Fred Rogers

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Fred Rogers on the set of Mister Rogers' Neighborhood

The Reverend Frederick McFeely Rogers (March 20, 1928 – February 27, 2003) was the host of the internationally acclaimed children's television show Mister Rogers' Neighborhood, in production from 1968 to 2001. Mister Rogers, as he became known to millions of viewers, was an ordained Presbyterian minister who lived and worked in the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania area for most of his life. Throughout his life, he was a tireless advocate for the education and welfare of children.

Life and career

Mr. Rogers was born in Latrobe, Pennsylvania, about 30 miles (50 km) southeast of Pittsburgh. Following secondary school, he studied at Dartmouth College in Hanover, New Hampshire between 1946 and 1948 before transferring to Rollins College in Winter Park, Florida. He received a BA in music composition there in 1951. In 1954, he began working at WQED, a Pittsburgh television station, as a puppeteer on a local children's television series, The Children's Corner. For the next seven years, he worked with host Josie Carey in unscripted live TV, and developed many of the puppets, characters and music used in his later work, such as King Friday the XIII, and Curious X the Owl.

For eight years during this period he gave up lunch breaks to study theology at nearby Pittsburgh Theological Seminary. He had planned to enter seminary after college, but had been diverted into television. Rogers, however, was not interested in preaching, and after his ordination as a Presbyterian minister in 1962, he was specifically charged to continue his work with children's TV. He had also done work at the University of Pittsburgh's Graduate School of Child Development.

In 1963, Rogers moved to Toronto, where he was contracted by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) to develop a 15 minute children's television program: 'MisteRogers', which would be Fred's debut in front of the camera. The show was a hit with children, but only lasted for three seasons on the network. Many of his famous set pieces, such as the trolley, Eiffel Tower, the 'tree', and 'castle' were all created by designers at the CBC. While on production in Canada, Fred brought with him his friend and understudy, Ernie Coombs, who would go on to create "Mr. Dressup," a very successful and long running children's show in Canada which, in many ways, was similar to "Mister Roger's Neighborhood." Mr. Dressup had also used some of the songs that would later go on Rogers' later program.

In 1966, Rogers acquired the rights for his program, and moved the show to WQED in Pittsburgh. He developed the new show for the Eastern Educational Network. Stations which carried the program were limited; they included educational stations in Boston, Washington, DC and New York City. Distribution of Mister Rogers' Neighborhood began on February 19 1966. The following year, the show moved to PBS (Public Broadcasting System). The last set of new episodes were taped in December 2000, and began airing in August 2001. Mister Rogers' Neighborhood has the distinction of being the longest running program on PBS.

Rogers is quoted as saying, "I got into television because I hated it so. And I thought there was some way of using this fabulous instrument to be of nurture to those who would watch and listen."

After returning to Pittsburgh, Rogers was an active congregational member in the Sixth Presbyterian church in the Squirrel Hill neighborhood of Pittsburgh. He died from stomach cancer a short time after his retirement at the age of 74.

Rev. William P. Barker presided over a public memorial, and attendees included Teresa Heinz, former "Good Morning America" host David Hartman, Elsie Hillman, PBS President Pat Mitchell, Arthur creator Marc Brown, and The Very Hungry Caterpillar author-illustrator Eric Carle, as well as about 2,700 other people stuffed into a near-capacity Heinz Hall. Speakers remembered Rogers' love of children, devotion to God, enthusiasm for music, and quirks. Cellist Yo-Yo Ma, on a concert tour overseas, played on video, and violinist Itzhak Perlman played in person. Outside the hall, about a half-dozen demonstrators from Fred Phelps' anti-gay Westboro Baptist Church in Topeka, Kansas protested Rogers' tolerance of homosexuality. About 150 supporters of Mr. Rogers from gay rights and peace groups marched in counter-protest, singing songs from Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood.[1]

During the 1998 Daytime Emmys, a Lifetime Achievement Award was presented to Rogers. The following is an excerpt from Esquire Magazine's coverage of the gala, written by Tom Junod:

"...Mister Rogers went onstage to accept the award -- and there, in front of all the soap opera stars and talk show sinceratrons, in front of all the jutting man-tanned jaws and jutting saltwater bosoms, he made his small bow and said into the microphone, 'All of us have special ones who have loved us into being. Would you just take, along with me, ten seconds to think of the people who have helped you become who you are. Ten seconds of silence.'

"And then he lifted his wrist, looked at the audience, looked at his watch, and said, 'I'll watch the time.' There was, at first, a small whoop from the crowd, a giddy, strangled hiccup of laughter, as people realized that he wasn't kidding, that Mister Rogers was not some convenient eunuch, but rather a man, an authority figure who actually expected them to do what he asked. And so they did. One second, two seconds, three seconds -- and now the jaws clenched, and the bosoms heaved, and the mascara ran, and the tears fell upon the beglittered gathering like rain leaking down a crystal chandelier. And Mister Rogers finally looked up from his watch and said softly, 'May God be with you,' to all his vanquished children."

Fred Rogers' remains are entombed in a family crypt in Latrobe, Pennsylvania.

