Today Celebrates Al Roker’s 45th Anniversary at NBC, Complete With 1978 Throwback Video — WATCH

Today on Monday morning commemorated Al Roker’s 45th year as a member of the NBC family, by offering up some sweet words for “the beating heart of this show” and cuing up a throwback video that involved… penguins?

Roker’s career with NBC began in 1978 at WKYC in Cleveland, which at the time was an NBC owned-and-operated station. In late 1983, he was named the regular weeknight weathercaster at WNBC-TV in New York, replacing 27-year veteran Dr. Frank Field. From 1990 to ’95, Roker filled in for Willard Scott on Today, and come early 1996, upon Scott’s announced retirement, Roker received the regular weekday weatherman slot.

As noted during Today‘s celebration of Roker’s 45-year run, he has set 7,047 wake-up alarms for 3:45 am, been on hand for 27 Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parades, and contributed to the coverage of 13 Olympics.

“Listen, nobody gets to be somewhere this long without friends, and a team behind you,” Roker shared following the playback of a throwback video of him working with penguins at Cleveland’s Metro Park Zoo. Including his Cleveland colleagues, New York news vets’ Chuck Scarborough, Sue Simmons and Len Berman, “and now you guys,” “It’s been a good group of people to work with,” Roker told his Today teammates. “It’s been a very good run.”

Watch the complete Today segment below: