Albert Lincoln "
Al"
Roker Jr. (born August 20, 1954) is an American
television personality,
weather forecaster,
actor, and book
author. He is best known as being the weather anchor on
NBC's
Today. From Monday, July 20, 2009 to Friday, October 2, 2015, he co-hosted his morning show,
Wake Up with Al, on
The Weather Channel, which aired weekdays live from 5:30 to 7:00 am ET one hour and a half earlier than
Today. Roker also appears occasionally on
NBC Nightly News. He holds an expired
American Meteorological Society Television Seal #238. Writing with Dick Lochte, Roker began a series of murder mysteries in 2009 that feature Billy Blessing, a celebrity chef turned amateur detective. The second book in the series,
The Midnight Show Murders (2010), was nominated for a 2011
Nero Award. On November 12, 2014, 10 PM EST, Roker attempted to beat the previous unofficial world record for an uninterrupted live weather report of 33-hours held by Norwegian weather broadcaster Eli Kari Gjengedal. On November 14, 2014, 8 AM EST, Roker set the new official Guinness World Record by reporting for 34-hours.