Actors - Fred Rogers

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	Actors - Fred Rogers

The Rev. 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.

Life and Career

Rogers was born in Latrobe, Pennsylvania, about 30 miles (50 km) southeast of Pittsburgh. Following secondary school, he studied at Dartmouth College in Hanover 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 Pittsburgh 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.

During this period, for eight years 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 kids, 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 the Rogers' program.

In 1966 he acquired the rights for his program and moved the show to WQED in Pittsburgh, incorporating parts of the CBC program into the new show he developed for the Eastern Educational Network to cities including Boston, Massachusetts, Washington, DC and New York City. Distribution of Mister Rogers' Neighborhood began on National Educational Television on February 19, 1968. The following year the show moved to the PBS network, where it continues today in syndication. The last set of new episodes was taped in December 2000 and began airing on 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 of Pittsburgh. He succumbed to stomach cancer a short time after his retirement at the age of 74. His remains are entombed in a family crypt in Latrobe, Pennsylvania.

Mister Rogers' Neighborhood

Each show began 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. One of these sweaters is on display at the Smithsonian Institution, a nod to Rogers' influence in American culture.

The show's target audience was chiefly pre-school children and featured none of the animation or fast pace of Sesame Street. Rogers composed all the music for his show. A typical episode might see him have an earnest conversation with his television audience, interact with live guests, take a field trip to a nearby place like a bakery or music store, or watch a short film on "Picture Picture," where typically the subject matter was a video short of how some inanimate object works or is manufactured. Each show always included a session with the puppets of Rogers' "Neighborhood of Make-Believe." The neighborhood featured a trolley (with its own chiming theme song), a castle and various citizens of the kingdom, including King Friday the XIII. Often, the make-believe sessions allowed further development of thematic elements that were being discussed in Mister Rogers' "real" neighborhood. Typically, each week's worth of shows explored a major theme, such as going to school for the first time.

Rogers 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, 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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Actors - Fred Rogers

Life and Career

Mister Rogers' Neighborhood

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