Al Roker

Albert Lincoln Roker Jr. (born August 20, 1954) is an American weather forecaster, journalist, television personality, actor, and author. He is the current weather anchor on NBC's Today.[1] Roker also appears occasionally as a co-anchor on NBC Nightly News. He has an inactive American Meteorological Society Television Seal #238.[2]

On November 12, 2014, at 10:00 p.m. Eastern Standard Time, Roker attempted to beat the unofficial world record for an uninterrupted live weather report of 33 hours held by Norwegian weather broadcaster Eli Kari Gjengedal. On November 14, 2014, at 8:00 a.m. Eastern Standard Time, Roker set the Guinness World Record by reporting for 34 hours.[3] On the December 14, 2018 episode of the Today Show, Al Roker was on honored for 40 years at NBC. The Today Show Plaza was officially named the Rokerfeller Plaza in his honor.

Early life
Al Roker was born in Queens, New York,[4] the son of Isabel, of Jamaicandescent, and Albert Lincoln Roker Sr.,[5] a bus driver of Bahamian descent.[6]Roker initially wanted to be a cartoonist.[5] He was raised Catholic[5] (in the faith of his mother) and graduated from Xavier High School in Manhattan.[7] He worked on several projects as a member of the school's Cartooning & Illustration Club. He attended the State University of New York at Oswego where he received a B.A. in communications in 1976.

According to the July 2011 issue of Us Weekly in "25 Things You Did Not Know About Me", Roker is the second cousin of the late actress Roxie Roker, who was most notable for her role as Helen Willis on the sitcom The Jeffersons and the mother of popular rock musician Lenny Kravitz. Al Roker and Roxie Roker's grandfathers were first cousins, which in turn makes their relationship third cousins as they share the same great-great grandparents. This makes Kravitz, Roker's third cousin once removed.[8]

Early career (1974–95)
Roker worked as a weather anchor for CBS affiliate WHEN-TV (now WTVH) in Syracuse, New York from 1974 until 1976, while he was enrolled at SUNY Oswego. Following the completion of his studies, Roker moved to Washington, D.C. and took a weathercasting position at independent station WTTG, then owned by Metromedia, remaining there for much of the next two years.

Roker's career with NBC began in 1978 when he was hired at WKYC-TV in Cleveland, then an NBC owned-and-operated station. After five years in Cleveland, Roker was promoted to the network's flagship outlet, WNBC-TV in his hometown. Roker returned to New York City in late 1983 as a weekend weathercaster, and within eight months became the station's regular weeknight weathercaster. Roker replaced 27-year WNBC-TV veteran Dr. Frank Field, who left the network over a contract dispute. From 1983 to 1996, Roker was the regular substitute for forecaster Joe Witte on the NBC News program NBC News at Sunrise, and from 1990 to 1995, filled in for Willard Scott, Bryant Gumbel and Matt Lauer on the Today Show. In 1995, he became the host of The Al Roker Show,[9] a weekend talk show on CNBC.

Roker received wider exposure when David Letterman asked him to join in an elevator race on an episode of the talk show Late Night with David Letterman, which taped across the hall from the WNBC news studio in the GE Building. This led to Roker becoming the forecaster for Weekend Today.[6] He also substituted on the weekday edition of Today[6] when Willard Scott was ill or away.

Full time on the Today show (1996–present)
In early 1996, Scott announced his semi-retirement from Today. On January 26, 1996, Roker received the regular weekday weather slot. Roker's studio remote forecasts, interviewing visitors outside and giving them some camera time, became a staple. Roker conducted more interviews and segments on the show over time.

In 2005, Roker reported from inside Hurricane Wilma.[10] A popular viral videoshows him swept off his feet by the fierce wind and clinging to the cameraman.[10]

In addition to his role as Today Show weather man and anchor, Roker co-hosted the third hour of the Today Show called "Today's Take", beginning November 12, 2012. Today's Take was cancelled in February 2017 and aired its final episode on September 22.

"Roker-thon"
In November 2014, Roker embarked on a "Roker-thon", in which he did a non-stop, 34-hour weather forecast on NBC, from 10:05 p.m. on November 12 until about 8:00 a.m. on November 14. The record-setting event was a fundraiser for the Crowdrise Campaign to benefit the military and USO. He held a "Roker-thon 2", this time reporting weather from all 50 states and Washington, D.C. during the week from November 6 to November 13, 2015, in support of Feeding America.[11][12] From March 27 until March 31, 2017, he embarked on "Roker-thon 3", visiting colleges and setting a Guinness World Record at each one, such as the longest conga line on ice and largest human letter.[13]

Other work
Roker is a game show fan. From 1996–1997, he hosted a game show on MSNBC called Remember This?.[9] He substituted for Meredith Vieira for a week of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire shows from March 5–9, 2007.[14]

In 2008, Roker hosted NBC's Celebrity Family Feud.[15] He hosted a week-long feature on Today profiling five game shows and their hosts in July 2016 titled "Game On TODAY". He has appeared as a celebrity player on both Merv Griffingame shows Jeopardy![16] and Wheel of Fortune.[16]

Roker has hosted programs on Food Network,[17] namely, Roker on the Road,[17]and Tricked-Out Tailgating. He is also an avid barbecue enthusiast.[15]

Roker provided forecasts for several radio stations, including the New York smooth jazz radio station WQCD (101.9 FM) and for Cleveland smooth jazz station WNWV (107.3 FM), through a service called the "Al Roker Radio Weather Network", distributed by United Stations Radio Networks. It has since been replaced by Accuweather.[18] He also had a one and a half hour weekday morning stint live from 5:00–7:00 a.m. on The Weather Channel under the name Wake Up with Al which aired from 2009 until 2015.

