Al Roker
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Albert Lincoln Roker (born August 20, 1954) is an American television broadcaster, best known as the meteorologist for NBC's Today show. He holds American Meteorological Society Television Seal #238.
Personal life
Born in Queens, New York in 1954, Roker initially wanted to be a cartoonist before he got into television. He was raised Catholic (in the faith of his devoutly Catholic mother) and he graduated from the prestigious Xavier High School in New York City, where he was a member of the 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. He worked in television around the Cleveland and New York areas before he became a weatherman for WNBC in New York.
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. That led Roker to getting a job as the weekend weatherman 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 weatherman position on Today, where he has been since. Roker became popular for doing his forecasts outside of the studio, interviewing audience members and giving some of them camera time. One of his best known lines from the show is "...and here's what's happening in your neck of the woods." Roker also began doing more interviews and segments on the show as time progressed.
In 2001 Roker had a knee operation. 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 the surgery, the New York Daily News reported he dropped 100 pounds (45 kg) off his 320-pound figure. In 2005 Roker had a back operation.
His wife is fellow journalist Deborah Roberts, who has done reporting for both ABC and NBC where she met Roker when she first joined the network in 1990 as a reporter. They both 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 weatherman. Al Roker has three children.
Other appearances and activities
In the 2002 animated series The Proud Family, he was portrayed as a genie-like creature who grants wishes at a horrible price. In 2003, he lent his voice to the intrepid reporter Sam Vander Rom in the math-mystery cartoon Cyberchase on PBS Kids GO! , appearing in three episodes, including The Wedding Scammer, which is a send-up of annual wedding on Today.
He has starred in the Internet flash game Al Roker and the Escape from the Haunted House (or, for short, Al Roker's Haunted House).
Roker also hosts various programs on The Food Network, namely "Roker on the Road" and "Tricked-Out Tailgating". He is also the weatherman for the New York smooth jazz radio station WQCD (101.9 FM).
Roker was jokingly "outed" as an alien in the film Men in Black.
He is also the author of several non-fiction books, and an avid barbecue enthusiast.
In the 1990s, he was the host of a CNBC show, and, in 1996-1997 hosted a game show on MSNBC called Remember This?.
Roker is a huge game show fan, as he 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!.
Is the cousin of The Jeffersons star Roxie Roker and her son Lenny Kravitz.
Famous painter Mike Jennings of Alamo, California has begun work on a mural to Al Roker in order to express his fan adoration.
Al Roker is supposed to be “Ollie Williams” with his “Black-U-Weather Forecast”, on “Quahog 5 News” on the animated series "Family Guy".
His name is mentioned by Alex in Madagascar.
References
- Connor, Tracy. (November 17, 2002). "Stars put fat-fighting surgery in the spotlight". New York Daily News, p. 10.
See also
External links
- [Al Roker's personal website]
- [Al Roker's Bahamas Reunion]
- [His weblog]
- [Roker's NBC biography]
- [Food Network's Al Roker page]
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