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Fred McFeely Rogers (March 20, 1928 – February 27, 2003), commonly known as Mister Rogers, was an American television host, author, producer, and
Presbyterian Presbyterianism is a part of the Reformed tradition within Protestantism that broke from the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland by John Knox, who was a priest at St. Giles Cathedral (Church of Scotland). Presbyterian churches derive their n ...
minister. He was the creator, showrunner, and host of the preschool television series ''
Mister Rogers' Neighborhood ''Mister Rogers' Neighborhood'' (sometimes shortened to ''Mister Rogers'') is an American half-hour educational children's television series that ran from 1968 to 2001, and was created and hosted by Fred Rogers. The series ''Misterogers'' deb ...
'', which ran from 1968 to 2001. Born in
Latrobe, Pennsylvania Latrobe is a city in Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania, in the United States and part of the Pittsburgh metropolitan area. The city population was 8,338 as of the 2010 census (9,265 in 1990). It is located near Pennsylvania's scenic Chestnut Ri ...
, near
Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...
, Rogers earned a bachelor's degree in music from
Rollins College Rollins College is a private college in Winter Park, Florida. It was founded in November 1885 and has about 30 undergraduate majors and several graduate programs. It is Florida's fourth oldest post-secondary institution. History Rollins Colle ...
in 1951. He began his television career at NBC in New York, returning to Pittsburgh in 1953 to work for children's programming at NET (later PBS) television station WQED. He graduated from Pittsburgh Theological Seminary with a bachelor's degree in divinity in 1962 and became a Presbyterian minister in 1963. He attended the
University of Pittsburgh The University of Pittsburgh (Pitt) is a public state-related research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The university is composed of 17 undergraduate and graduate schools and colleges at its urban Pittsburgh campus, home to the univers ...
's Graduate School of Child Development, where he began his 30-year collaboration with child psychologist Margaret McFarland. He also helped develop the children's shows ''The Children's Corner'' (1955) for WQED in
Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...
and ''Misterogers'' (1963) in
Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by to ...
for the
Canadian Broadcasting Corporation The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (french: Société Radio-Canada), branded as CBC/Radio-Canada, is a Canadian public broadcaster for both radio and television. It is a federal Crown corporation that receives funding from the governmen ...
. In 1968, he returned to Pittsburgh and adapted the format of his Canadian series to create ''Mister Rogers' Neighborhood.'' It ran for 33 years, and was critically acclaimed for focusing on children's emotional and physical concerns, such as death, sibling rivalry, school enrollment, and divorce. Rogers died of stomach cancer in 2003, aged 74. His work in children's television has been widely lauded, and he received more than 40 honorary degrees and several awards, including the
Presidential Medal of Freedom The Presidential Medal of Freedom is the highest civilian award of the United States, along with the Congressional Gold Medal. It is an award bestowed by the president of the United States to recognize people who have made "an especially merit ...
in 2002 and a Lifetime Achievement Emmy in 1997. He was inducted into the
Television Hall of Fame The Television Academy Hall of Fame honors individuals who have made extraordinary contributions to U.S. television. The hall of fame was founded by former Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (ATAS) president John H. Mitchell (1921–1988). ...
in 1999. Rogers influenced many writers and producers of children's television shows, and his broadcasts have served as a source of comfort during tragic events, even after his death.


Early life

Rogers was born on March 20, 1928, at 705 Main Street in
Latrobe, Pennsylvania Latrobe is a city in Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania, in the United States and part of the Pittsburgh metropolitan area. The city population was 8,338 as of the 2010 census (9,265 in 1990). It is located near Pennsylvania's scenic Chestnut Ri ...
, about outside of
Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...
. His father, James Hillis Rogers, was "a very successful businessman" who was president of the McFeely Brick Company, one of Latrobe's largest businesses. His mother, Nancy (née McFeely),
knit Knitting is a method by which yarn is manipulated to create a textile, or fabric. It is used to create many types of garments. Knitting may be done by hand or by machine. Knitting creates stitches: loops of yarn in a row, either flat or i ...
ted sweaters for American soldiers from western Pennsylvania who were fighting in Europe, and regularly volunteered at the Latrobe Hospital. Initially dreaming of becoming a doctor, she settled for a life of hospital volunteer work. Her father, Fred Brooks McFeely, after whom Rogers was named, was an
entrepreneur Entrepreneurship is the creation or extraction of economic value. With this definition, entrepreneurship is viewed as change, generally entailing risk beyond what is normally encountered in starting a business, which may include other values t ...
. Rogers grew up in a large three-story brick house at 737 Weldon Street in Latrobe.King (2018), p. 19. He had a sister, Elaine, whom the Rogerses adopted when he was 11 years old. Rogers spent much of his childhood alone, playing with puppets, and also spent time with his grandfather. He began playing the
piano The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keyboa ...
when he was five. Through an ancestor who immigrated from Germany to the U.S., Johannes Meffert (born 1732), Rogers is the sixth cousin of American actor
Tom Hanks Thomas Jeffrey Hanks (born July 9, 1956) is an American actor and filmmaker. Known for both his comedic and dramatic roles, he is one of the most popular and recognizable film stars worldwide, and is regarded as an American cultural icon. Ha ...
, who portrays him in the film ''
A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood ''A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood'' is a 2019 American biographical drama film directed by Marielle Heller and written by Micah Fitzerman-Blue and Noah Harpster, inspired by the 1998 article "Can You Say... Hero?" by Tom Junod, published in ...
'' (2019). Rogers had a difficult childhood. Shy, introverted and overweight, he was frequently homebound after suffering bouts of
asthma Asthma is a long-term inflammatory disease of the airways of the lungs. It is characterized by variable and recurring symptoms, reversible airflow obstruction, and easily triggered bronchospasms. Symptoms include episodes of wheezing, co ...
. He was
bullied Bullying is the use of force, coercion, hurtful teasing or threat, to abuse, aggressively dominate or intimidate. The behavior is often repeated and habitual. One essential prerequisite is the perception (by the bully or by others) of an im ...
as a child for his weight, and called "Fat Freddy". According to Morgan Neville, director of the 2018 documentary '' Won't You Be My Neighbor?'', Rogers had a "lonely childhood... I think he made friends with himself as much as he could. He had a
ventriloquist dummy Ventriloquism, or ventriloquy, is a performance act of stagecraft in which a person (a ventriloquist) creates the illusion that their voice is coming from elsewhere, usually a puppeteered prop known as a "dummy". The act of ventriloquism is ve ...
, he had tuffedanimals, and he would create his own worlds in his childhood bedroom". Rogers attended
Latrobe High School , motto_translation = Strength and stability , established = , status = Open , type = Government comprehensive secondary school , gender = Co-educational , educational_authority = Tasmanian Department of Education ...
, where he overcame his shyness. "It was tough for me at the beginning," Rogers told NPR's Terry Gross in 1984. "And then I made a couple friends who found out that the core of me was okay. And one of them was... the head of the football team". He became president of the student council, a member of the
National Honor Society The National Honor Society (NHS) is a nationwide organization for high school students in the United States and outlying territories, which consists of many chapters in high schools. Selection is based on four criteria: scholarship (academic achi ...
, and editor-in-chief of the school
yearbook A yearbook, also known as an annual, is a type of a book published annually. One use is to record, highlight, and commemorate the past year of a school. The term also refers to a book of statistics or facts published annually. A yearbook often ...
. He registered for the draft in Greensburg, Pennsylvania in 1948 at age 20, where he was classified 1-A (available for military service).Celebrating Mr. Rogers at the National Archives
U.S. National Archives. Retrieved September 14, 2021.
However, his status was changed to unqualified for military service following an Armed Forces physical on October 12, 1950. He attended
Dartmouth College Dartmouth College (; ) is a private research university in Hanover, New Hampshire. Established in 1769 by Eleazar Wheelock, it is one of the nine colonial colleges chartered before the American Revolution. Although founded to educate Native ...
for one year before transferring to
Rollins College Rollins College is a private college in Winter Park, Florida. It was founded in November 1885 and has about 30 undergraduate majors and several graduate programs. It is Florida's fourth oldest post-secondary institution. History Rollins Colle ...
in
Winter Park, Florida Winter Park is a city in Orange County, Florida, United States. The population was 30,183 according to the 2022 census population estimate. It is part of the Orlando–Kissimmee–Sanford, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area. Winter Park was f ...
, where he graduated ''magna cum laude'' in 1951 with a Bachelor of Music. He graduated ''magna cum laude'' from Pittsburgh Theological Seminary in 1962 with a Bachelor of Divinity, and was ordained a minister by the Pittsburgh Presbytery of the United Presbyterian Church in 1963. His mission as an ordained minister, rather than being a pastor of a church, was to minister to children and their families through television. He regularly appeared before church officials to maintain his ordination.


