Al Roker

The winner of many Emmy and Daytime Emmy awards, Al Roker is one of America's favorite weathermen. Presenting the weather on NBC's The Today Show, since 1996, Roker has made guest appearances on several other television programs, including, Seinfeld, Mad About You, Will and Grace, and Sesame Street. He has written several books, including one on parenthood and two cookbooks.

Born August 20, 1954, in Queens, NY, Roker began his broadcasting career while still in college by landing a job as a weekend weatherman for WTVH-TV in Syracuse, NY in 1974. He went on to forecast the weather on TV stations in Washington, DC, and Cleveland, OH, finally making it to WNBC-TV in NY as the weekend forecaster in 1983. In 1994, he founded Al Roker Productions, Inc, which produced the critically acclaimed special on PBS about severe weather, Savage Skies, and a highly rated travel series, Going Places. A familiar face on TV, Roker conducts celebrity interviews, cooking segments, technology updates, and a continuing series for Today called "Today's Dad," featuring parenting tips for fathers.

Roker is married and has two daughters and a son.

Last updated: December 14, 2008.

television weathercaster

Personal Information

Born Albert Lincoln Roker, Jr., on August 20, 1954, in New York, NY; son of Albert Lincoln (a bus driver and union negotiator); married third wife, Deborah Roberts (a television journalist), September 16, 1995; children: two daughters and one son
Education: State University of New York at Oswego, BA, communications, 1976.

Career

WTVH-TV, Syracuse, NY, weekend weather anchor, 1974-75, weekly weather anchor, 1975-76; WTTG-TV, Washington, DC, weather anchor, 1976-78; WKYC-TV, Cleveland, OH, weather anchor, 1978-83; WNBC-TV, New York City, 1983-, began as weekend weather anchor, worked as local weekly weathercaster, currently weather anchor for Today Show; CNBC-TV, New York City, host of weekend talk show The Al Roker Show, 1995-.

Life's Work

Al Roker may describe himself as "goofy-looking" and "nothing special," but his combination of accurate forecasting and warm, relaxed delivery have won him possibly the most visible weather anchor position on television. Roker is the weekday weathercaster for the National Broadcasting Company's Today Show, a morning news-and-information program watched by millions and millions of Americans. Roker inherited his position on Today from the equally affable Willard Scott in 1995, adding a new laurel to a two-decade career in the television weather forecasting business. He is also host of his own cable channel weekend talk show, The Al Roker Show. Success has done little to alter Roker's working methods--or his opinion of himself. "We know weather is one of the main reasons people tune in to the news," he said in the New York Times. "So I try to do my best to be accurate. Then I hope for the best."

Roker comes from a blue-collar background where his hard-working parents stressed education and achievement. His father, Albert Lincoln Roker, was a bus driver who also served as a labor-relations negotiator for New York City's Transit Authority. His mother was a homemaker who raised the six Roker children in a home in the St. Albans section of Queens, New York. Al Jr., the oldest in the family, graduated from Manhattan's Xavier High School, where he spent four years developing his comic skills and indulging his interests in graphic art.

The cost of tuition at a private college was out of reach for the Roker family, so Al attended the State University of New York at Oswego. There he majored in graphic communications, but he took classes in meteorology to satisfy the university's science requirements. Roker found he had a talent for meteorology, and his interest in the science grew as his studies progressed. While still a sophomore in college, he landed a part-time job as weekend weather forecaster at nearby WTVH-TV in Syracuse. By the time he earned his bachelor's degree in 1976, he had been promoted to weekday weathercaster at the station. Roker did not earn a degree in meteorology, but few television weather forecasters do. In fact, his background contains more science than that of many of his colleagues, and he became known for writing his own forecasts and using NBC's radar--rather than the National Weather Service--to keep him up-to-date on local and national weather.