Mister Rogers' Neighborhood

Main article: Mister Rogers' Neighborhood

Each episode begins the same way, with Mister Rogers coming home and singing his theme song, "Won't You Be My Neighbor?" and changing into sneakers and a zippered cardigan sweater. In an episode, Rogers might have an earnest conversation with his television audience, interact with live guests, take a field trip to a nearby place such as a bakery or music store, or watch a short film. Typical video subject matter includes demonstrations of how inanimate objects, such as bulldozers, work or are manufactured. Each episode includes a trip to Rogers' "Neighborhood of Make-Believe," which features a trolley that has its own chiming theme song, a castle, and the kingdom's citizens, including King Friday the XIII. The subjects being discussed in the Neighborhood of Make-Believe often allow further development of thematic elements that are being discussed in Mister Rogers' "real" neighborhood. Typically, each week's episodes explore a major theme, such as going to school for the first time. Most of the episodes end with Mr. Rogers singing the song "It's Such a Good Feeling."

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Mister Rogers visits Sesame Street and meets Big Bird.

The series features neither the animation nor the fast pace of Sesame Street, and Rogers composed all the music for his series. He was concerned with teaching children to love themselves and others. He also tried to address common childhood fears with comforting songs and skits. For example, one of his famous songs explains how you can't be pulled down the bathtub drain—(because you won't fit). He even once took a trip to the Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh to show children that a hospital is not a place to be afraid of. During the Gulf War in the early 1990s, he assured children that all children in the neighborhood would be well cared for, and asked parents to promise to take care of their children. The still timely and reassuring message was aired again by PBS during the media storm that preceded the military action against Iraq in 2003.

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Fred Rogers and Yo-Yo Ma discuss how music can be used to deal with angry feelings.

Guests on the series range from cellist Yo-Yo Ma to actor and bodybuilder Lou Ferrigno of TV's The Incredible Hulk. Guests on Mister Rogers' Neighborhood were often surprised to find that Rogers was a perfectionist who did not allow ad-libbing; he believed that children were thoughtful people who deserved programming as good as anything produced for adults on television.

On the eve of the announcement that Mister Rogers' Neighborhood would cease production of new episodes, TV Guide interviewed Rogers and led the story with an anecdote. Apparently, Rogers had been driving the same car for years, an old second-hand Impala. Then it was stolen from its parking spot near the WQED studio. Rogers filed a police report, the story was picked up by local news outlets, and general shock swept across town. Within 48 hours, the car was back in the spot where he left it, along with a note saying "If we'd known it was yours, we never would have taken it!" [2]

Mister Rogers' Neighborhood won four Emmy awards, including one for lifetime achievement. The series also received a Peabody Award in 1968. The Smithsonian Institution displays one of Roger's sweaters.

Rogers appeared as a guest on some other series. On the children's animated cartoon series Arthur, for example, Rogers plays himself as an aardvark like Arthur. Prior to this, Arthur appears as a guest in hand-puppet form in an episode of Mister Rogers' Neighborhood.

Teresa Heinz, who personally knew him, said of Rogers, "He never condescended, just invited us into his conversation. He spoke to us as the people we were, not as the people others wished we were."

Puppeteering work

Rogers was the puppeteer behind many of the characters in the Neighborhood of Make-Believe, including:

• Cornflake S. Pecially
• Daniel Striped Tiger
• Donkey Hodie
• Dr. Bill Platypus
• Edgar Cooke
• Grandpere
• Henrietta Pussycat
• King Friday XIII
• Lady Elaine Fairchilde
• Queen Sara Saturday
• Prince Tuesday
• X the Owl

Mister Rogers and the VCR

During the controversy surrounding the introduction of the household VCR, Rogers was involved in supporting the manufacturers of VCRs in court. His 1979 testimony in the case Sony Corp. of America v. Universal City Studios, Inc. noted that he did not object to home recording of his television programs, for instance, by families in order to watch together at a later time. This testimony contrasted with the views of others in the television industry who objected to home recording or believed that devices to facilitate it should be taxed or regulated.

The Supreme Court considered the testimony of Rogers in its decision that held that the Betamax video recorder did not infringe copyright. The Court stated that his views were a notable piece of evidence "that many [television] producers are willing to allow private time-shifting to continue;" it even quoted his testimony in a footnote:

Some public stations, as well as commercial stations, program the "Neighborhood" at hours when some children cannot use it ... I have always felt that with the advent of all of this new technology that allows people to tape the "Neighborhood" off-the-air, and I'm speaking for the "Neighborhood" because that's what I produce, that they then become much more active in the programming of their family's television life. Very frankly, I am opposed to people being programmed by others. My whole approach in broadcasting has always been "You are an important person just the way you are. You can make healthy decisions." Maybe I'm going on too long, but I just feel that anything that allows a person to be more active in the control of his or her life, in a healthy way, is important.

— Frederick Rogers,

The Home Recording Rights Coalition later stated that Rogers was "one of the most prominent witnesses on this issue."

Rogers had been a supporter of VCR use since the very early days of the VCR -- in his final week of episodes of the original run in 1976, Rogers used a U-Matic VCR to show scenes from past episodes, as a way to prepare viewers for repeats that would begin the following week.

