Albert Lincoln Roker Jr. (born August 20, 1954) is an American television personality, weatherman, actor, and book author. He is best known as being the weather anchor on NBC's Today. Roker also appears occasionally on NBC Nightly News. He holds an inactive American Meteorological Society Television Seal #238.
On November 12, 2014, 10 PM EST, Roker attempted to beat the previous unofficial world record for an uninterrupted live weather report of 33 hours held by Norwegian weather broadcaster Eli Kari Gjengedal. On November 14, 2014, 8 AM EST, Roker set the new official Guinness World Record by reporting for 34 hours.
Video Al Roker
Early life
Al Roker was born in Queens, New York, the son of Isabel, of Jamaican descent, and Albert Lincoln Roker, Sr., a bus driver of Bahamian descent. Roker initially wanted to be a cartoonist. He was raised Catholic (in the faith of his mother) and graduated from Xavier High School in Manhattan. 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 first cousin once removed 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. That makes Kravitz Roker's second cousin.
Maps Al Roker
Career (1974-present)
Early career (1974-1995)
Before the national recognition, Roker worked as a weather anchor for CBS affiliate WHEN-TV (now WTVH) in Syracuse, New York from 1974 until 1976, while he was still enrolled at SUNY Oswego. Following the completion of his collegiate 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 successful 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 after 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, a weekend talk show on CNBC.
Roker started getting more exposure, especially when David Letterman asked him to do an elevator race with him in one episode of his talk show Late Night with David Letterman, which taped across the hall from WNBC's news studio in the GE Building. That led Roker to getting a job as the forecaster for Weekend Today. He also substituted on the weekday edition of Today when Willard Scott was ill or away.
Full time on the Today Show (1996-present)
In 1996, Scott announced his semi-retirement from the show, and Roker received the weekday weather position on Today, where he has been since. He officially joined Today on January 26, 1996. Roker became popular for doing his forecasts outside the studio, interviewing audience members and giving some of them camera time. Roker also began doing more interviews and segments on the show as time progressed.
In 2005, Roker reported from inside Hurricane Wilma. A popular viral video exists on the internet of him being swept off his feet by the force of the hurricane and holding on to the cameraman.
In addition to his role as Today Show weather man and anchor, Roker also hosted the third hour of the Today Show, "Today's Take". Today's Take was cancelled in February 2017 and aired its final episode on September 22.
"Roker-thon"
In November 2014, Roker embarked on what was called "Roker-thon", in which he did a non-stop, 34-hour weather forecast on NBC, from 10:05 PM on November 12 until about 8:00 AM on November 14th. The event was a fundraiser for the Crowdrise Campaign to help the military and USO. He repeated the event in "Roker-thon 2", this time reporting weather from all 50 states and Washington, D.C. in one week from November 6 to November 13, 2015, in support of Feeding America. From March 27 until March 31, 2017, he embarked on "Roker-thon 3", where he broke a Guinness World Record at each college, such as the longest conga line on ice and largest human letter.
Other work
Roker is a game show fan, and hosted a week-long segment on Today in honor of five game shows and their hosts in July 2016 titled "Game On TODAY". He has appeared as a celebrity player on both Merv Griffin game shows Jeopardy! and Wheel of Fortune. In 2008, Roker hosted NBC's Celebrity Family Feud. He also substituted Meredith Vieira for a week of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire shows from March 5-9, 2007. Roker has also hosted NBC's coverage of the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade since 1995, where he provides commentary along with some of his Today Show colleagues. From 1996-1997, he hosted a game show on MSNBC called Remember This?.
Roker also hosts various programs on Food Network, namely, Roker on the Road, and Tricked-Out Tailgating. He is also an avid barbecue enthusiast.
Roker was also the forecaster 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). The service was called the "Al Roker Radio Weather Network", it was provided by United Stations Radio Networks. He has since been replaced on those networks by Accuweather. 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.
