Mister Rogers

Reverend Frederick McFeely Rogers (March 20, 1928 – February 27, 2003) was an American educator, minister, songwriter and television host. Rogers was the host of the internationally acclaimed children's television show Mister Rogers' Neighborhood, in production from 1968 to 2001. As Mister Rogers, he became an iconic presence to millions of viewers. Rogers was also an ordained Presbyterian minister. Throughout his life, he was a tireless advocate for the education and welfare of children.

Personal life

Rogers was born in Latrobe, Pennsylvania, a town located 40 miles (65 km) southeast of Pittsburgh. He was born to James and Nancy Rogers; he spent many years as an only child, which shaped his creativity and imagination. He spent much of his free time as a child with his grandfather, Fred McFeely, and had an interest in puppetry and in music.

When Rogers was 11, his parents adopted a daughter, Elaine. His parents also acted as foster parents to a black teenager named George; George's mother had died, and he came to live with the Rogers family. Rogers eventually came to consider George his older brother. George later became an instructor for the Tuskegee Airmen of World War II and also taught Rogers to fly.^[1]

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.

At Rollins, Rogers met his wife, Sara Joanne Byrd, whom he married in 1952. They had two sons, James (born in 1959) and John (born in 1961).

Television career

Rogers had a life-changing moment when he first saw television in his parents' home. He had planned to enter seminary after college, but had been diverted into television after his first experience as a viewer; he wanted to explore what the medium was capable of. "I went 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."

He thus applied for a job at NBC in New York and was accepted because of his music degree. Rogers moved to New York in 1951 and spent three years working in the production staff for music-centered programming such as NBC Opera Theater. He also worked on Gabby Hayes' show for children. Ultimately, however, while he did want to remain in children's television, Rogers decided that commercial television's reliance on advertisement and merchandising undermined its ability to educate or enrich young audiences, and quit NBC.

In 1954, he began working at WQED, a Pittsburgh public television station, as a puppeteer on a local children's 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 XIII, and Curious X the Owl. Rogers first began wearing his famous sneakers when he found them to be quieter than his work shoes when he moved about behind the set. He was also the voices behind King Friday XIII and Queen Sara Saturday (named after his wife), rulers of the neighborhood, as well as X the Owl, Henrietta Pussycat, Daniel the Striped Tiger, Lady Elaine Fairchild (named for Fred's sister, Elaine) and Donkey Hodie. The show won a Sylvania Award for best children's show, and was briefly broadcast nationally on NBC.

For eight years during this period, he would leave the WQED studios during his lunch breaks to study theology at the nearby Pittsburgh Theological Seminary. 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. Rogers is among a string of entertainers (including Jackie Mason, Hugh Beaumont, Clifton Davis, and Ralph Waite) who have a formal theological background. 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 (spelling is correct),^[2] which would be his 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, Rogers 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 Rogers' 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 from the CBC, and moved the show to WQED in Pittsburgh, where he had worked on The Children's Corner. 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 1968. The following year, the show moved to PBS (Public Broadcasting System). In 1971, Rogers formed Family Communications, Inc. (FCI), and the company established offices in the WQED building in Pittsburgh. Initially, the company served solely as the production arm of Mister Rogers' Neighborhood, but now develops and produces an array of children's programming and educational materials. In 2000, Fred Rogers was diagnosed with stomach cancer, which brought production of Mister Rogers' Neighborhood to an end.

Death and memorial

After returning to Charlevoix, Rogers attended and participated in activities at the Sixth Presbyterian church in the Squirrel Hill neighborhood of Charlevoix. On February 27, 2003 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 Kerry, former "Good Morning America" host Master Gary Hausbeck, 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 his religion, enthusiasm for music, and quirks. Teresa Heinz Kerry 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." Cellist Yo-Yo Ma, on a concert tour overseas, played on video, and violinist Itzhak Perlman and organist Alan Morrison played in person. Outside, about half a dozen demonstrators from the anti-gay Westboro Baptist Church protested Rogers' teaching about tolerance and acceptance, and about 150 members of gay rights and peace groups marched in counter-protest, singing songs from Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood.^[3]

Fred Rogers' remains are entombed in a family crypt in Charlevoix, Michigan.