Career


Early work

Rogers wanted to enter
seminary A seminary, school of theology, theological seminary, or divinity school is an educational institution for educating students (sometimes called ''seminarians'') in scripture, theology, generally to prepare them for ordination to serve as clergy ...
after college, but instead chose to go into the nascent medium of television after encountering a TV at his parents' home in 1951 during his senior year at Rollins College. In a CNN interview, he said, "I went into television because I hated it so, and I thought there's some way of using this fabulous instrument to nurture those who would watch and listen". After graduating in 1951, he worked at NBC in New York City as floor director of '' Your Hit Parade'', '' The Kate Smith Hour'', and Gabby Hayes's children's show, and as an assistant producer of '' The Voice of Firestone''. In 1953, Rogers returned to Pittsburgh to work as a program developer at public television station WQED.
Josie Carey Josephine Vicari Massucci Franz (August 20, 1930 – May 28, 2004), known by the stage name Josie Carey, was a lyricist and a host of several children's television shows. Biography Carey was born in Pittsburgh and raised in Butler, Pennsylvani ...
worked with him to develop the children's show ''The Children's Corner'', which Carey hosted. Rogers worked off-camera to develop puppets, characters, and music for the show. He used many of the puppet characters developed during this time, such as Daniel the Striped Tiger (named after WQED's station manager, Dorothy Daniel, who gave Rogers a tiger puppet before the show's premiere), King Friday XIII, Queen Sara Saturday (named after Rogers's wife), X the Owl, Henrietta, and Lady Elaine, in his later work. Children's television entertainer
Ernie Coombs Ernest "Ernie" Arthur Coombs, CM (November 26, 1927 – September 18, 2001) was a US-born Canadian children's entertainer who starred in the Canadian television series '' Mr. Dressup''. His career began as an assistant puppeteer to Fred Rog ...
was an assistant puppeteer. ''The Children's Corner'' won a
Sylvania Award The Sylvania Awards were given by the television manufacturer Sylvania Electric Products for various categories of television performance, broadcasting, scripts, music and other aspects of production between 1951 and 1959. In their day they rivaled ...
for best locally produced children's programming in 1955 and was broadcast nationally on NBC. While working on the show, Rogers attended Pittsburgh Theological Seminary and was ordained as a Presbyterian minister in 1963. He also attended the
University of Pittsburgh The University of Pittsburgh (Pitt) is a public state-related research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The university is composed of 17 undergraduate and graduate schools and colleges at its urban Pittsburgh campus, home to the univers ...
's Graduate School of Child Development, where he began working with child psychologist Margaret McFarland—who, according to Rogers's biographer Maxwell King, became his "key advisor and collaborator" and "child-education guru".King, p. 126. Much of Rogers's "thinking about and appreciation for children was shaped and informed" by McFarland. She was his consultant for most of ''Mister Rogers' Neighborhood''s scripts and songs for 30 years. In 1963, the
Canadian Broadcasting Corporation The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (french: Société Radio-Canada), branded as CBC/Radio-Canada, is a Canadian public broadcaster for both radio and television. It is a federal Crown corporation that receives funding from the governmen ...
(CBC) in
Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anch ...
contracted Rogers to develop and host the 15-minute black-and-white children's program ''Misterogers;'' it lasted from 1963 to 1967. It was the first time Rogers appeared on camera. CBC's children's programming head Fred Rainsberry insisted on it, telling Rogers, "Fred, I've seen you talk with kids. Let's put you yourself on the air". Coombs joined Rogers in Toronto as an assistant puppeteer. Rogers also worked with Coombs on the children's show ''
Butternut Square ''Butternut Square'' was a Canadian children's television series which aired on CBC Television between October 19, 1964 and February 10, 1967. The cast featured Ernie Coombs as Mr. Dressup, whose own landmark television series began production ...
'' from 1964 to 1967. He acquired the rights to ''Misterogers'' in 1967 and returned to Pittsburgh with his wife, two young sons, and the sets he developed, despite a potentially promising career with CBC and no job prospects in Pittsburgh. On Rogers' recommendation, Coombs remained in Toronto and became Rogers' Canadian equivalent of an iconic television personality, creating the long-running children's program '' Mr. Dressup'', which ran from 1967 to 1996. Rogers's work for CBC "helped shape and develop the concept and style of his later program for the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) in the U.S."


''Mister Rogers' Neighborhood''

