Al Roker Celebrates His 70th Birthday with Surprises on the “Today” Show: 'A Great Run So Far'

"I'm most grateful for my friends and family," Roker said, "When everything else goes away, that’s who you have"

Al Roker is kicking off his seventh decade of life with a bang!

As he turned 70 on Tuesday, Aug. 20, the veteran broadcaster's Today colleagues prepared a surprise celebration for him on the NBC morning show filled with celebrity shoutouts, special guests, and one very unique gift.

"Someone upstairs really got it right," Savannah Guthrie said at the top of the broadcast. "70 years ago today, our sunshine Al Roker was born. He’s the man we’re going to celebrate."

Guthrie and her Today co-anchor Hoda Kotb went on to read off a number of statistics about Roker, who has been a fixture at NBC for nearly 50 of his 70 years — 28 of which have been spent at Today.

"He’s hosted 27 Thanksgiving Day parades, he’s attended 16 Olympics, and of course, he’s raised three beautiful children," Kotb said, sharing photos of Roker with his adult children — Courtney, Leila and Nick — and his wife, Deborah Roberts, before Guthrie showed off Roker's favorite stat: granddaughter Sky Clara.

Related: Happy 70th Birthday, Al Roker! See the Today Show Weatherman's Silliest and Sweetest Photos Through the Years

Not long after that, Roberts appeared via video message to give her husband a special shout-out.

"My dear Albie," she said in the video. "You are the rainbow in our lives. I can’t tell you how blessed we all feel to have you in them. Here’s to another dance around the sun. And hoping nothing but warmth, and maybe an occasional shooting stars. Okay, enough of those universe analogies. Happy, happy, happy 70th birthday, dear."

"I’m very blessed," an emotional Roker said afterwards. "Thank you."

Later, in the show's 8 a.m. hour, Roker sat down with fellow broadcasting legend Oprah Winfrey — who turned 70 in January — for a candid conversation about aging and life lessons learned.

"There’s a sense of knowing that there isn’t as much time life and I am at peace with that knowing," Winfrey told Roker, in the pre-tapped segment filmed in the backyard of Roker's Manhattan townhouse. " "There’s a sense of urgency, for me, about living well. And so that’s all about health."

She added that her "greatest gift" has been "being able to live in the present moment."

"It’s the thing that brings me the greatest joy, because no matter what’s going on in your life, you can compartmentalize and be right here right now," said Winfrey. "So I’m not a worrier. I will worry about the thing when the thing shows up."

Related: Oprah Winfrey Explains Why She 'Never' Thought She'd 'Make It' to 60

Winfrey went on to assure Roker not to be afraid of this next decade.

"Don’t be scared. It’s going to be alright. You know why? 'Cause you’ve already overcome some of the greatest challenges," said Winfrey, noting Roker's 2022 health scare, in which he was hospitalized and nearly died from blood clots that moved from his leg to his lungs. "You can tell us what it’s like to almost not make it and what it means to have the most vital part of your life in order, and that is your health."

"What is amazing is your life has been pumping and pumping and pumping and pumping for you for 69 solid years. Almost getting you there ’til 70," Winfrey said. "And it’s been doing that right on time, just for you."

Reflecting on the conversation afterward in a chat with Guthrie, Kotb, Craig Melvin and Carson Daly, Roker said Winfrey's knowledge has helped him remember not to "worry about what's ahead."

"I’m trying to be [present]," he said. "That’s something Deborah is helping me with, the idea we don’t bring phones to the table. That’s why I journal every night. Trying to be grateful and present for what’s been a great run so far."

Asked by Daly if he was in the best health of his life, Roker said "I think so," nothing that his granddaughter really shifted his perspective. "I want to be as good as I can be for her, and for my other kids."

Later, Roker was surprised with messages of love from foodie friends Martha Stewart, José Andrés, Elisabeth Heiskell and Jet Tila. There was a cooking segment too, with food, drinks and dessert prepared by Matt Abdoo, Marcus Samuelsson, Daniel Boulud, Tim Sweeney and Jocelyn Delk Adams.

But the biggest surprise might have come from New York City Mayor Eric Adams, who presented Roker with a key to the city.

"You have opened the key to our hearts, ... you have been a real New Yorker," Adams said, adding that the key "means a lot" to the rare few who are gifted the honor. "It represents the city on a whole, 8.3 million people. I always tell folks, there’s only two types of Americans: Those who live in New York and those who wish they could."

"Wow. This is quite… I never imagined a kid from Queens getting the key to the city," Roker said, in response. "I love this city, I grew up here, ... my dad was a New York City bus driver in Brooklyn. So this means so very much."

"Thank you," Roker later told his coworkers, as he was presented with a birthday cake. "You are the gift that keeps giving. Thank you. I love you all.”

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The love for Roker continued on the 3rd Hour of Today, where Tony Shalhoub and Sheryl Lee Ralph sent in their love and Roker's co-hosts, including Sheinelle Jones and Dylan Dreyer, read (or in Dreyer's case, sung) poems penned for the longtime weatherman.

There was a trivia game too, with fun facts about Roker including his four Guinness World Records. Steve Kornacki then took to the big board to note various milestones.

Related: Al Roker's Favorite Part of Paris Is His Daughter Leila! How They're Spending Time Together During the Olympics (Exclusive)

"It’s an honor to be here with all of you guys," Roker said on the 3rd Hour of Today, explaining he got to spend his birthday with his wife and kids. "After illnesses from a year and a half ago, I’m so grateful to be here. My dad didn’t make 70, but I know that he wanted me to bypass that. And here we are, so I can not be happier."

"I'm most grateful for my friends and family," he added. "At the end of the day, that’s who you got. When everything else goes away, that’s who you have."

Roker added that knowing he was going to become a granddad motivated him to get his health in order. "I love my children, but there’s something about your grandchild, as every grandparent has told me, and now I get it," he said it. "She is the best."

Related: Al Roker Reveals the Difficult Lesson He Had to Learn as a Grandpa: 'They Have to Find Their Way'

Roker got his start as a weather anchor for CBS affiliate WTVH (formerly WHEN-TV) in the mid-1970s before joining NBC in 1978, initially working at WKYC in Cleveland. Making his way up the ranks at NBC, he eventually became the host of CNBC's The Al Roker Show in 1995 and later made his Today show debut in 1996.

As he marked his 45th Today show anniversary in December 2023, Roker told his colleagues that he has had a "very good run."

"I really am very fortunate," he added. "Nobody gets to be somewhere this long without friends and people who help you and a team behind you. Nobody does it by themselves. It’s been a very good run."

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