NBC asked its network executives who should host the new prime-time “Celebrity Family Feud.” And the survey says — Al Roker!
The announcement that the beloved TODAY Show weatherman Roker would host the series, whose first episode will air on July 1 on NBC, was made Monday morning on TODAY.
“Family Feud” debuted in 1976 on ABC with the suave Richard Dawson as host. It has been on and off the air several times since, and has been hosted by Louie Anderson, Ray Combs, Richard Karn and the host of the present syndicated series, John O’Hurley, best known from “Seinfeld” and “Dancing With the Stars.”
Roker, who confesses to being a game-show fanatic, will host just the special production of “Celebrity Family Feud,” whose contestants will be celebrities and either their real families or the TV families from the shows in which they star. The celebrities will be competing to raise money for their charities.
The show will consist of three rounds of competition, with teams being eliminated along the way until just two are left to “feud it out” to see which will win the big money.
The multitalented Roker, 53, has been TODAY’s weatherman since 1996, when he replaced Willard Scott, who went into semiretirement. In addition to his duties presenting the weather, he is also a reporter, interviewer and sometimes host on TODAY.
He has been a celebrity contestant on both “Wheel of Fortune” and “Jeopardy!” and served as a guest host of “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?” He also hosted a game show on MSNBC in 1996-97 called “Remember This?”
The author of several nonfiction books, Roker has also hosted shows on the Food Network and has appeared on “Saturday Night Live.”
A native New Yorker, Roker was born in Queens and was the weatherman for WNBC-TV in New York before moving to TODAY in 1996.
The celebrities appearing on “Celebrity Family Feud” will be announced at a later date by NBC.