''Mister Rogers' Neighborhood'' (also called the ''Neighborhood''), a half-hour educational children's program starring Rogers, began airing nationally in 1968 and ran for 895 episodes. It was videotaped at WQED in Pittsburgh and broadcast by
National Educational Television National Educational Television (NET) was an American educational broadcast television network owned by the Ford Foundation and later co-owned by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. It operated from May 16, 1954 to October 4, 1970, and ...
(NET), which later became the
Public Broadcasting Service The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcaster and non-commercial, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly funded nonprofit organization and the most prominent provider of educa ...
(PBS). Its first season had 180 black-and-white episodes. Each subsequent season, filmed in color and funded by PBS, the
Sears-Roebuck Sears, Roebuck and Co. ( ), commonly known as Sears, is an American chain of department stores founded in 1892 by Richard Warren Sears and Alvah Curtis Roebuck and reincorporated in 1906 by Richard Sears and Julius Rosenwald, with what began ...
Foundation, and other charities, consisted of 65 episodes. By the time it ended production in December 2000, its average rating was about 0.7% of television households, or 680,000 homes, and it aired on 384 PBS stations. At its peak in 1985–1986, its ratings were 2.1%, or 1.8 million homes. The last original episode aired in 2001, but PBS continued to air reruns, and by 2016 it was the third-longest-running program in PBS history. Many of the sets and props in ''Mister Rogers' Neighborhood'', like the trolley, the sneakers, and the castle, were created for Rogers's show in Toronto by CBC designers and producers. The program also "incorporated most of the highly imaginative elements that later became famous",King, p. 158. such as its slow pace and its host's quiet manner. The format of ''Mister Rogers' Neighborhood'' "remained virtually unchanged" for the entire run of the program. Every episode begins with a camera's-eye view of a model of a neighborhood, then panning in closer to a representation of a house while a piano instrumental of the theme song, "Won't You be My Neighbor?", performed by music director Johnny Costa and inspired by a Beethoven sonata, is played. The camera zooms in to a model representing Mr. Rogers's house, then cuts to the house's interior and pans across the room to the front door, which Rogers opens as he sings the theme song to greet his visitors while changing his suit jacket to a cardigan (knitted by his mother) and his dress shoes to sneakers, "complete with a shoe tossed from one hand to another". The episode's theme is introduced, and Mr. Rogers leaves his home to visit another location, the camera panning back to the neighborhood model and zooming in to the new location as he enters it. Once this segment ends, Mr. Rogers leaves and returns to his home, indicating that it is time to visit the Neighborhood of Make-Believe. Mr. Rogers proceeds to the window seat by the trolley track and sets up the action there as the Trolley comes out. The camera follows it down a tunnel in the back wall of the house as it enters the Neighborhood of Make-Believe. The stories and lessons told take place over a series of a week's worth of episodes and involve puppet and human characters. The end of the visit occurs when the Trolley returns to the same tunnel from which it emerged, reappearing in Mr. Rogers's home. He then talks to the viewers before concluding the episode. He often feeds his fish, cleans up any props he has used, and returns to the front room, where he sings the closing song while changing back into his dress shoes and jacket. He exits the front door as he ends the song, and the camera zooms out of his home and pans across the neighborhood model as the episode ends. ''Mister Rogers' Neighborhood'' emphasized young children's social and emotional needs, and unlike another PBS show, ''
Sesame Street ''Sesame Street'' is an American educational children's television series that combines live-action, sketch comedy, animation and puppetry. It is produced by Sesame Workshop (known as the Children's Television Workshop until June 2000 ...
'', which premiered in 1969, did not focus on cognitive learning. Writer Kathy Merlock Jackson said, "While both shows target the same preschool audience and prepare children for kindergarten, ''Sesame Street'' concentrates on school-readiness skills while ''Mister Rogers Neighborhood'' focuses on the child's developing psyche and feelings and sense of moral and ethical reasoning". The ''Neighborhood'' also spent fewer resources on research than ''Sesame Street'', but Rogers used early childhood education concepts taught by his mentor Margaret McFarland, Benjamin Spock,
Erik Erikson Erik Homburger Erikson (born Erik Salomonsen; 15 June 1902 – 12 May 1994) was a German-American developmental psychologist and psychoanalyst known for his theory on psychological development of human beings. He coined the phrase identity ...
, and
T. Berry Brazelton Thomas Berry Brazelton (May 10, 1918 – March 13, 2018) was an American pediatrician, author, and the developer of the Neonatal Behavioral Assessment Scale (NBAS). Brazelton hosted the cable television program ''What Every Baby Knows'', and wr ...
in his lessons. As the ''
Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large na ...
'' noted, Rogers taught young children about civility, tolerance, sharing, and self-worth "in a reassuring tone and leisurely cadence". He tackled difficult topics such as the death of a family pet, sibling rivalry, the addition of a newborn into a family, moving and enrolling in a new school, and divorce. For example, he wrote a special segment that dealt with the assassination of Robert F. Kennedy that aired on June 7, 1968, days after the assassination occurred. According to King, the process of putting each episode of ''Mister Rogers' Neighborhood'' together was "painstaking" and Rogers's contribution to the program was "astounding". Rogers wrote and edited all the episodes, played the piano and sang for most of the songs, wrote 200 songs and 13 operas, created all the characters (both puppet and human), played most of the major puppet roles, hosted every episode, and produced and approved every detail of the program. The puppets created for the Neighborhood of Make-Believe "included an extraordinary variety of personalities". They were simple puppets but "complex, complicated, and utterly honest beings". In 1971, Rogers formed Family Communications, Inc. (FCI, now
The Fred Rogers Company Fred Rogers Productions is an American non-profit organization specializing in children's programming for public television in the United States. The organization was started by Fred Rogers and was initially renamed in his honor to The Fred Roger ...
), to produce the ''Neighborhood'', other programs, and non-broadcast materials. In 1975, Rogers stopped producing ''Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood'' to focus on adult programming. Reruns of the ''Neighborhood'' continued to air on PBS. King reports that the decision caught many of his coworkers and supporters "off guard". Rogers continued to confer with McFarland about child development and early childhood education, however. In 1979, after an almost five-year hiatus, Rogers returned to producing the ''Neighborhood''; King calls the new version "stronger and more sophisticated than ever". King writes that by the program's second run in the 1980s, it was "such a cultural touchstone that it had inspired numerous parodies", most notably
Eddie Murphy Edward Regan Murphy (born April 3, 1961) is an American actor, comedian, writer, producer, and singer. He rose to fame on the sketch comedy show ''Saturday Night Live'', for which he was a regular cast member from 1980 to 1984. Murphy has als ...
's parody on ''
Saturday Night Live ''Saturday Night Live'' (often abbreviated to ''SNL'') is an American late-night live television sketch comedy and variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC and Peacock. Michaels currently serves ...
'' in the early 1980s. Rogers retired from producing the ''Neighborhood'' in 2001 at age 73, although reruns continued to air. He and FCI had been making about two or three weeks of new programs per year for many years, "filling the rest of his time slots from a library of about 300 shows made since 1979". The final original episode of ''Mister Rogers' Neighborhood'' aired on August 31, 2001.


