Al Roker, 1954
Al Roker was raised in Queens, New York, and received his B.A. in Communications from the State University at Oswego in 1976. He was awarded an Honorary Doctorate from the school in 1998. Roker began his broadcasting career while still in college when he got a job as a weekend weatherman for WTVH-TV in Syracuse, N.Y. in 1974. After graduating from college, he moved on to weathercasting jobs in Washington, D.C. from 1976 until 1978 and in Cleveland, Ohio from 1978 til 1983. He transferred to WNBC-TV as a weekend weathercaster in December 1983 from WKYC-TV, the NBC Television Station in Cleveland.
Roker soon became a features reporter as well as a weatherman for NBC. He interviewed many people on a variety of subjects, but the highlight of his interviewing career was when he conducted an exclusive interview with Peanuts creator Charles Shultz shortly before his death from colon cancer. Since 1985, he has served each holiday season as co-host for the annual Christmas at Rockefeller Center. He also co-hosts The Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade and Rose Bowl Parade and appears on various specials for NBC.
In 1994, he founded Al Roker Productions, Inc. which is involved in the development and production of network, cable, home video and public television projects. Two of the most successful projects of his production company include the critically acclaimed PBS special about severe weather, Savage Skies, as well as a highly rated travel series called Going Places. His company is also producing a series of specials for The Food Network. Roker is the author of "Don't Make Me Stop This Car! Adventures in Fatherhood," which was released in June 2000. Al is the co-author of Never Goin' Back: Winning the Weight-Loss Battle for Good.
New York Magazine has twice named Roker Best Weatherman. He is a recipient of the American Meteorological Society's prestigious Seal of Approval and has been a pioneer in the use of computer graphics for we