Albert Lincoln “Al” Roker Jr is a renowned American television personality. He gained recognition for his work as a weatherman on the popular NBC show ‘The Today Show’ while also appearing occasionally on television news program ‘NBC Nightly News’. Roker formerly held an American Meteorological Society Television Seal number 238 that expired recently. He has also authored several books and made appearances on several films. He has also acted in several television shows.
In November 2014, Roker set the official Guinness World Record of reporting the weather for 34 continuous hours, by embarking on the “Roker-thon” breaking the previously set record by Eli Kari Gjengedal, the Norwegian weather broadcaster who held the previous record of reporting for 33 continuous hours. An avid fan of game shows, Roker has guest-hosted ‘Who Wants To Be A Millionaire’ and ‘Celebrity Family Feud’ and also appeared on game-shows like ‘Jeopardy’ and ‘Wheel of Fortune’.
Early Life and Education
Roker was born on 20 August 1954 in Queens, New York to homemaker Isabel Roker and he husband Albert Lincoln Roker, Sr. who served as a bus driver. He was raised as a Catholic along with his younger brother Christopher Roker in Manhattan, New york. Rocker has Jamaican ancestry on his mother’s side of the family and Bahamian ancestry on his father’s, and if of African-American ancestry. As a child, he aspired to be a cartoonist.
Roker attended and graduated from Xavier High School, Manhattan where he served on its Cartooning & Illustration Club. He later enrolled into State University of New York, (SUNY) Oswego and earned a Bachelor of Arts Degree in communications, graduating in 1976.
Career Rise
Roker started his career as a weather anchor in 1974, serving with the CBS affiliate WHEN-TV in Syracuse, New York until 1976 and from 1976-1978, served at WTTG, Washington D.C. Roker was hired by NBC’s WKYC-TV in Cleveland, Ohio in 1978 and was later promoted to NBC’s flagship outlet, WNBC-TV in New York. He became a weekend weather-caster in late 1983 and was named the regular weeknight weathercaster by mid-1984. He also served as a substitute for Joe Witte on NBC News at Sunrise from 1983-1986 and filled in for Matt Lauer, Bryant Gumbel and Willard Scott on ‘Today’ from 1990. He started hosting his own weekend talk show ‘The Al Roker Show’ on CNBC in 1995. He was hired as a forecaster for Weekend Today after appearing on ‘Late Night with David Letterman’.
After Wilfred Scott announced his retirement from ‘Today’ in January 1996, Roker was named the foreman of weekday weather on ‘Today’, a position he continues to hold till date. Roker gained popularity for his forecasts and even interviewed audience members. He reported from Hurricane Wilma in 2005. He also serves as the host of the third hour of ‘Today’ known as ‘Today’s Take’. Additionally, Roker has authored several fiction and non-fiction books and even made appearances in films and television shows.
Personal Life
Roker has been married twice. Roker met Alice Bell who served as a producer at WNBC and married her in 1987. The marriage produced one child; a daughter named Courtney, born in 1987. The couple divorced in 1994. Roker met his second wife journalist Deborah Roberts, known for her work at ABC, when she joined NBC in 1990. The couple married in 1995, soon after Roker’s divorce from Bell. Together, they have two children; a daughter named Leila, born in 1998 and a son named Nicholas Albert, born in 2002.
The 1.73 meter tall Roker has undergone several surgeries including a total knee replacement surgery, a back surgery and a gastric bypass surgery (2002) that helped him drop 100 pounds of weight. Roker ran the ING New York City Marathon in November 2010. Though he slimmed down to 190 pounds from 340, he couldn’t resist the urge to binge. After his mother was hospitalized, he continued eating and gained weight again. In 2009, he decided to make a change and avoid any shortcuts. So Roker brought his weight down with a combination of diet, cleansing and a disciplined workout regime. He cut out sugar, dairy, gluten and caffeine, going back to a slimmer version of himself.
Al Roker – Salary and Net Worth
Roker draws an annual salary of approximately $8 million and has an estimated net worth of approximately $30 million.