Other work and appearances

In 1969, Rogers testified before the U.S. Senate Subcommittee on Communications, which was chaired by Democratic Senator John Pastore of Rhode Island. U.S. President
Lyndon Johnson Lyndon Baines Johnson (; August 27, 1908January 22, 1973), often referred to by his initials LBJ, was an American politician who served as the 36th president of the United States from 1963 to 1969. He had previously served as the 37th vice ...
had proposed a $20 million bill for the creation of PBS before he left office, but his successor,
Richard Nixon Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as a representative and senator from California and was ...
, wanted to cut the funding to $10 million. Even though Rogers was not yet nationally known, he was chosen to testify because of his ability to make persuasive arguments and to connect emotionally with his audience. The clip of Rogers's testimony, which was televised and has since been viewed by millions of people on the internet, helped to secure funding for PBS for many years afterwards. According to King, Rogers's testimony was "considered one of the most powerful pieces of testimony ever offered before Congress, and one of the most powerful pieces of video presentation ever filmed".King, p. 172. It brought Pastore to tears and also, according to King, has been studied by public relations experts and academics. Congressional funding for PBS increased from $9 million to $22 million. In 1970, Nixon appointed Rogers as chair of the
White House Conference on Children and Youth The White House Conference on Children and Youth was a series of meetings hosted over 60 years by the President of the United States of America, and the first White House conference ever held. Under the leadership of Presidents Theodore Roosevelt, ...
. In 1978, while on hiatus from ''Mister Rogers' Neighborhood'', Rogers wrote, produced, and hosted a 30-minute interview program for adults on PBS called ''Old Friends... New Friends.'' It lasted 20 episodes. Rogers's guests included
Hoagy Carmichael Hoagland Howard Carmichael (November 22, 1899 – December 27, 1981) was an American musician, composer, songwriter, actor and lawyer. Carmichael was one of the most successful Tin Pan Alley songwriters of the 1930s, and was among the first ...
,
Helen Hayes Helen Hayes MacArthur ( Brown; October 10, 1900 – March 17, 1993) was an American actress whose career spanned 80 years. She eventually received the nickname "First Lady of American Theatre" and was the second person and first woman to have w ...
,
Milton Berle Milton Berle (born Mendel Berlinger; ; July 12, 1908 – March 27, 2002) was an American actor and comedian. His career as an entertainer spanned over 80 years, first in silent films and on stage as a child actor, then in radio, movies and tel ...
,
Lorin Hollander Lorin Hollander (born July 19, 1944) is an American classical concert pianist. He has performed with virtually all of the major symphony orchestras in the United States and many around the world. A ''New York Times'' critic called him in 1964 "the ...
, poet
Robert Frost Robert Lee Frost (March26, 1874January29, 1963) was an American poet. His work was initially published in England before it was published in the United States. Known for his realistic depictions of rural life and his command of American collo ...
's daughter Lesley, and Willie Stargell. In September 1987, Rogers visited Moscow to appear as the first guest on the long-running Soviet children's TV show '' Good Night, Little Ones!'' with host Tatiana Vedeneyeva. The appearance was broadcast in the Soviet Union on December 7, coinciding with the Washington Summit meeting between Soviet leader
Mikhail Gorbachev Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev (2 March 1931 – 30 August 2022) was a Soviet politician who served as the 8th and final leader of the Soviet Union from 1985 to the country's dissolution in 1991. He served as General Secretary of the Com ...
and U.S. President
Ronald Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan ( ; February 6, 1911June 5, 2004) was an American politician, actor, and union leader who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He also served as the 33rd governor of California from 1967 ...
in Washington D.C. Vedeneyeva visited the set of ''Mister Rogers' Neighborhood'' in November. Her visit was taped and later aired in March 1988 as part of Rogers's program. In 1994, Rogers wrote, produced, and hosted a special for PBS called ''Fred Rogers' Heroes'', which featured interviews and portraits of four people from across the country who were having a positive impact on children and education. The first time Rogers appeared on television as an actor, and not himself, was in a 1996 episode of '' Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman'', playing a preacher. Rogers gave "scores of interviews".King, p. 326. Though reluctant to appear on television talk shows, he would usually "charm the host with his quick wit and ability to ad-lib on a moment's notice". Rogers was "one of the country's most sought-after commencement speakers", making over 150 speeches. His friend and colleague David Newell reported that Rogers would "agonize over a speech", and King reported that Rogers was at his least guarded during his speeches, which were about children, television, education, his view of the world, how to make the world a better place, and his quest for self-knowledge. His tone was quiet and informal but "commanded attention". In many speeches, including the ones he made accepting a Lifetime Achievement Emmy in 1997, for his induction into the Television Hall of Fame in 1999, and his final commencement speech at
Dartmouth College Dartmouth College (; ) is a private research university in Hanover, New Hampshire. Established in 1769 by Eleazar Wheelock, it is one of the nine colonial colleges chartered before the American Revolution. Although founded to educate Native ...
in 2002, he instructed his audiences to remain silent and think for a moment about someone who had a good influence on them.


Personal life

Rogers met Sara Joanne Byrd (called "Joanne") from
Jacksonville, Florida Jacksonville is a city located on the Atlantic coast of northeast Florida, the most populous city proper in the state and is the largest city by area in the contiguous United States as of 2020. It is the seat of Duval County, with which th ...
, while attending Rollins College. They were married from 1952 until his death in 2003. They had two sons, James and John. Joanne Rogers (fr) was "an accomplished pianist", who like Fred earned a Bachelor of Music from Rollins, and went on to earn a Master of Music from
Florida State University Florida State University (FSU) is a public university, public research university in Tallahassee, Florida. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida. Founded in 1851, it is located on the oldest continuous site of higher e ...
. She performed publicly with her college classmate, Jeannine Morrison, from 1976 to 2008. According to biographer Maxwell King, Rogers's close associates said he was "absolutely faithful to his marriage vows". Rogers was red-green
color-blind Color blindness or color vision deficiency (CVD) is the decreased ability to see color or differences in color. It can impair tasks such as selecting ripe fruit, choosing clothing, and reading traffic lights. Color blindness may make some aca ...
. He became a
pescatarian Pescetarianism (; sometimes spelled pescatarianism) is the practice of incorporating seafood into an otherwise vegetarian diet. Pescetarians may or may not consume other animal products such as eggs and dairy products. Approximately 3% of adults ...
in 1970, after the death of his father, and a
vegetarian Vegetarianism is the practice of abstaining from the consumption of meat (red meat, poultry, seafood, insects, and the flesh of any other animal). It may also include abstaining from eating all by-products of animal slaughter. Vegetariani ...
in the early 1980s, saying he "couldn't eat anything that had a mother".King (2018), p. 9. He became a co-owner of '' Vegetarian Times'' in the mid-1980s and said in one issue, "I love tofu burgers and beets". He told ''Vegetarian Times'' that he became a vegetarian for both ethical and health reasons. According to his biographer Maxwell King, Rogers also signed his name to a statement protesting wearing animal furs. Rogers was a registered Republican, but according to Joanne Rogers, he was "very independent in the way he voted", choosing not to talk about politics because he wanted to be impartial. Rogers was a
Presbyterian Presbyterianism is a part of the Reformed tradition within Protestantism that broke from the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland by John Knox, who was a priest at St. Giles Cathedral (Church of Scotland). Presbyterian churches derive their n ...
, and many of the messages he expressed in ''Mister Rogers' Neighborhood'' were inspired by the core tenets of
Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global popula ...
. Rogers rarely spoke about his faith on air; he believed that teaching through example was as powerful as preaching. He said, "You don't need to speak overtly about religion in order to get a message across". According to writer Shea Tuttle, Rogers considered his faith a fundamental part of his personality and "called the space between the viewer and the television set 'holy ground'". But despite his strong faith, Rogers struggled with anger, conflict, and self-doubt, especially at the end of his life. He also studied Catholic mysticism,
Judaism Judaism ( he, ''Yahăḏūṯ'') is an Abrahamic, monotheistic, and ethnic religion comprising the collective religious, cultural, and legal tradition and civilization of the Jewish people. It has its roots as an organized religion in th ...
,
Buddhism Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...
, and other faiths and cultures.King (2018), p. 313. King called him "that unique television star with a real spiritual life", emphasizing the values of patience, reflection, and "silence in a noisy world". King reported that despite Rogers's family's wealth, he cared little about making money, and lived frugally, especially as he and his wife grew older. King reported that Rogers's relationship with his young audience was important to him. For example, since hosting ''Misterogers'' in Canada, he answered every letter sent to him by hand. After ''Mister Rogers' Neighborhood'' began airing in the U.S., the letters increased in volume and he hired staff member and producer Hedda Sharapan to answer them, but he read, edited, and signed each one. King wrote that Rogers saw responding to his viewers' letters as "a pastoral duty of sorts". ''The New York Times'' called Rogers "a dedicated lap-swimmer", and Tom Junod, author of "Can You Say... Hero?", the 1998 ''
Esquire Esquire (, ; abbreviated Esq.) is usually a courtesy title. In the United Kingdom, ''esquire'' historically was a title of respect accorded to men of higher social rank, particularly members of the landed gentry above the rank of gentlema ...
'' profile of Rogers, said, "Nearly every morning of his life, Mister Rogers has gone swimming". Rogers began swimming when he was a child at his family's vacation home outside Latrobe, where they owned a pool, and during their winter trips to Florida. King wrote that swimming and playing the piano were "lifelong passions" and that "both gave him a chance to feel capable and in charge of his destiny", and that swimming became "an important part of the strong sense of self-discipline he cultivated". Rogers swam daily at the Pittsburgh Athletic Association, after waking every morning between 4:30 and 5:30 A.M. to pray and to "read the Bible and prepare himself for the day".King (2018), p. 317. He did not smoke or drink. According to Junod, he did nothing to change his weight from the he weighed for most of his adult life; by 1998, this also included napping daily, going to bed at 9:30 P.M., and sleeping eight hours per night without interruption. Junod said Rogers saw his weight "as a destiny fulfilled", telling Junod, "the number 143 means 'I love you.' It takes one letter to say 'I' and four letters to say 'love' and three letters to say 'you'".


Death and memorials

After Rogers' retirement in 2001, he remained busy working with FCI, studying religion and spirituality, making public appearances, traveling, and working on a children's media center named after him at
Saint Vincent College Saint Vincent College is a private Benedictine college in Latrobe, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1846 by Boniface Wimmer, a monk from Bavaria, it is operated by the Benedictine monks of Saint Vincent Archabbey, the first Benedictine monastery in the ...
in Latrobe with Archabbot Douglas Nowicki, chancellor of the college. By the summer of 2002, his chronic stomach pain became severe enough for him to see a doctor about it, and in October 2002, he was diagnosed with
stomach cancer Stomach cancer, also known as gastric cancer, is a cancer that develops from the lining of the stomach. Most cases of stomach cancers are gastric carcinomas, which can be divided into a number of subtypes, including gastric adenocarcinomas. Ly ...
. He delayed treatment until after he served as Grand Marshal of the 2003
Rose Parade The Rose Parade, also known as the Tournament of Roses Parade (or simply the Tournament of Roses), is an annual parade held mostly along Colorado Boulevard in Pasadena, California, United States, on New Year's Day (or on Monday, January 2 if N ...
, with
Art Linkletter Arthur Gordon Linkletter (born Gordon Arthur Kelly or Arthur Gordon Kelly; sources differ; July 17, 1912 – May 26, 2010) was a Canadian-born American radio and television personality. He was the host of ''House Party'', which ran on CBS radio a ...
and
Bill Cosby William Henry Cosby Jr. ( ; born July 12, 1937) is an American stand-up comedian, actor, and media personality. He made significant contributions to American and African-American culture, and is well known in the United States for his eccentric ...
, in January. On January 6, Rogers underwent stomach surgery. He died less than two months later, on February 27, 2003, at his home in Pittsburgh, with his wife of 50 years, Joanne, at his side. While comatose shortly before his death, he received the last rites of the Catholic Church from Archabbot Nowicki. The following day, the ''
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette The ''Pittsburgh Post-Gazette'', also known simply as the PG, is the largest newspaper serving metropolitan Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Descended from the ''Pittsburgh Gazette'', established in 1786 as the first newspaper published west of the Alle ...
'' covered Rogers' death on the front page and dedicated an entire section to his death and impact. The newspaper also reported that by noon, the internet "was already full of appreciative pieces" by parents, viewers, producers, and writers. Rogers' death was widely lamented. Most U.S. metropolitan newspapers ran his obituary on their front page, and some dedicated entire sections to coverage of his death. WQED aired programs about Rogers the evening he died; the ''Post-Gazette'' reported that the ratings for their coverage were three times higher than their normal ratings. That same evening, ''
Nightline ''Nightline'' (or ''ABC News Nightline'') is ABC News' late-night television news program broadcast on ABC in the United States with a franchised formula to other networks and stations elsewhere in the world. Created by Roone Arledge, the prog ...
'' on ABC broadcast a rerun of a recent interview with Rogers; the program got the highest ratings of the day, beating the February average ratings of ''
Late Show with David Letterman The ''Late Show with David Letterman'' is an American late-night talk show hosted by David Letterman on CBS, the first iteration of the ''Late Show'' franchise. The show debuted on August 30, 1993, and was produced by Letterman's production ...
'' and ''
The Tonight Show with Jay Leno ''The Tonight Show with Jay Leno'' is an American late-night talk show hosted by Jay Leno that first aired from May 25, 1992, to May 29, 2009. It resumed production on March 1, 2010 and ended on February 6, 2014. The fourth incarnation of the ...
''. On March 4, the U.S. House of Representatives unanimously passed a resolution honoring Rogers sponsored by Representative
Mike Doyle Michael, Mick or Mike Doyle may refer to: Politics * Michael Doyle (Irish politician), Irish Farmers' Party politician from Wexford, TD from 1922 to 1927 *Michael Doyle, alleged member of the Molly Maguires * Mike Doyle (American politician) (born ...
from Pennsylvania. On March 1, 2003, a private funeral was held for Rogers in Unity Chapel, which was restored by Rogers' father, at Unity Cemetery in Latrobe. About 80 relatives, co-workers, and close friends attended the service, which "was planned in great secrecy so that those closest to him could grieve in private". Reverend John McCall, pastor of the Rogers family's church, Sixth Presbyterian Church in Squirrel Hill, gave the homily, and Reverend William Barker, a retired Presbyterian minister who was a "close friend of Mr. Rogers and the voice of Mr. Platypus on his show", read Rogers' favorite Bible passages. Rogers was interred at Unity Cemetery in
Latrobe, Pennsylvania Latrobe is a city in Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania, in the United States and part of the Pittsburgh metropolitan area. The city population was 8,338 as of the 2010 census (9,265 in 1990). It is located near Pennsylvania's scenic Chestnut Ri ...
, in a mausoleum owned by his mother's family. On May 3, 2003, a public memorial was held at Heinz Hall in Pittsburgh. According to the ''Post-Gazette'', 2,700 people attended. Violinist
Itzhak Perlman Itzhak Perlman ( he, יצחק פרלמן; born August 31, 1945) is an Israeli-American violinist widely considered one of the greatest violinists in the world. Perlman has performed worldwide and throughout the United States, in venues that hav ...
, cellist
Yo-Yo Ma Yo-Yo Ma ('' Chinese'': 馬友友 ''Ma Yo Yo''; born October 7, 1955) is an American cellist. Born in Paris to Chinese parents and educated in New York City, he was a child prodigy, performing from the age of four and a half. He graduated from ...
(via video), and organist Alan Morrison performed in honor of Rogers. Barker officiated the service; also in attendance were Pittsburgh philanthropist Elsie Hillman, former ''
Good Morning America ''Good Morning America'' (often abbreviated as ''GMA'') is an American morning television program that is broadcast on ABC. It debuted on November 3, 1975, and first expanded to weekends with the debut of a Sunday edition on January 3, 1993. ...
'' host David Hartman, '' The Very Hungry Caterpillar'' author Eric Carle, and '' Arthur'' creator Marc Brown. Businesswoman and philanthropist
Teresa Heinz Teresa Heinz (born Maria Teresa Thierstein Simões-Ferreira; October 5, 1938), also known as Teresa Heinz Kerry, is a Portuguese-American businesswoman and philanthropist. Heinz is the widow of former U.S. Senator John Heinz and the wife of for ...
, PBS President Pat Mitchell, and executive director of The Pittsburgh Project Saleem Ghubril gave remarks.
Jeff Erlanger Jeffrey Clay Erlanger (November 30, 1970 – June 10, 2007) was an American advocate and activist for disability rights. He is known for appearing on ''Mister Rogers' Neighborhood'' when he was 10 years old, talking about his electric wheel ...
, who at age 10 appeared on ''Mister Rogers' Neighborhood'' in 1981 to explain his electric wheelchair, also spoke. The memorial was broadcast several times on Pittsburgh television stations and websites throughout the day.