Author
Writing with Dick Lochte, Roker began a series of murder mysteries 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.
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.
Personal life
Roker married WNBC producer Alice Bell in 1984. They divorced in 1994, and the following year he married his second wife, fellow journalist Deborah Roberts, who has reported for both ABC and NBC. 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 Phi Beta Sigma fraternity.
Health
In 2002, Roker underwent gastric bypass surgery to lose weight, which he said he did after failing at numerous diets. Eight months after that surgery, the New York Daily News reported he had dropped 100 pounds (45 kg) off his 320-pound figure. 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. Roker wrote about his battle with weight loss in Never Goin' Back: Winning the Weight Loss Battle For Good published in 2013.
On Thursday, June 7, 2001, Roker underwent a total knee arthoplasty (replacement, or "TKA") on his left knee. In 2005, he had a back operation. He had another knee replacement surgery in 2016.
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. He also served as the official spokesperson for Amtrak's National Train Day, which took place on May 10, 2008.
Controversy
2012 Olympic logo controversy
"Remember that controversial Olympic logo for the 2012 Olympics in London? Some folks have complained that the campaign actually sent them into epileptic seizures. Well, we asked you to weigh in on our website in an informal poll; those of you who could get up off the floor after shaking around were able to actually log in"
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."
On November 23, 2015, Roker filed a discrimination complaint after he and his son tried to hail a taxi, the cab driver 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.
Signature phrases
- On many occasions on Today he has used the phrase "man candy" to describe attractive males.
- At the end of his weather segments, when they cut 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.")
- When he mentions Sunday's weather forecast on weekdays, often he restates the word "Sunday", imitating the "funny cars" catchphrase.
- 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 by saying "5, 4, 3, 2, 1. Let's have a parade."
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. Usually, the sketch follows the fruitless pursuit of Mango by a character (portrayed by the cast member Chris Kattan). In the middle of this particular sketch, Roker appeared as the object of Lauer's affection. Instead of the famous catch-phrase "Mango, Mango!" Lauer says, "Roker, ROKER !! "
- Roker voiced a fictionalized version 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 was able to get the "first interview" with the President by removing his Fedora hat and yelling to the walking President to come over. Acknowledging Roker, Obama continued walking along the parade route, telling him "it's warm!"
- 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.
- Roker had a cameo appearance in Sharknado 2: The Second One, which premiered on Syfy on July 30, 2014.
- He further reprised the cameo in the sequels Sharknado 3: Oh Hell No!, which premiered on July 22, 2015, and Sharknado: The 4th Awakens, which premiered on July 31, 2016.
- Roker appeared as the special 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. Roker had produced and narrated a Coast Guard documentary television series.
Filmography
Works
- 2000: Don't Make Me Stop This Car! reflections on fatherhood ISBN 9780684868936
- 2013: Never Goin' Back: Winning the Weight-Loss Battle For Good ISBN 978-0-451-41493-9
- 2016: Been There, Done That: Family Wisdom for Modern Times co-written with his wife Deborah Roberts. ISBN 978-0-451-46636-5
Billy Blessing novels
- 2009: The Morning Show Murders. Co-authored by Dick Lochte. ISBN 0-385-34368-X.
- 2010: The Midnight Show Murders. Co-authored by Dick Lochte; nominated for the 2011 Nero Award. ISBN 0-385-34369-8.
- 2011: The Talk Show Murders. Co-authored by Dick Lochte. ISBN 0-385-34370-1.
See also
- Bahamian Americans
References
External links
- Official website
- Al Roker on IMDb
- Al Roker interview video at the Archive of American Television
- Al Roker Investigates at CourtTV.com
- Roker's NBC biography
- Al Roker at Foodnetwork.com
- "Al Roker chats with Mad Dog & Billie on Toronto's MIX FM". Archived from the original on 2007-01-28.
- Roker's Favorite Books
- Al's Book Club for Kids
- Appearances on C-SPAN
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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