iPhone and iPad. Sevenminutes later, it’s his turn to
describewhat’shappeningwiththeweather:rainevery-
where, itseems.Hesignso withhissignature, “Here’s
what’shappeningin
your
neckofthewoods,”thenturns
aroundand revsup thecrowdoutside.Theycheer, and
theenergyonthesetshifts intoawholeothergear.
Be itmorning, noon, night — or even in the pain-
fullyearlyhoursbeforedawn—Rokerexudesagenuine,
folksypersonathathasmadehimoneof themostpopu-
larmembersoftheon-airteamsincehisdebutnearly16
yearsago.Butthosewhothinkofhimas justtheshow’s
genial weathermanunderestimate him. Roker is far
more than thewillingwingmanwho last year letRyan
Gosling lifthimoverhishead ina re-creationof the fa-
mousscene from
DirtyDancing
,orthegoo
alldressed
asSuperman forHalloween,oreven thededicatedfield
reporterbeingblowndownbygale-forcewindsduring
HurricaneWilmain2005—thoughheisallthosethings.
Roker isalsoacapablenewsman—co-anchoringthe
show’s thirdhourwithMorales, tackling seriousnews
storiesandhard-hitting interviews—andmostofall, a
proat livetelevision,anartthat
caneludeeventhemostgiftedof
broadcasters. “Youhave tocon-
stantlysaysomethingsmartand
respond topeopleon the street,
withoutcrossing the lineorsay-
ingsomethingstupid,”saysEric
Deggans, a television critic for
the
St.PetersburgTimes
andaNationalPublicRadiocul-
turalcommentator.“Andhedoesitlive,fourhoursaday.”
Today
executiveproducerJimBesthas evenhigher
praise forRoker,57.
“Al is theglue thatholds this show together,”he says.
“Behindthecamerasandontheset,hekeepsusallgoing.”
AndRoker’sworkdoesn’t stopwhenhe leaves the
Today
set,having translatedhisname intoasuccessful
entertainmentbrand.Duringoneofhisregularbreaks
inthebroadcast,Rokerheadsupthefourflightsofstairs
tohisoce to talk shop.Whilehemixes a strawberry
smoothie, avisitorremarkson therelaxingaroma that
fillstheroom. “It’ssmellingsalts,”heexplains. “Epsom
saltandHimalayanseasalt, eucalyptusand lavender. I
made itmyself.”
If that’s an indication of Roker’s fully embraced
feminineside—on
Today
,heonceeyedanarrayofmen
competing in
Cosmopolitan
magazine’s search for the
country’smost eligiblebachelorsandproclaimed: “It’s
likeaWhitman’sSampler ofman candy!”—his latest
successesarecomingfromamuchmoremasculineplace.
Bordertown:Laredo
,whichwasproducedbyhisAlRoker
Entertainment(ARE)companyandairsonA&E,tracks
apolicenarcoticssquadasthey interceptdrugscoming
across theborder fromMexico. AnotherAREo ering,
theWeatherChannel’s
CoastGuardAlaska
, followsres-
cueswimmersbased inKodiak,Alaska. (“Youknowthe
guys in ‘DeadliestCatch’?When they godown, these
are theguys that goout to save them,”he says.)And in
April, Rokerdebuts
BigEasyJustice
—a showabout a
NewOrleansbountyhunter thathe co-producedwith
JenniferLopez’sNuyoricanProductions—whichwill
aironSpikeTV.
Hemixesuphisproductionduties(hiscompanyhas
producedmorethan60shows)withvoicework(
Cloudy
withaChanceofMeatballs
,
Madagascar:Escape2Africa
),
hosting gigs (game shows, news reports andholiday
specials) andwriting (he’spennedcookbooks, a series
ofmurdermysteriesandamemoirentitled
Don’tMake
MeStopThisCar
).Wheredoeshefindthetimefor itall?
Forstarters,heswearsheneedsonlyfivehours’ sleepa
night.Buthe’salso incrediblydriven.
“If you lookup
indefatigable
in thedictionary, there
mustbeapictureofAl,”says formerco-hostKatieCou-
ric. “Hehasneverrestedonhis laurels.”
Histirelessworkethicmaybearesult, inpart,ofhis
humblebeginnings.Growingupachubby, bookishkid
inSt.Albans,Queens, the ideathathecouldco-hostthe
nation’smostpopularmorningshow,hosthisowncable
programand runaproductioncompany seemed likea
far-o fantasy.HisBahamian father, Albert Sr., aNew
YorkCitybusdriver, andhisJamaicanmother, Isabel,
workedhard tomake sure their eldest sonandhisfive
younger siblingswereprovided for. After graduating
fromaJesuithighschool,Rokerthoughthewasheaded
“Ifyoulookup
indefatigable
inthedictionary,theremust
beapictureofAl.Hehas
neverrestedonhislaurels.”
—
KATIECOURIC
AlTV
Today
(NBC)
BigEasyJustice
(SpikeTV)
CoastGuardAlaska
(WeatherChannel)
MyLife inFood
(FoodNetwork)
Al Roker’s impact on the small screen isn’t limited to the rolehe’splayedon
Today
for over 15years.
Hisbehind-the-scenesworkonnumerousother TVprojectshasmadehima significant force
on theTV landscapebeyond just helpingviewerswakeup in themorning. Roker’sTVprojects include:
OPPOSITE:
Fans
look forward to inter-
actingwithAl in the
mornings and seeing
what funbit heand
his
Today
cohortswill
donext.
46
FEBRUARY 01, 2012
AA.COM/AMERICANWAY
