‘Today Show’s’ Al Roker Posts Sweet Tribute to His Parents
Al Roker of the Today Show has held a post at NBC for over 40 years. Serving as co-host, weather man, culinary contributor, and feature reporter, Roker has proven he’s a man of many talents.
Married to Deborah Roberts of ABC News since 1995, Roker is a proud father of daughters Courtney (from a previous marriage) and Leila, and son Nicholas. The Today Show star often speaks lovingly of his family as well as his parents, whom he still clearly holds close to his heart.
Lessons Al Roker learned from his father
As the father of three, Roker often shares stories of his kids and has even written a book on parenting. The weather man credits his dad, who worked for years as a bus driver, for teaching him how to build solid relationships with his children.
“One of the best lessons I learned from my dad was that each child is an individual. I was not very athletic. I was not particularly outgoing,” Roker told Your Teen. “I really loved cartoons and animation. That’s how he connected with me. My dad was very athletic, but he didn’t force me to be an athlete because that’s not who I was. He connected with me on what excited me. That’s how I learned to connect with my kids.”
Roker also shared that his father taught him the importance of being willing to say ‘I’m sorry’ to your kids.
“Learning to say you’re sorry goes a long way. I remember my dad apologizing once,” the Today star said. “He thought I had done poorly in class and, in fact, the teacher had made a mistake, and he apologized. I never forgot that. I have to remember to apologize. Just because I’m the dad doesn’t mean I’m right.”
‘Today’ weather man posts a birthday wish to his mom
The middle child between older sister Alisa and younger brother Chris, Roker has frequently spoken on his hard-working parents and their efforts to create a loving home life for himself and his siblings. The Today Show co-host recently posted a special birthday tribute to his mom Isabel, who died at the age of 73 years old.
“Happy Birthday to my mom, Isabel Smith Roker. Still very much loved and still very much missed,” Roker wrote on Instagram alongside a pic of his parents, also giving a shout out to his dad in the photo. “A very young, Al Roker, Sr. Admiring his bride. These two were such a wonderful couple.”
While Roker acknowledged his parents weren’t perfect, he applauded their tenacity and warmth. “Not without flaws, but they worked through hard times and celebrated the good,” he posted.
Al Roker’s sister spills some stories
In April 2019, Roker’s sister and brother gave him a surprise visit on the air for National Siblings Day and shared some details on what the NBC news man was like growing up.
“He was a trickster. He was very entertaining,” Roker’s sister Alisa revealed, according to Today.com. “He used to create spaceships out of boxes. He had this habit, he loved to record people reel to reel. And one time he said, ‘Hey, can I ask you some questions?’ I said sure, and they were a series of ‘yes’ questions … and I thought how boring.”
Alisa went on to share that her brother was practicing his investigative reporting skills when Roker prompted her to reveal some information she would’ve preferred to keep under wraps.
“Then maybe like a week later he said, ‘Hey, listen to this.’ And the questions change,” Alisa recalled. “‘Do you curse?’ Yes. Do you steal?’ Yes. I was terrified. He goes, ‘OK, if you don’t want Mommy and Daddy to hear this, you’re going to do everything I say.’”
Roker obviously started his career at an early age!
