Al Roker, the most humorous and witty anchor, has been a valued mainstay of daytime television for 30 years. The Today weatherman has been on television since 1996, when he replaced Willard Scott as the show’s weather forecaster.
On August 20, the long-time presenter turned 70. Roker’s colleagues from Today organized a surprise party for him on the NBC morning show. There were celebrity greetings, special visitors and a very special gift.
At the beginning of the show, Savannah Guthrie said, “Someone up there really did it right. Seventy years ago today, our sunshine Al Roker was born. We’re going to celebrate that man.”
Guthrie and her Today co-anchor Hoda Kotb then read several statistics about Roker, who has worked for NBC for over 50 of his 70 years, including 28 at Today.
“He raised three beautiful children, hosted 27 Thanksgiving parades and competed in 16 Olympics,” Kotb noted, showing pictures of Roker with his wife, Deborah Roberts, and his adult children, Courtney, Leila and Nick.
Shortly afterward, Roberts sent her husband a special video message. Later, during the show’s 8 a.m. hour, Roker candidly discussed growing older and the lessons one learns in life with fellow radio legend Oprah Winfrey, who turned 70 in January.
Later, Martha Stewart, José Andrés, Elisabeth Heiskell, Jet Tila and other gastronomic friends surprised Roker with birthday greetings. In addition, there was a kitchen section where Matt Abdoo, Marcus Samuelsson, Daniel Boulud, Tim Sweeney and Jocelyn Delk Adams cooked food, drinks and desserts.
Sheinelle Jones, Dylan Dreyer, Tony Shalhoub and Sheryl Lee Ralph, as well as Roker’s co-hosts, expressed their affection for him during the third hour of Today.
Roker began his career in the mid-1970s as a weather anchor for CBS affiliate WTVH before moving to NBC in 1978 and beginning his career at WKYC in Cleveland. After working his way up at NBC, he eventually hosted The Al Roker Show on CNBC in 1995 and made his debut on The Today Show in 1996.
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