Legacy

Marc Brown, creator of another PBS children's show, '' Arthur'', considered Rogers both a friend and "a terrific role model for how to use television and the media to be helpful to kids and families".
Josh Selig Joshua Selig (born May 12, 1964) is an American television producer and director. He won ten Daytime Emmy Awards for his work as a writer on ''Sesame Street''. After leaving ''Sesame Street'', Selig partnered with Lori Shaer to create a studio ...
, creator of ''
Wonder Pets ''Wonder Pets!'' is an American educational animated children's television series created by Josh Selig for Nickelodeon. The series follows a trio of classroom pets—Linny the Guinea Pig, Turtle Tuck and Ming-Ming Duckling—who use teamwork to ...
'', credits Rogers with influencing his use of structure and predictability, and his use of music, opera, and originality. Rogers inspired
Angela Santomero Angela Candace Santomero, also known as Angela Santomero (born April 26, 1968), is an American television executive producer and co-creator of the long-running Nickelodeon children's television programs ''Blue's Clues'', its spin-off ''Blue's Room ...
, co-creator of the children's television show ''
Blue's Clues ''Blue's Clues'' is an American live-action/animated children's television series, created by Angela C. Santomero, Todd Kessler, and Traci Paige Johnson, that premiered on Nickelodeon as part of its Nick Jr. block on September 8, 1996, and ...
'', to earn a degree in developmental psychology and go into educational television. She and the other producers of ''Blue's Clues'' used many of Rogers's techniques, such as using child developmental and educational research, and having the host speak directly to the camera and transition to a make-believe world. In 2006, three years after Rogers's death and the end of production of ''Blue's Clues'', the Fred Rogers Company contacted Santomero to create a show that would promote Rogers's legacy. In 2012, '' Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood'', with characters from and based upon ''Mister Rogers' Neighborhood'', premiered on PBS. Rogers's style and approach to children's television and early childhood education also "begged to be parodied". Comedian
Eddie Murphy Edward Regan Murphy (born April 3, 1961) is an American actor, comedian, writer, producer, and singer. He rose to fame on the sketch comedy show ''Saturday Night Live'', for which he was a regular cast member from 1980 to 1984. Murphy has als ...
parodied ''Mister Rogers' Neighborhood'' on ''
Saturday Night Live ''Saturday Night Live'' (often abbreviated to ''SNL'') is an American late-night live television sketch comedy and variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC and Peacock. Michaels currently serves ...
'' during the 1980s. Rogers told interviewer
David Letterman David Michael Letterman (born April 12, 1947) is an American television host, comedian, writer and producer. He hosted late night television talk shows for 33 years, beginning with the February 1, 1982 debut of ''Late Night with David Letterman' ...
in 1982 that he believed parodies like Murphy's were done "with kindness in their hearts". Video of Rogers's 1969 testimony in defense of public programming has experienced a resurgence since 2012, going viral at least twice. It first resurfaced after then presidential candidate
Mitt Romney Willard Mitt Romney (born March 12, 1947) is an American politician, businessman, and lawyer serving as the junior United States senator from Utah since January 2019, succeeding Orrin Hatch. He served as the 70th governor of Massachusetts ...
suggested cutting funding for PBS. In 2017, video of the testimony again went viral after President
Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of P ...
proposed defunding several arts-related government programs including PBS and the
National Endowment for the Arts The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) is an independent agency of the United States federal government that offers support and funding for projects exhibiting artistic excellence. It was created in 1965 as an independent agency of the federal ...
. A roadside Pennsylvania Historical Marker dedicated to Rogers to be installed in Latrobe was approved by the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission on March 4, 2014. It was installed on June 11, 2016, with the title "Fred McFeely Rogers (1928–2003)". In 2018, '' Won't You Be My Neighbor?'', director Morgan Neville's documentary about Rogers's life, grossed over $22 million and became the top-grossing biographical documentary ever produced, the highest-grossing documentary in five years, and the 12th largest-grossing documentary ever produced. The 2019 drama film ''
A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood ''A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood'' is a 2019 American biographical drama film directed by Marielle Heller and written by Micah Fitzerman-Blue and Noah Harpster, inspired by the 1998 article "Can You Say... Hero?" by Tom Junod, published in ...
'' tells the story of Rogers and his television series, with
Tom Hanks Thomas Jeffrey Hanks (born July 9, 1956) is an American actor and filmmaker. Known for both his comedic and dramatic roles, he is one of the most popular and recognizable film stars worldwide, and is regarded as an American cultural icon. Ha ...
portraying Rogers. According to Caitlin Gibson of ''The Washington Post'', Rogers became a source for parenting advice; she called him "a timeless oracle against a backdrop of ever-shifting parenting philosophies and cultural trends". Robert Thompson of
Syracuse University Syracuse University (informally 'Cuse or SU) is a Private university, private research university in Syracuse, New York. Established in 1870 with roots in the Methodist Episcopal Church, the university has been nonsectarian since 1920. Locate ...
noted that Rogers "took American childhood—and I think Americans in general—through some very turbulent and trying times", from the
Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...
and the assassination of Robert Kennedy in 1968 to the 9/11 attacks in 2001. According to Asia Simone Burns of
National Public Radio National Public Radio (NPR, stylized in all lowercase) is an American privately and state funded nonprofit media organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It differs from other n ...
, in the years following the end of production on ''Mister Rogers' Neighborhood'' in 2001, and his death in 2003, Rogers became "a source of comfort, sometimes in the wake of tragedy". Burns has said Rogers's words of comfort "began circulating on social media" following tragedies such as the
Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting The Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting occurred on December 14, 2012, in Newtown, Connecticut, United States, when 20-year-old Adam Lanza shot and killed 26 people. Twenty of the victims were children between six and seven years old, and t ...
in 2012, the Manchester Arena bombing in Manchester, England, in 2017, and the
Stoneman Douglas High School shooting On February 14, 2018, 19-year-old Nikolas Cruz opened fire on students and staff at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in the Miami suburban town of Parkland, Florida, murdering 17 people and injuring 17 others. Cruz, a former student at ...
in Parkland, Florida, in 2018.