It was announced on September 5, 2018 that Roker will portray Joe in the Broadway musical Waitress for a six-week run from October 5 to November 11.[19]

Author
Writing with Dick Lochte, Roker co-authored a series of murder mysteries beginning in 2009 that feature Billy Blessing, a celebrity chef turned amateur detective. The second book in the series, The Midnight Show Murders (2010), was nominated for a 2011 Nero Award.[20] The Morning Show Murders, also published in 2010, was made into the 2018 movie on Hallmark Movies and Mysteries with Holly Robinson Peete in the lead role.[21]

In 2016, the non-fiction book Been There, Done That: Family Wisdom for Modern Times, written by Roker and his wife Deborah Roberts, was published.[22]

Personal life
Roker married WNBC producer Alice Bell in 1984.[23] They divorced in 1994. The following year, he married fellow journalist Deborah Roberts,[24] who has reported for both ABC[24] and NBC.[24] She met Roker when she joined NBC in 1990 as a reporter.

Roker has three children: two daughters, Courtney (born 1987) and Leila (born 1998), and one son, Nicholas Albert (born 2002).

On November 7, 2010, Roker ran in the ING New York City Marathon.

Roker is an Honorary member of the Phi Beta Sigma fraternity.

Health
On Thursday, June 7, 2001, Roker underwent a total knee arthoplasty(replacement, or "TKA") on his left knee.[25]

In 2002,[26] Roker underwent gastric bypass surgery to lose weight, which he said he did after failing at numerous diets. Eight months after the surgery, the New York Daily News reported he had dropped 100 pounds (45 kg) from his 320 lb (150 kg) figure.[27] In 2013, Roker made headlines after he admitted in a nationally televised interview that he had defecated in his pants during a visit to the White House, a side-effect of his gastric bypass surgery.[28] Roker wrote about his battle with weight loss in Never Goin' Back: Winning the Weight Loss Battle For Good, published in 2013.[29]

In 2005, he had a back operation.[30] He had another knee replacement surgery in 2016.[31]

Charity work
In 2007, Roker became an official supporter of Ronald McDonald House Charities and is a member of their celebrity board, called the Friends of RMHC.[32] He also served as the official spokesperson for Amtrak's National Train Day, which took place on May 10, 2008.[33]

2012 Olympic logo controversy
The following day Roker stated, "I started joking about [the logo]. I want to make this clear—I was not joking about epilepsy or anyone who suffers from epilepsy. We understand and know that this is a serious affliction and would never joke about that. We were joking about the logo—not about epilepsy. If anybody was offended, I heartily and really humbly apologize."[34]

On November 23, 2015, Roker alleged racial discrimination and filed a complaint after he and his son attempted to hail a cab. The cab driver reportedly then passed them in order to pick up a white man on the next block. Roker stated on Twitter that a "cabbie picked up a white guy a block away. Wonder why Uber wins?" According to the New York Taxi and Limousine Commission, the driver would either have to pay a $500 fine or possibly have his license suspended.[35][36][37]

Signature phrases

 * On many occasions on Today he has used the phrase "man candy" to describe attractive males.[38]
 * At the end of the weather segment, when cutting to local broadcasters for regional updates, he says, "That's what's going on around the country. Here's what's happening in your neck of the woods." (Willard Scott's outcue phrase was "Here's what's happening in your world, even as we speak.")[citation needed]
 * When he mentions Sunday's weather forecast on weekdays, often he repeats the word "Sunday", imitating the drag racing promotional catchphrase.[39]
 * During Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade ribbon cutting ceremonies, he is joined by the producers of the parade and special guests in kicking off the parade with the countdown "5, 4, 3, 2, 1. Let's have a parade."[40]

Other appearances and activities

 * On the May 9, 1998, episode of Saturday Night Live (hosted by David Duchovny), Roker appeared in a "Mango" sketch with Matt Lauer. The typical sketch followed the fruitless pursuit of Mango by a character portrayed by cast member Chris Kattan. In this episode, Roker appeared as the object of Lauer's affection. Instead of the famous catch-phrase "Mango, Mango!" Lauer says, "Roker, ROKER !! "
 * Roker voiced a caricature of himself as a faustian figure in two episodes of the animated Disney Channel series The Proud Family.
 * During the first inaugural parade of President Barack Obama, Al Roker obtained the "first interview" with the new president by waving his Fedora hat and yelling to the walking Obama to come over. Acknowledging Roker, the perambulating president continued on, telling him "it's warm!"[41]
 * Roker holds the record for most appearances on Late Night with Conan O'Brien, with over 30. He would often appear on the show as a last-minute replacement if a previously scheduled guest canceled their appearance.[42]
 * Roker had a cameo appearance in Sharknado 2: The Second One, which premiered on Syfy on July 30, 2014.
 * He reprised the cameo in the sequels Sharknado 3: Oh Hell No!, which premiered on July 22, 2015, Sharknado: The 4th Awakens, which premiered on July 31, 2016, Sharknado 5: Global Swarming in 2017, and The Last Sharknado: It's About Time in 2018.
 * Roker appeared as the guest ring announcer at WrestleMania 33, for the match between John Cena and Nikki Bella, versus The Miz and Maryse.
 * In 2014, Commandant of the Coast Guard Admiral Robert Papp named Roker an honorary commodore in the United States Coast Guard Auxiliary.[43] Roker had produced and narrated a Coast Guard documentary television series.
 * In 2018, Roker appeared in episode 400 of My Brother, My Brother, and Me