Soon after graduating from college, Roker took a job as weathercaster for WTTG-TV in Washington, DC. WTTG is a local independent station, and while there the young Roker had ample opportunity to study other weather anchors' techniques. One local hero Roker studied was the chubby and avuncular Willard Scott, who was then forecasting weather at the NBC affiliate in the nation's capital. Today Roker credits Scott with teaching him the secret to a long career on the air. "I used to be crazy, do all kinds of gimmicky things," Roker admitted in the New York Times. "Willard took me aside one day and said, 'Just be yourself. It'll last a lot longer.'"

From WTTG Roker moved on to WKYC-TV in Cleveland, Ohio. The job in the Midwest was Roker's first with an NBC affiliate, and--as an avid weather-watcher--he admits that he misses the assignment in Cleveland. After five years at WKYC, Roker moved on in 1983 to WNBC-TV in New York City. His parents, who were still living in Queens, were thrilled to welcome him home.

Roker's first position with WNBC was weekend weather anchor. By 1985 he had worked his way up to weekly weather forecaster, earning New York magazine's "Best Weatherman" award. Roker had the same easygoing, ordinary-guy delivery that characterizes his weather spots now, but he also exhibited a keen understanding of meteorology on both a local and national level. He seemed at ease urging New Yorkers to play hooky from work on sunny spring days, and deeply committed and serious when tracking Atlantic hurricanes and other dangerous weather. With an 80 percent accuracy rate, he quickly earned the American Meteorological Society's prestigious Seal of Approval.

Asked in a 1987 New York magazine profile if he would like to replace Willard Scott on the Today Show at some point, Roker disclaimed any ambitions. "Willard is my idol. The idea of stepping into his shoes terrifies me," he said. Over the next decade, Roker had ample opportunity to shed his fears and prepare to be Scott's replacement. In addition to his duties with the weekly local NBC newscast, he became weathercaster for the weekend edition of Today and a substitute for Scott on weekdays. By the time Scott retired in 1995, Roker had firmly established himself as the heir apparent and continued to hold the position a decade later.

A yo-yo dieter with thick glasses who stands about five-feet-eight, Roker thinks a great deal of his appeal lies in his "ordinary Joe" persona. "It's part of my stock in trade," he explained in the New York Times. "People look at me and feel superior." Whatever the secret of his success, Roker has achieved what many would consider the pinnacle of television weather forecasting success as the national weather correspondent for the highly rated Today Show. Unlike his predecessor, however, Roker has not just settled into the staff of Today with no further ambitions. Late in 1995 he inaugurated The Al Roker Show, a weekend talk show run on the cable channel CNBC. He also served as narrator for a Public Broadcasting System documentary on weather entitled Savage Skies.

Roker's fans are many and diverse. Entertainment Weekly once dubbed him a "Cool Ordinary Guy." MTV did a feature on him called "What It's Like To Be Al." And everyone from New York's mayor Rudolph Giuliani to reporter Barbara Walters turned up at his 1995 wedding to television journalist Deborah Roberts. Roker, who lives in New York, seemed truly content with his celebrity status and his high-profile job at NBC. "Our problem is that sometimes we have too much fun," he said of himself and his Today co-hosts in the New York Times. "We forget we're on television."

While Roker continued to hold his spot on the Today Show, he continually branched out in diverse directions. He set up Al Roker Productions, Inc. in 1994 to do "all things Al," according to Roker's Web site. He has published a parenting book and two cookbooks. He appeared on Dateline in 2004 to report on his health status two and a half years after undergoing gastric bypass surgery to reduce his weight. He hosted a special on NBC called "All Roker Investigates: Katie.com," which offered viewers information about Internet predators. And he hosted a Court TV show called "Faulty Forensics" that revealed the devastating consequences in the criminal justice system due to poor procedures in a Houston crime lab. His travel series called Going Places won high ratings on PBS. Whatever his interest, Roker seemed able to craft it into a package for audiences, making TV Guide contributor J. Max Robins wonder: "Is Al Roker laying the groundwork to be the next Oprah?" It seems the answer is yes.

