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Al Roker and wife Deborah Roberts pay heartfelt tribute following sad death of Melinda Dillon

The Today star shared a message with fans online


today al roker heartfelt tribute
Hanna Fillingham
US Managing Editor
5 February 2023
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Al Roker was one of the many celebrities to pay tribute on social media following the death of Melinda Dillon, who passed away aged 83.

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The Today star took to Instagram to share a photo of the beloved actress, alongside a heartfelt message.

The father-of-three wrote: "Melinda Dillon, accomplished, twice Oscar nominated actor will always be remembered as the caring, loving and put upon Mom in 'A Christmas Story'. She passed away today at 83."

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Al's wife Deborah was one of the first to reply to the message, writing: "Loved her."

Fans also commented, with one replying: "She was a great actress, loved her," while another wrote: "Oh man, I loved her, god bless her journey." A third added: "This is such sad news, may she rest in peace."

The two-time Oscar nominee's death was announced through an obituary created by her family last month. A cause of death has not been released.

Al often uses his social media to pay tribute to famous faces, along with sharing personal updates on his own life.

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Al Roker paid a heartfelt tribute to Melinda Dillon on social media

The NBC star has been through quite a tough time over the past few months, and is on the mend following a serious health battle.

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Al was hospitalized back in November after suffering from blood clots which traveled to his legs and lungs. Now he is back at work, but the weatherman took several months off Today to recover - which included a lengthy time in hospital.

The Today family rallied around Al to support him and his family during the difficult time, with Dylan Dreyer filling in for the star while he was away from work.

Dylan recently opened up about covering for the beloved weatherman during an interview with HELLO! "I think there was a very real moment when we were all concerned," the mom-of-three said.

today al roker new photo following hospitalization

Al Roker with wife Deborah Roberts 

"Not knowing what was going on and just praying and reaching out to find out information was hard. We were genuinely worried as friends."

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She added: "When he started to get better, we were like, 'well, what does this mean? Is he gonna come back?'. Everyone kept saying that he would pull back and not work as much. I was like 'do you not know Al?'

"He is the hardest working person in this business. If he feels like he can work the way he always has, he will."

today al roker dylan dreyer

Al with co-star Dylan Dreyer

Al has since been delighting viewers with his quick-wit since his return. "The doctors fixed the problem," Dylan added.

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"He's back to himself, he's making jokes. It's like when he beat cancer. He comes back and you forget it ever happened. He's such a trooper and he's better than ever. And now I get to sleep past 4 o'clock in the morning too which is an added bonus."

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