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NEW YORK CITY -- If you think of Al Roker as the class clown of NBC's "Today" show, you're right. But we went behind the scenes of the top-rated morning show and found there's more to him than most people know.
Roker wears many hats and loves them all.
For the past 15 years, "Today" show viewers have been waking up to the weather with Al. We asked him what keeps him motivated.
"Fantastic paycheck," he joked. "No, look, this is the greatest job in the world. I get to talk to great people outside. I get to go to amazing places. Every day is different. I love it."
He also is a best-selling author with five books to his credit:
- "Don't Make Me Stop This Car: Adventures in Fatherhood" (New York Times best seller)
- "Big Bad Book of Barbecue"
- "Al Roker's Hassle Free Holiday Cookbook"
- "Big Shoes: In Celebration of Dads and Fatherhood"
- "Morning Show Murders"
As a businessman, Roker started Al Roker Entertainment in 1994. It's a hugely successful multimedia company involved in the development and production of network, cable, home video, and public television projects.
He also did voice work on several movies including "Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs" and "Robots."
Roker is always a comedian who pokes fun at himself as much as he does others on the crew. He was very public about his battle with obesity. He underwent gastric bypass surgery in 2002, shaved off more than 100 pounds and has kept it off.
He also has one of the most famous families in New York. Roker is married to ABC News correspondent Deborah Roberts. He has three children.
Whether it's business or family, Roker says he constantly points to his past to remind him of how lucky he is.
"I'm a kid who grew up in Queens, on the other side of the bridge in a lower middle income neighborhood. I've been able to achieve some stuff, and I don't ever forget that," he said.
Roker has become a prominent player on the "Today" show and does a lot more than just weather. Viewers recently saw him wearing waders in some flooded areas of Louisiana. He's definitely on the go, and always smiling.
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