Awards

Recipient of two Emmy Awards for weather forecasting; twice named Best Weatherman by New York magazine; holder of American Meteorological Society's Seal of Approval.

Works

Selected writings

• Don't Make Me Stop This Car: Adventures in Fatherhood, Scribner, 2000.
• Al Roker's Big Bad Book of Barbecue, Scribner, 2002.
• Al Roker's Hassle-Free Holiday Cookbook: More Than 125 Recipes for Family Celebrations All Year Long, Scribner, 2003.

Further Reading

Periodicals

• Chicago Tribune, June 27, 2004.
• Entertainment Weekly, February 11, 1994, p. 42.
• Grand Rapids Press, August 25, 2004.
• Houston Chronicle, November 5, 2004.
• New York, August 17, 1987, p. 20.
• New York Times, September 2, 1992, pp. C1, C10.
• People, January 23, 1995, p. 73; October 2, 1995, p. 72.
• TV Guide, September 2002.

• Al Roker, www.roker.com (January 31, 2005).

• Additional information supplied by NBC News, Inc.

— Anne Janette Johnson and Sara Pendergast

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding reliable references. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (February 2010)

Al Roker
Roker at the 81st Academy Awards in February 2009
Born	Albert Lincoln Roker, Jr. August 20, 1954 (1954-08-20) (age 55) Queens, New York, U.S.
Occupation	Weather presenter, television and radio personality
Years active	1974 – present
Website www.alroker.com

Albert Lincoln "Al" Roker, Jr. (born August 20, 1954) is an African American television broadcaster, best known as the weather anchor for NBC's Today show. On July 20, 2009, he began co-hosting his new morning show Wake Up with Al on The Weather Channel, which airs weekdays from 6am to 7am ET, one hour away from Today show. He holds American Meteorological Society Television Seal #238. He is the author of a new murder mystery entitled, "The Morning Show Murders" about a celebrity chef and morning tv show host drawn into international intrigue and mayhem.

Contents 1 Personal life 2 Career 3 Controversy 4 Signature phrases 5 Other appearances and activities 6 Charity work 7 See also 8 References 9 External links

Personal life

Roker was born in the New York City borough of Queens, the son of Isabel and Albert Lincoln Roker, Sr., a labor relations negotiator, bus driver and dispatcher. Al is of Bahamian descent through his grandmother's side.^[1] 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.^[2] 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 double majored in graphic design and broadcasting/journalism in college. Roker is a cousin of actress Roxie Roker, who is most notable for her role on the sitcom The Jeffersons and the mother of popular rock musician Lenny Kravitz.^{[citation needed]}

In 2002, in accordance with his late father's wish, 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 dropped 100 pounds (45 kg) off his 320-pound figure.^[3] In 2005 Roker had a back operation.

His (third) wife is fellow journalist Deborah Roberts, who has reported for both ABC and NBC, meeting Roker when she joined the latter in 1990 as a reporter. They worked together on Today from 1990–1995 with Roberts filling in for Faith Daniels, Margaret Larson and Matt Lauer at the newsdesk and Roker filling in for Willard Scott as the forecaster. Roker also filled in for forecaster Joe Witte on the former NBC News program NBC News at Sunrise from 1983 to 1996. Roker has three children.

Career

Roker outside the Pentagon.

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 meteorologist, 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.

In 1995, he became the host of The Al Roker Show, a weekend talk show on CNBC. In 1996–1997, he hosted a game show on MSNBC called Remember This?.

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, where he did the weather for nine years. He also substituted on the weekday edition of Today when Willard Scott was ill or away. 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 of 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 Roker being swept off his feet by the force of the hurricane and holding on to his cameraman.

Roker is a game show fan, and hosted a week-long segment on Today in honor of five game shows and their hosts. He also appeared as a celebrity player on both Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy!. In 2008, Roker hosted NBC's Celebrity Family Feud.^[4][5] Roker also replaced Meredith Vieira for a week of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire shows on March 5–9, 2007.