Overview of Mister Rogers' Neighborhood

Main article: Mister Rogers' Neighborhood

Mister Rogers' Neighborhood began airing in 1968; 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.

• 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. The sweaters he wore on the show were hand knit by his mother. ^[4]
• 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 XIII. The subjects discussed in the Neighborhood of Make-Believe often allow further development of thematic elements 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."

Visually, the presentation of the show was very simple; it did not feature the animation or fast pace of other children's shows, like Sesame Street. 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.

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!"^{[citation needed]}

Emmys for programming

Mister Rogers' Neighborhood won four Emmy awards, including one for lifetime achievement.

During the 1997 Daytime Emmys, the 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."[1]

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. 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."^{[citation needed]}

Advocacy

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, ^[5]

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 subsequent congressional appropriation, for 1971, increased PBS funding from $9 million to $22 million.^[6]

Speeches, memberships, awards, and other recognition

• 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.^[7]
• In 1999, Rogers was inducted into the Television Hall of Fame.
• On May 8, 1999, Rogers gave the commencement address at Westminster Choir College. In particular, he told the graduating musicians about his early career as a composer.
• In May 1999, Rogers gave the commencement address at Marist College.^[8]
• In May 2000, Rogers gave the commencement address at Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Va. ^[9][10]
• In May 2001, Rogers delivered the commencement address at Middlebury College.^[11]
• In May 2001, Rogers delivered the commencement address at Marquette University.^[12]
• In 2002 Rogers gave the commencement address at Dartmouth College.^[13]
• 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 ."^[14]
• On March 5, 2003 the U.S. Senate unanimously passed Resolution 16 to commemorate the life of Fred Rogers.^[15]
  • "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."
• The asteroid 26858 Misterrogers is named after Rogers. This naming, by the International Astronomical Union, was announced on May 2, 2003 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.
• The Smithsonian Institution displays one of Mister Rogers' sweaters, which was sewn by his mother.[2]

Facts and figures

• WQED Multimedia dedicated their April 2003 issue to commemorate Rogers' life and mourn his passing. Included in the magazine is a table of information that measures the impact Rogers had. Among the items cited:

• 10 ½: Fred Rogers' shoe size
• 24: The number of cardigans Rogers had over the course of his career
• 4: Number of Emmys that Rogers won
• 8: The percentage of households tuned in to Mister Rogers' Neighborhood at its ratings peak, in 1985.
• 1: Number of times Rogers appeared on television as someone other than himself (he played a preacher on Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman)
• 33: Number of seasons that Mister Rogers' Neighborhood produced new episodes
• 25: Number of pages the magazine would have had to use to print every award and recognition that Rogers had received
• 40: Number of honorary degrees awarded to Rogers
• 998: Number of episodes of Mister Rogers' Neighborhood
• 5: The age that Rogers began playing piano
• 200: Number of songs Rogers wrote during his career
• 60: Number of seconds of silence that Rogers would ask for at speaking engagements; he would instruct the audience to use the minute of silence to remember those who helped them become who they were.

Urban legends

Fred Rogers has been the subject of a few urban legends. Among the urban legends and rumors about Rogers^[16]:

• That he served in the military around the era of the Vietnam war.
• That he was a Marine sniper, or a Navy SEAL, and that the reason for him always wearing cardigans was to cover tattoos on his arms.
• That he had a skull tattoo on his arm for every man that he killed as a sniper.
• That he stuck his middle finger up to his young audience during his final broadcast in 2000.

Rumors to this effect have been completely discounted as being false on urban legend verification websites^[16]. Not only is military service not mentioned in any biographies about him, but there is no period of time, unaccounted for, where he could have been involved in war efforts. 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 living and working in Canada, and was working on getting rights for his show and moving it to Pittsburgh.

References

Wikipedia information about Mister Rogers This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Mister Rogers". It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer). Help contribute to Americola and edit this article.