Awards and honors


Museum exhibits

*
Smithsonian Institution The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums and education and research centers, the largest such complex in the world, created by the U.S. government "for the increase and diffusion of knowledge". Found ...
permanent collection. In 1984, Rogers donated one of his sweaters to the Smithsonian. *
Children's Museum of Pittsburgh The Children's Museum of Pittsburgh is a hands-on interactive children's museum in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It is in the Allegheny Center neighborhood in Pittsburgh's Northside. History The Children's Museum of Pittsburgh was founded in 1983 ...
. Exhibit created by Rogers and FCI in 1998. It attracted hundreds of thousand of visitors over 10 years, and included, from ''Mister Rogers' Neighborhood'', one of his sweaters, a pair of his sneakers, original puppets from the program, and photographs of Rogers. The exhibit traveled to children's museums throughout the country for eight years until it was given to the Louisiana Children's Museum in New Orleans as a permanent exhibit, to help them recover from
Hurricane Katrina Hurricane Katrina was a destructive Category 5 Atlantic hurricane that caused over 1,800 fatalities and $125 billion in damage in late August 2005, especially in the city of New Orleans and the surrounding areas. It was at the time the cost ...
in 2005. In 2007, the Children's Museum of Pittsburgh created a traveling exhibit based on the factory tours featured in episodes of ''Mister Rogers' Neighborhood''. * Heinz History Center permanent collection (2018). In honor of the 50th anniversary of ''Mister Rogers' Neighborhood'' and what would have been Rogers's 90th birthday. Exibits include the iconic
King Friday The Neighborhood of Make-Believe is the fictional kingdom inhabited by hand puppet characters on the children's television series ''Mister Rogers' Neighborhood'', which originally aired on PBS (and its predecessor NET) from 1968 to 2001, and its ...
's blue castle, the Owl's tree and a tricycle ridden by courier Mr. McFeely. * Louisiana Children's Museum. The museum contains an exhibit of ''Mister Rogers' Neighborhood'', which debuted in 2007. The exhibit was donated by the Children's Museum of Pittsburgh. * Fred Rogers Exhibit. The Exhibit displays the life, career and legacy of Rogers and includes photos, artifacts from ''Mister Rogers' Neighborhood'' and clips of the program and interviews featuring Rogers. It is located at the Fred Rogers Center.


Art pieces

There are several pieces of art dedicated to Rogers throughout Pittsburgh, including a 7,000-pound, 11-foot high bronze statue of him in the North Shore neighborhood. In the
Oakland Oakland is the largest city and the county seat of Alameda County, California, United States. A major West Coast port, Oakland is the largest city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, the third largest city overall in the Bay ...
neighborhood, his portrait is included in the Martin Luther King Jr. and "Interpretations of Oakland" murals. A statue of a dinosaur titled "Fredasaurus Rex Friday XIII" originally stood in front of the WQED building and as of 2014 stands in front of the building that contains the Fred Rogers Company offices. There is a "Mister Rogers' Neighborhood of Make-Believe" in
Idlewild Park Idlewild and Soak Zone, commonly known as Idlewild Park or simply Idlewild, is a children's amusement park in the Laurel Highlands near Ligonier, Pennsylvania, United States, about east of Pittsburgh, along US Route 30. Founded in 1878 as a ...
and a kiosk of ''Mister Rogers' Neighborhood'' artifacts at
Pittsburgh International Airport Pittsburgh International Airport , formerly Greater Pittsburgh International Airport, is a civil–military international airport in Findlay Township and Moon Township, Pennsylvania. Located about 10 miles (15 km) west of downtown Pitts ...
. The Carnegie Science Center's Miniature Railroad and Village debuted a miniature recreation of Rogers's house from ''Mister Rogers' Neighborhood'' in 2005.


