Al Roker Celebrates Milestone 40th Anniversary With NBC On ‘Today’ Show
Famed weather anchor Al Roker hit a milestone anniversary today, as he is celebrating 40 years with NBC News. According to E! News, his Today show family, where he has spent the last 22 years of his career, went all out for the event during the morning show’s airing on Friday, December 14.
In honor of Roker’s special day, the Today team celebrated the meteorologist’s “ALiversary” inside their studio at the famous Rockefeller Plaza, but playfully and cleverly renamed the building “Rokerfeller Plaza” for the event.
Fans lined the plaza during the early hours of December 14, holding signs that spelled out “Happy 40th Al,” while his colleagues wore matching orange “Roker 40” t-shirts for the celebration.
The day was full of nostalgia as the show took a trip down memory lane to highlight some of the most notable moments of Al’s career, including trips to the Olympics and major interviews with some of the country’s most famous faces.
In a video montage played during the morning show, Al’s Today co-anchors from past and present offered sweet words about the weatherman, noting his lovable attitude as well as his passion for reporting the weather no matter what he will be facing outside on the job.
“Nobody works harder and nobody has more compassion for those who are victims of storms and bad circumstances,” Lester Holt said, who was a Weekend Today co-anchor from 2003 to 2015.
40 years of @alroker at NBC ??????? #ALiversary https://t.co/PVkNohLI6c pic.twitter.com/kQ4jFM6lEz
— TODAY (@TODAYshow) December 14, 2018
His co-hosts also recognized how Al has been there for them over the years, with Hoda Kotb reflecting on how he showed up at the hospital the day she came out of breast cancer surgery.
“He walked in and sat at the edge of my bed. To this day, I will never forget that as long as I live,” she said.
Al was also shown some love by other recognizable names including Tina Fey and Oprah.
.@WilliamShatner, @anthonyanderson, @tommychong and more celebs send their love to @alroker on his 40th anniversary with NBC! #ALiversary pic.twitter.com/IsE5hNGqdj
— TODAY (@TODAYshow) December 14, 2018
“So Al, I got 25 years of doing the Oprah show. I was feeling pretty good with that, thinking that’s a milestone record. And then I hear about you,” the former daytime talk show host said. “Forty years. Four-oh. You win.”
The celebration continued when Roker’s wife Deborah Roberts and his youngest son Nicholas Roker surprised him with a giant multi-tiered rainbow cake during the program.
Yes, we are absolutely crying after watching @alroker’s wife, @DebRobertsABC, and son bring out a cake for him on his 40th anniversary with NBC! #ALiversary pic.twitter.com/SjKhadew6H
— TODAY (@TODAYshow) December 14, 2018
Al grew emotional toward the end of the segment, giving a short speech thanking his Today show family for “putting up with me for all these years.”
“My dad always said if you can look in the mirror and say you’ve done your best at the end of the day and you like the people you work with, you’ve had a good day,” he ended with.
Thanks for the well wishes. Couldn’t have done it without the folks at @wkyc to @NBCNewYork to @TODAYshow and the love & support of the my late parents, Al & Isabel, my siblings Alisa, Desireé, Patricia and Chris, and my kids Courtney, Leila and Nick and my bride, @DebRobertsABC
— Al Roker (@alroker) December 14, 2018
Roker joined the NBC network in 1978 when he was hired at WKYC-TV in Cleveland and began his career on the Today show in 1996. According to Today, the meteorologist has been through 2,200 3:45 a.m. wake up calls, 24 Rose Parades, 23 Thanksgiving Day Parades, and 11 Olympics among hundreds of other notable events during his 22 years with the show.
