Al Roker

Albert Lincoln Roker Jr. and occasionally co-hosts 3rd Hour Today. He has a lapsed American Meteorological Society (AMS) Television Seal of Approval (#238).

Early life Roker was born in the borough of Queens, New York City, the son of Isabel, of Jamaican descent, and Albert Lincoln Roker Sr., a bus driver of Bahamian descent. He initially wanted to be a cartoonist. He attended the State University of New York (SUNY) at Oswego, where he received a B.A. in communications in 1976. 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 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 1997 through the 2000s for Matt Lauer on the Today Show. In 1995, he became the host of The Al Roker Show, 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.

In 2005, Roker reported from inside Hurricane Wilma. A popular viral video shows him swept off his feet by the fierce wind and clinging to the cameraman. Years later, as an NBC News reporter at Biden's own 2021 inauguration, Roker received a fist bump from the newly inaugurated president moments before Biden entered the White House.

In November 2014, Roker embarked on a "Rokerthon", in which he did a non-stop, 34-hour weather forecast on NBC, from 10:05 p.m. on November 12, 2014, until about 8:00 a.m. on November 14, 2014. The record-setting event was a fundraiser for the Crowdrise Campaign to benefit the military and USO. He held a "Rokerthon 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. From March 27 until March 31, 2017, he embarked on "Rokerthon 3", visiting colleges and setting a Guinness World Record at each one, such as the longest conga line on ice and largest human letter.

Other work Roker has hosted NBC's coverage of the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade since 1995 (with the exception of 2022), where he provides commentary along with some of his Today Show colleagues. He is known as the "uptown" host, whose main roles include cutting the ribbon during the ribbon-cutting ceremony at the start of the parade, and interviewing celebrities who are watching the parade from its start at 77th Street. Roker was unable to host the coverage of the parade in 2022 after recovering from blood clots that had led to being hospitalized.

Roker is a game show fan. From 1996 to 1997, he hosted a game show on MSNBC called Remember This?.

In 2008, Roker hosted NBC's Celebrity Family Feud. 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 Griffin game shows Jeopardy! and Wheel of Fortune. namely, Roker on the Road, 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.

Roker created the animated PBS Kids program, Weather Hunters, which premiered in September 2025. Roker is the voice actor for Al Hunter, the father of protagonist, Lily Hunter. The series explores the elementary science around weather phenomena and is targeted at children ages 5–8.

Theatre

On May 22, 2003, Roker made a cameo in The Play What I Wrote on Broadway as the Mystery Guest Star.

It was announced on September 5, 2018, that Roker would make his Broadway debut portraying Joe in the musical Waitress for a six-week run from October 5 to November 11. He later returned to the show for a limited run from November 1 to 24, 2019.

On December 19, 2023, he returned to Broadway for a one night only cameo in Gutenberg! The Musical! as the Producer. On 28 March 2024, Roker was in Back to the Future: The Musical on Broadway as Strickland.

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. 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.

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 his first wife, Mary Puglisi, who was his college girlfriend, the day they graduated from SUNY Oswego in 1976. Following their divorce, He and Bell adopted a daughter, Courtney, as an infant in 1987. Roker and Bell later divorced. They are the parents of daughter Leila (b. November 17, 1998) and son Nicholas (b. July 18, 2002). The couple live in a townhouse on Manhattan's Upper East Side and also own a house in the foothills of the Berkshires. Roker is an Episcopalian and attends St. James Episcopal Church in Manhattan.

In November 2010, Roker ran in the New York City Marathon.

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

In May 2021, Roker returned to his former stomping grounds in Cleveland to report on the city's reopening efforts following the COVID-19 pandemic, and while live on the Today Show, WKYC chief meteorologist Betsy Kling announced that the station had named the radar tower on top of the WKYC building the "Roker Tower" in his honor, and presented Roker a plaque to commemorate the occasion.

Health

In June 2001, Roker underwent a total knee arthoplasty (replacement, or "TKA") on his left knee.

In 2002, 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 from his figure. Roker wrote about his battle with weight loss in Never Goin' Back: Winning the Weight Loss Battle For Good, published in 2013.

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

In October 2018, Roker underwent emergency carpal tunnel surgery.

In September 2019, he had a hip replacement surgery.

In November 2020, he revealed he was diagnosed with prostate cancer in September 2020. He had a successful operation on November 9, and by November 17 he was at home recovering.

In November 2022, after being absent from Today for a few days, Roker revealed he was in the hospital being treated for blood clots in his lungs. He returned to the show on January 6, 2023, revealing he also suffered from internal bleeding which necessitated surgery, two bleeding ulcers, colon resection surgery when part or all of the colon is removed, and gallbladder removal surgery. Roker credits his wife and NewYork-Presbyterian physicians and staff for saving his life.

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 was the official spokesperson for Amtrak's National Train Day, which took place on May 10, 2008.

Signature phrases Roker often says "That's what's going on around the country, here's what's happening in your neck of the woods" when transitioning from the national weather broadcast to the local affiliate. On many occasions on Today, he has used the phrase "man candy" to describe attractive males. When he mentions Sunday's weather forecast on weekdays, often he repeats the word "Sunday", imitating the drag racing promotional catchphrase. During Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade ribbon cutting ceremonies, he is joined by the producers of the parade or the CEO of Macy's and special guests in kicking off the parade with the countdown "5, 4, 3, 2, 1. Let's have a parade!"

