Al Roker's Colleagues Celebrate His 70th Birthday With Heartfelt Tributes

Al Roker, who made his debut on Today show in 1996, celebrated his 70th birthday on August 20. The host received surprises from his colleagues on his special day.

By Marita Pinto

Published on Aug 21, 2024 | 07:35 PM IST | 57.5K

AI ROKER (Image Courtesy: Getty Images)

Al Roker, the most humorous and hilarious anchor has been a cherished pillar of daytime television for 30 years. The Today weatherman has been on television since 1996 when he replaced Willard Scott as the show's forecaster.

On August 20, the longtime broadcaster turned 70 years old. Roker's coworkers on Today organized a surprise party for him on the NBC morning show. There were celebrity shoutouts, special visitors, and one extremely special gift.

At the beginning of the show, Savannah Guthrie said, "Someone upstairs really got it right. Today, seventy years ago, our sunshine, Al Roker, was born. We are going to celebrate this man."

Following that, Guthrie and her Today co-anchor Hoda Kotb read out several statistics about Roker, who has worked for NBC for over 50 of his 70 years, 28 of which have been at Today.

"He's raised three beautiful children, he's hosted 27 Thanksgiving Day parades, and he's attended 16 Olympics," Kotb remarked, showing pictures of Roker with his wife, Deborah Roberts, and his adult children, Courtney, Leila, and Nick.

Soon after, Roberts sent her hubby a special shout-out via video message. Later, during the 8 a.m. hour of the show, Roker had an open discussion about aging and life lessons learned with fellow broadcasting 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 messages. Furthermore, there was a kitchen segment in which Matt Abdoo, Marcus Samuelsson, Daniel Boulud, Tim Sweeney, and Jocelyn Delk Adams cooked food, drinks, and dessert.

Sheinelle Jones, Dylan Dreyer, Tony Shalhoub, and Sheryl Lee Ralph, along with Roker's co-hosts, conveyed their love 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 joining NBC in 1978 and starting his career at Cleveland's WKYC. Having worked his way up at NBC, he eventually hosted The Al Roker Show on CNBC in 1995 and debuted on Today Show in 1996.

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