Mister Rogers and PBS funding

In 1969, Rogers appeared before the United States Senate Subcommittee on Communications. His goal was to support funding for PBS and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, in response to significant proposed cuts. In about five minutes of testimony, Rogers spoke of the need for social and emotional education that public television provided. He passionately argued that alternative television programming like his Neighborhood helped encourage children to become happy and productive citizens, sometimes opposing less positive messages in media and in popular culture. He even recited the lyrics to one of his songs.

The chairman of the subcommittee, John O. Pastore, was not previously familiar with Rogers' work, and was sometimes described as gruff and impatient. However, he reported that the testimony had given him goosebumps, and declared, "Looks like you just earned the $20 million." The following congressional appropriation, for 1971, increased PBS funding from $9 million to $22 million. [3]

Urban legends

Fred Rogers has been the subject of a few urban legends, among them, ideas that he served in the military around the era of the Vietnam war; was a sniper; was a Navy Seal; or had a drug problem. Rumors to this effect are discounted as being false on urban legend verification websites. Not only is military service not mentioned in any biographies about him, but there wasn't a period of time, unaccounted for, where he could have been involved in such. During most of the Vietnam conflict, he was fully dedicated to his television show Mister Rogers' Neighborhood and before that, around the start of Vietnam, he was working on getting rights for his show and moving it to Pittsburgh.

Speeches, honors, and memberships

• In 1969, Mr. Rogers appeared before Congress to oppose Richard Nixon's budget cutbacks for Public Broadcasting.
• In 1972, Rogers was the commencement speaker for the graduation ceremony at Eastern Michigan University in Ypsilanti, Michigan.
• In 1987, Rogers was initiated as an honorary member of Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia Fraternity, the national fraternity for men of music.
• In 1992, Rogers received a George Foster Peabody Award "in recognition of 25 years of beautiful days in the neighborhood."
• On May 11, 1996, Rogers gave the commencement speech at North Carolina State University.
• In May 1999, Rogers gave the commencement address at Marist College.
• In May 2001, Rogers delivered the commencement address at Middlebury College.
• In 2002 Rogers gave the commencement address at Dartmouth College.
• On July 9, 2002, Fred Rogers received the Presidential Medal of Freedom for his contributions to children's education. "Fred Rogers has proven that television can soothe the soul and nurture the spirit and teach the very young," said President George W. Bush at the presentation.
• In 2003, a month before his death, Rogers was a grand marshal of the Tournament of Roses Parade, serving with Art Linkletter and Bill Cosby.
• On March 4, 2003, the U.S. House of Representatives unanimously passed Resolution 111 honoring Rogers for "his legendary service to the improvement of the lives of children, his steadfast commitment to demonstrating the power of compassion, and his dedication to spreading kindness through example."
• On March 5, 2003 the U.S. Senate unanimously passed Resolution 16 to commemorate the life of Fred Rogers.
  • "Through his spirituality and placid nature, Mr. Rogers was able to reach out to our nation's children and encourage each of them to understand the important role they play in their communities and as part of their families," Santorum said. "More importantly, he did not shy away from dealing with difficult issues of death and divorce but rather encouraged children to express their emotions in a healthy, constructive manner, often providing a simple answer to life's hardships."
• On May 2, 2003, the International Astronomical Union announced that an asteroid, known as #26858, had been named "Misterrogers." The announcement was made by the director of the Henry Buhl Jr. Planetarium & Observatory at the Carnegie Science Center in Pittsburgh. The science center worked with Rogers' Family Communications, Inc. to produce a planetarium show for preschoolers called "The Sky Above Mister Rogers' Neighborhood," which plays at planetariums across the United States.
• In September of 2003, Saint Vincent College (Latrobe, Pennsylvania) announced it would establish The Fred M. Rogers Center for Early Learning and Children's Media.

Family

Fred Rogers is survived by his wife Joanne Rogers (the former Sara Joanne Byrd); their two sons, Jim and John Rogers; and two grandsons.

External links

• Fred Rogers at IMDb
• PBS Kids: Mister Rogers' Neighborhood
• Family Communications, Inc.
• The Fred M. Rogers Center
• Full List of Honorary Degrees and Awards Given to Fred Rogers
• About his Presidential Medal of Freedom
• News article on his final episodes
• Can You Say ... Hero? This article originally appeared in the November 1998 Esquire magazine
• Pittsburgh bids farewell to Fred Rogers with moving public tribute Barbara Vancheri and Rob Owen, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, May 4, 2003
• Sad day in neighborhood: Beloved Mister Rogers dies
• Salon's Brilliant Careers: Fred Rogers
• 1987 audio interview of Fred Rogers by Don Swaim of CBS Radio, RealAudio
• Archive of American Television Video Interview with Fred Rogers
• Biography of Fred Rogers at the "Rotten" Library
• Mr. Rogers saves public television Fred Rogers charms and disarms the 1969 US Senate Subcommittee on Communications hearing on funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting]
• December 2002 Interview on NPR's The Diane Rehm Show (Real Audio)