Other appearances and activities In 1993, Roker appeared as himself in an episode of Seinfeld entitled “The Cigar Store Indian.” He was featured on the cover of a TV Guide that was a central focus of Elaine's storyline for the episode, and at the end of the episode joins her on the subway while replicating the pose on the magazine cover. 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 Mango sketch involved a person becoming obsessed with Mango, a character portrayed by cast member Chris Kattan. Roker voiced a caricature of himself as a faustian figure in two episodes of the animated Disney Channel series The Proud Family, a role he reprised in the Disney+ revival, The Proud Family: Louder and Prouder. 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!" 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 makes a cameo appearance as the honorary Orange Wiggle in The Wiggles song, "Thank You, Mr. Weatherman" on their 2011 release "Ukulele, Baby!" 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. 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 In 2018, Roker appeared in the Hallmark television movie Morning Show Mysteries: Mortal Mishaps based on the book series he co-authored. In 2019, Roker appeared in the Hallmark television movie Morning Show Mysteries: Death by Design based on the book series he co-authored. In 2022, Roker would make a cameo in a season 47 Please Don't Destroy sketch on SNL alongside actor Paul Rudd and writers Martin Herlihy, John Higgins and Ben Marshall.

Filmography Year Title Role Notes 1990 Another World Himself Television series; one episode 1993 Seinfeld Himself Episode: "The Cigar Store Indian" 1994 Reading Rainbow Himself Episode: "Hail to Mail" Mad About You Himself Episode: "Pandora's Box" Where in the World Is Carmen Sandiego? Himself Episode: "Tales You Lose" 1996 NewsRadio Guy Episode: "President" 1997 The Single Guy Dr. Benjamin Television series; one episode Men in Black Alien on TV monitor Uncredited 1998 Superman: The Animated Series Weather presenter (voice) Episode: "Little Girl Lost" Quest for Camelot Knight (voice) 1998, 2007, 2022 Saturday Night Live Himself Television series; three episodes 1999 Space Ghost Coast to Coast Himself Episode: "Chambraigne" 2000 Will & Grace Himself Episode: "Acting Out" 2001 Sesame Street Himself Episode: "Hurricane, Part 1" 2003 Freedom: A History of Us Christian reorder editorHenry McNeal Turner Television miniseries Wholey Moses Weather presenter (voice) Short film Cyberchase Sam Vander Rom (voice) Television series; three episodes 2003–2004 The Proud Family Faustian Al Roker (voice) Television series; two episodes 2005 Robots Mailbox (voice) Madagascar Newscaster #3 (voice) 2006 Unaccompanied Minors Himself 2007, 2012 30 Rock Himself Television series; two episodes 2008 Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa Newscaster (voice) 2009 Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs Patrick Patrickson (voice) 2011 The Wiggles' Big Birthday! Himself Australian release only The Wiggles: Ukulele Baby! Himself American and UK releases only WordGirl Sonny Days (voice) Episode: "Sonny Days with a Chance of Showers" The Big Year New York Weather presenter 2012 The Pirates! Band of Misfits! The Pirate Who Likes Sunsets and Kittens (voice)United States release only Treme Himself Episode: "Promised Land" The Simpsons Himself (voice) Episode: “Moonshine River” The Penguins of Madagascar Gil Force (voice) 2013 The Michael J. Fox Show Himself Episode: "Pilot" Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2 Patrick Patrickson (voice) 2014 Sharknado 2: The Second One Himself Television film 2015 Saturday Night Live 40th Anniversary Special Himself Television special Sharknado 3: Oh Hell No! Himself Television film 2016 Kung Fu Panda 3 Dim (voice) Ghostbusters Himself Cameo Sharknado: The 4th Awakens Himself Television film 2017 WWE WrestleMania 33HimselfPay-Per View, Guest Ring Announcer Sharknado 5: Global Swarming Himself Television film The Last Sharknado: It's About Time Himself Television film 2018–2019Morning Show Mysteries Himself 2 episodes; Also executive producer 6 episodes 2019 Zombieland: Double Tap Himself 2020 The Blacklist Himself Episode: "Roy Cain" 2021 Who Are You, Charlie Brown? Himself Documentary special Martha Gets Down and Dirty Himself Episode: "Fire Up the Wieners" MooseltoeGus (narrator)Children's streaming musical 2022The Proud Family: Louder and Prouder Faustian Al Roker Episode: "When You Wish Upon a Roker" 2023 Good Burger 2 Himself Cameo 2025–present Weather Hunters Al Hunter (voice) Television series

Works 2000: Don't Make Me Stop This Car!: Adventures in Fatherhood Scribner. 2013: Never Goin' Back: Winning the Weight-Loss Battle For Good NAL. 2016: Been There, Done That: Family Wisdom for Modern Times co-written with his wife Deborah Roberts. Berkley. 2020: You Look So Much Better in Person: True Stories of Absurdity and Success. Hachette Book Group.

Billy Blessing novels 2009: The Morning Show Murders. Co-authored by Dick Lochte. . 2010: The Midnight Show Murders. Co-authored by Dick Lochte; nominated for the 2011 Nero Award. . 2011: The Talk Show Murders. Co-authored by Dick Lochte. .