, Gifford said the world lost a “saint, but Heaven gained an angel.”

“Jimmy Neary… always smiling. RIP sweet friend. We will miss you,” Kotb wrote on Instagram Friday, alongside a photo of the card from Neary’s memorial service. On Today Thursday, Kotb said she bumped into Neary’s daughter recently, and she had said he was in “good spirits” and was “healthy.” “The only blessing was that it came quickly, Kotb said of Neary’s death. Jenna Bush Hager also called Neary a “wonderful” man.

“The world lost a saint, but Heaven gained an angel. We will miss you and remember you always with great joy, Jimmy Neary,” Gifford wrote on Instagram Tuesday, alongside a photo of Neary on Today with herself and Kotb. “So sad to hear this! I loved Jimmy. He was so adored. So kind and always remembered those around him! Sending love to his family,” Donna Farizan, social contributor for Hoda & Jenna, added.

Neary was born in Ireland and moved to the U.S. at 24, according to his obituary. He opened Neary’s on East 57th Street in New York City on St. Patrick’s Day in 1967. It quickly became world-famous, hosting any politician, celebrity, and athlete when they visited New York City. Gifford often mentioned his famous lamb chops during her talk shows, and New York Giants owner Tim Mara even presented Neary with 1986 and 1990 Super Bowl rings. He was married to his wife Eileen for 40 years until her death in 2007, and they raised four children, Patrick, Una, Ann Marie, and Eileen.

Neary, who was the subject of the 2017 documentary Neary’s: The Dream at the End of the Rainbow, lived in Demarest, New Jersey. He re-opened his restaurant in April after being closed for more than a year due to the pandemic. “He was always there,” Herb Karlitz, who also lives in Demarest and runs a marketing firm, told NorthJersey.com. “He was the kind of guy who made New York City a special place. A little piece of New York’s culinary phenomenon has died. He was one of its great icons.”