Roker also hosts various programs on The Food Network, namely, Roker on the Road, and, Tricked-Out Tailgating. He is also the author of several non-fiction books, and an avid barbecue enthusiast.^[4][5]

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.^[6]

Controversy

On June 7, 2007, Roker referenced the logo for 2012 Summer Olympics:

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^{[citation needed]}

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."^[7] On July 19, 2007, Roker was scheduled to appear on the Opie & Anthony Show to talk about the incident, but at the last minute Roker cancelled.^[8] Al Roker did appear on the Ron and Fez show to discuss his new show.^{[citation needed]}

Roker's comment came only 2 months after blasting radio personality Don Imus and insisted Imus be removed not only from the radio airwaves but also MSNBC for Imus's own controversial comments about the Rutgers women's basketball team.^{[citation needed]} On April 10, 2007 Roker writes on his MSNBC blog about Imus’s apology:

The “I’m a good person who said a bad thing” apology doesn’t cut it. At least he didn’t try to weasel out of this by hiding behind alcohol or drug abuse. Still, he said it and a two-week suspension doesn’t cut it. It is, at best, a slap on the wrist. A vacation. Nothing.^{[citation needed]}

On October 30, 2009, the Today Show featured a Star Wars themed episode. During the segment, two little persons, dressed as ewoks, (reportedly drunk)^{[citation needed]} began dancing around. Controversy erupted when one made a sexual gesture towards Al Roker's leg.^{[citation needed]} This was followed by another obscene gesture towards the ground occurring on live television.^{[citation needed]}

On December 11, 2009, Roker was a guest on Dr. Oz. where he was to help explain high and low pressure weather systems and their effects on the human body. He did so incorrectly - twice, explaining that high pressure was the result of air moving upwards and low pressure is air pressing downwards, and that this can result in people feeling poorly.

Signature phrases

• In many occasions on Today he has used the phrase "man candy" to describe attractive males.^[9]

• 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," which was the same phrase Willard Scott used.

Other appearances and activities

• Roker has done some voice acting, as both himself and a genie-like character on The Proud Family, as himself on Space Ghost Coast to Coast ("Chambraigne") promoting a brain-boosting shampoo, and thrice as intrepid reporter Sam Vander Rom in the math-mystery cartoon Cyberchase, including an episode called "The Wedding Scammer", which is a send-up of annual wedding on Today.

• Roker has also appeared in cameo roles on Newsradio, Seinfeld (in the "The Cigar Store Indian" episode), Will & Grace, Mad About You and 30 Rock. 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 host). 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!!"

• He has been referenced in the movies Undercover Brother, Madagascar, The Simpsons ("Brake My Wife, Please"), Drawn Together ("Lost in Parking Space, Part One"), Unaccompanied Minors, and Men in Black, where he is "outed" as an alien. Broadway musical Dirty Rotten Scoundrels includes a song referring to playing "poker with Al Roker." The television show Family Guy has a character that plays a weatherman named Ollie Williams who is loosely based on Al Roker.^{[citation needed]}

• During the 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!"^[10]

• On February 11, 2009 Roker appeared on the Howard Stern Show as a returning guest after promoting the second Season of DEA. Previously, he had appeared to promote the first season of DEA.

• Roker holds the record for most appearances on "Late Night with Conan O'Brien".^{[citation needed]}

• Roker became an honorary member of Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity on August 19, 2009.

• Roker was an additional voice in Quest for Camelot.

• Roker was the voice of a weather man in the animated movie Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs.

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.^[11] He also served as the official spokesperson for Amtrak's National Train Day, which took place on May 10, 2008.^[12]

See also

• Bahamian American
• The Proud Family

References

1. ^ http://www.filmreference.com/film/62/Al-Roker.html
2. ^ Al Roker Biography, The Biography Channel. Accessed November 18, 2007. "After graduating from Xavier High School in Manhattan, Roker studied communications at State University of New York at Oswego, where he got his first shot at weathercasting."
3. ^ Connor, Tracy (November 17, 2002). "Stars put fat-fighting surgery in the spotlight". New York Daily News: pp. 10. 
4. ^ ^{a b} Celebrity Family Feud | Watch Episodes Online for Free - Family Feud, All American Summer & Game Shows | Celebrity Family Feud - NBC Official Site
5. ^ ^{a b} Orlando Sentinel - Al Roker to host "Celebrity Family Feud" by Hal Boedeker
6. ^ Al Roker Radio Weather Network at United Stations Radio Network
7. ^ "Joker Roker: 'Sorry'". http://www.nypost.com/seven/06092007/tv/joker_roker__sorry_tv_michael_starr.htm. 
8. ^ Al Roker Hides From Opie & Anthony Confrontation, FMQB, July 19, 2007.
9. ^ Barrett, Liz (October 18, 2006). "Al Roker Sure Loves His "Man Candy"". Columbia Journalism Review. http://www.cjrdaily.org/behind_the_news/al_roker_sure_loves_his_man_ca.php. Retrieved 2007-03-02. 
10. ^ "Al gets 'first interview' with President Barack Obama". Al Roker blog on MSNBC.com. January 20, 2009. http://allday.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2009/01/20/1753506.aspx. Retrieved March 13, 2009. 
11. ^ "Celebrity Friends of RMHC". McDonald's Corporation. http://rmhc.org/friends-of-rmhc/celebrity-friends/. 
12. ^ http://www.nationaltrainday.com/events-information.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Al Roker

• Official website
• Al Roker at the Internet Movie Database
• 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. http://web.archive.org/web/20070128230910/http://www.999mixfm.com/audio_video_mdb. 
• Roker's Favorite Books
• Al's Book Club for Kids

v • d • e The people of NBC News Nightly News Brian Williams Today Matt Lauer (Co-Anchor) • Meredith Vieira (Co-Anchor)  • Al Roker (Weather Reporter) • Ann Curry (Newsreader) Dateline NBC Ann Curry Meet the Press David Gregory (Moderator) • Chuck Todd (Contributing Editor) Early Today Page Hopkins • Christina Brown Today (Weekend Edition) Lester Holt (Co-Anchor) • Amy Robach (Saturday Co-Anchor) • Jenna Wolfe (Sunday Co-Anchor) • Bill Karins (Saturday Meteorologist)  • Janice Huff (Sunday Meteorologist) Nightly News (Weekend Edition) Lester Holt Chief Correspondents Tom Brokaw (Special Correspondent) • Robert Bazell (Chief Science and Health Correspondent ) • Richard Engel (Chief foreign correspondent) • Martin Fletcher (Tel Aviv bureau chief) • Jim Miklaszewski (Chief Pentagon Correspondent) • Andrea Mitchell (Chief Foreign Affairs Correspondent) • Nancy Snyderman, MD (Chief Medical Editor) • Chuck Todd (Chief White House Correspondent & Political Director) • Pete Williams (Chief Justice Correspondent) • Mark Whitaker (Washington D.C. Bureau Chief) Correspondents Ron Allen • Lee Cowan • Savannah Guthrie • Michelle Kosinski • George Lewis • Lisa Myers • Michael Okwu • Kelly O'Donnell • Jeff Rossen • Luke Russert • Kerry Sanders • Martin Savidge • Janet Shamlian • Mike Taibbi • John Yang NBC News • NBC • NBC Universal • nbcnews.com

v • d • e Anchors of Today Weekday edition: Matt Lauer • Meredith Vieira • Ann Curry • Al Roker • Natalie Morales • Hoda Kotb • Kathie Lee Gifford Weekend edition: Lester Holt • Amy Robach • Jenna Wolfe

Persondata
NAME	Roker, Al
ALTERNATIVE NAMES	Roker, Albert Lincoln, Jr.
SHORT DESCRIPTION	Weather presenter, television and radio personality
DATE OF BIRTH	August 20, 1954
PLACE OF BIRTH	Queens, New York, USA
DATE OF DEATH
PLACE OF DEATH

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