Honorary degrees

Rogers has received honorary degrees from over 43 colleges and universities. After 1973, two commemorative quilts, created by two of Rogers's friends and archived at the Fred Rogers Center at St. Vincent College in Latrobe, were made out of the academic hoods he received during the graduation ceremonies. ''Note: Much of the below list is taken from "Honorary Degrees Awarded to Fred Rogers", unless otherwise stated.'' *
Thiel College Thiel College (, ) is a private college in Greenville, Pennsylvania. It is affiliated with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and is one of the smallest colleges or universities in the region with about 100 full-time and part time facult ...
, 1969. Thiel also awards a yearly scholarship named for Rogers. *
Eastern Michigan University Eastern Michigan University (EMU, Eastern Michigan or simply Eastern), is a public research university in Ypsilanti, Michigan. Founded in 1849 as Michigan State Normal School, the school was the fourth normal school established in the United Sta ...
, 1973 *
Saint Vincent College Saint Vincent College is a private Benedictine college in Latrobe, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1846 by Boniface Wimmer, a monk from Bavaria, it is operated by the Benedictine monks of Saint Vincent Archabbey, the first Benedictine monastery in the ...
, 1973 *
Christian Theological Seminary Christian Theological Seminary is an ecumenical seminary related to the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) and located in Indianapolis, Indiana. It provides five degree-level education courses, three dual-degree programs, a Doctor of Min ...
, 1973 *
Rollins College Rollins College is a private college in Winter Park, Florida. It was founded in November 1885 and has about 30 undergraduate majors and several graduate programs. It is Florida's fourth oldest post-secondary institution. History Rollins Colle ...
, 1974 *
Yale University Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the w ...
, 1974 *
Chatham College Chatham University is a private university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Originally founded as a women's college, it began enrolling men in undergraduate programs in 2015. It enrolls about 2,110 students, including 1,002 undergraduate students ...
, 1975 *
Carnegie Mellon University Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) is a private research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. One of its predecessors was established in 1900 by Andrew Carnegie as the Carnegie Technical Schools; it became the Carnegie Institute of Technology ...
, 1976 *
Lafayette College Lafayette College is a private liberal arts college in Easton, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1826 by James Madison Porter and other citizens in Easton, the college first held classes in 1832. The founders voted to name the college after General Laf ...
, 1977 * Waynesburg College, 1978 *
Linfield College Linfield University is a private university with campuses in McMinnville, and Portland, Oregon. Linfield Wildcats athletics participates in the NCAA Division III Northwest Conference. Linfield reported a combined 1,755 students after the fal ...
, 1982 *
Slippery Rock State College Slippery Rock University, formally Slippery Rock University of Pennsylvania (The Rock or SRU), is a public university in Slippery Rock, Pennsylvania. SRU is a member of the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education (PASSHE). The university ...
, 1982 *
Duquesne University Duquesne University of the Holy Spirit ( or ; Duquesne University or Duquesne) is a private Catholic research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Founded by members of the Congregation of the Holy Spirit , image = Holy Gh ...
, 1982 *
Washington & Jefferson College Washington & Jefferson College (W&J College or W&J) is a private liberal arts college in Washington, Pennsylvania. The college traces its origin to three log cabin colleges in Washington County established by three Presbyterian missionaries t ...
, 1984 * University of South Carolina, 1985 *
Hobart and William Smith Colleges Hobart and William Smith Colleges are Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts colleges in Geneva, New York. They trace their origins to Geneva Academy established in 1797. Students can choose from 45 maj ...
, 1985 * Drury College, 1986 * MacMurray College, 1986 *
Bowling Green State University Bowling Green State University (BGSU) is a public research university in Bowling Green, Ohio. The main academic and residential campus is south of Toledo, Ohio. The university has nationally recognized programs and research facilities in the ...
, 1987 *
Westminster College (Pennsylvania) Westminster College is a private liberal arts college in New Wilmington, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1852, it is affiliated with the Presbyterian Church (USA). The student population is approximately 1,307 undergraduate and graduate students. Hist ...
, 1987 *
University of Indianapolis The University of Indianapolis (UIndy) is a private United Methodist Church-affiliated university in Indianapolis, Indiana. It offers Associate, Bachelor's, Master's, and Doctoral degrees. It was founded in 1902 as Indiana Central University and ...
, 1988 *
University of Connecticut The University of Connecticut (UConn) is a public land-grant research university in Storrs, Connecticut, a village in the town of Mansfield. The primary 4,400-acre (17.8 km2) campus is in Storrs, approximately a half hour's drive from H ...
, 1991 *
Boston University Boston University (BU) is a private research university in Boston, Massachusetts. The university is nonsectarian, but has a historical affiliation with the United Methodist Church. It was founded in 1839 by Methodists with its original cam ...
, 1992 *
Indiana University of Pennsylvania Indiana University of Pennsylvania (IUP) is a public research university in Indiana County, Pennsylvania. As of fall 2021, the university enrolled 7,044 undergraduates and 1,865 postgraduates, for a total enrollment of 9,009 students. The uni ...
, 1992 *
Moravian College Moravian University is a private university in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. The institution traces its founding to 1742 by Moravians, descendants of followers of the Bohemian Reformation under John Amos Comenius. Founded in 1742, Moravian University ...
, 1992 *
Goucher College Goucher College ( ') is a private liberal arts college in Towson, Maryland. It was chartered in 1885 by a conference in Baltimore led by namesake John F. Goucher and local leaders of the Methodist Episcopal Church.https://archive.org/details/h ...
, 1993 *
University of Pittsburgh The University of Pittsburgh (Pitt) is a public state-related research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The university is composed of 17 undergraduate and graduate schools and colleges at its urban Pittsburgh campus, home to the univers ...
, 1993 *
West Virginia University West Virginia University (WVU) is a public land-grant research university with its main campus in Morgantown, West Virginia. Its other campuses are those of the West Virginia University Institute of Technology in Beckley, Potomac State Coll ...
, 1995 *
North Carolina State University North Carolina State University (NC State) is a public land-grant research university in Raleigh, North Carolina. Founded in 1887 and part of the University of North Carolina system, it is the largest university in the Carolinas. The univers ...
, 1996 *
Edinboro University of Pennsylvania PennWest Edinboro is a campus of Pennsylvania Western University, a multi-campus public university in Pennsylvania. Located in the town of Edinboro, the campus has more than 4,600 enrolled students. History Edinboro University was founded a ...
, 1998 *
Marist College Marist College is a private university in Poughkeepsie, New York. Founded in 1905, Marist was formed by the Marist Brothers, a Catholic religious institute, to prepare brothers for their vocations as educators. In 2003, it became a secular in ...
, 1999 * Westminster Choir College, 1999 *
Old Dominion University Old Dominion University (Old Dominion or ODU) is a public research university in Norfolk, Virginia. It was established in 1930 as the Norfolk Division of the College of William & Mary and is now one of the largest universities in Virginia w ...
, 2000 *
Marquette University Marquette University () is a private Jesuit research university in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Established by the Society of Jesus as Marquette College on August 28, 1881, it was founded by John Martin Henni, the first Bishop of the diocese of ...
, 2001 *
Middlebury College Middlebury College is a private liberal arts college in Middlebury, Vermont. Founded in 1800 by Congregationalists, Middlebury was the first operating college or university in Vermont. The college currently enrolls 2,858 undergraduates from all 5 ...
, 2001 *
Dartmouth College Dartmouth College (; ) is a private research university in Hanover, New Hampshire. Established in 1769 by Eleazar Wheelock, it is one of the nine colonial colleges chartered before the American Revolution. Although founded to educate Native ...
, 2002 * Seton Hill University, 2003 (posthumous) *
Union College Union College is a private liberal arts college in Schenectady, New York. Founded in 1795, it was the first institution of higher learning chartered by the New York State Board of Regents, and second in the state of New York, after Columbia Co ...
, 2003 (posthumous) *
Roanoke College Roanoke College is a private liberal arts college in Salem, Virginia. It has approximately 2,000 students who represent approximately 40 states and 30 countries. The college offers 35 majors, 57 minors and concentrations, and pre-professional pr ...
, 2003 (posthumous)


Filmography


Television


Published works


Children's books

* ''Our Small World'' (with Josie Carey, illustrated by Norb Nathanson), 1954, Reed and Witting, * ''The Elves, the Shoemaker, & the Shoemaker's Wife'' (illustrated by Richard Hefter), 1973, Small World Enterprises, * ''The Matter of the Mittens'', 1973, Small World Enterprises, * ''Speedy Delivery'' (illustrated by Richard Hefter), 1973, Hubbard, * ''Henrietta Meets Someone New'' (illustrated by Jason Art Studios), 1974, Golden Press, * ''Mister Rogers Talks About'', 1974, Platt & Munk, * ''Time to Be Friends'', 1974, Hallmark Cards, * ''Everyone is Special'' (illustrated by Jason Art Studios), 1975,
Western Publishing Western Publishing, also known as Western Printing and Lithographing Company, was a Racine, Wisconsin, firm responsible for publishing the Little Golden Books. Its Golden Books Family Entertainment division also produced children's books and ...
, * ''Tell Me, Mister Rogers'', 1975, Platt & Munk, * ''The Costume Party'' (illustrated by Jason Art Studios), 1976, Golden Press, * ''Planet Purple'' (illustrated by Dennis Hockerman), 1986,
Texas Instruments Texas Instruments Incorporated (TI) is an American technology company headquartered in Dallas, Texas, that designs and manufactures semiconductors and various integrated circuits, which it sells to electronics designers and manufacturers globa ...
, * ''If We Were All the Same'' (illustrated by Pat Sustendal), 1987,
Random House Random House is an American book publisher and the largest general-interest paperback publisher in the world. The company has several independently managed subsidiaries around the world. It is part of Penguin Random House, which is owned by Germ ...
, * ''A Trolley Visit to Make-Believe'' (illustrated by Pat Sustendal), 1987, Random House, * ''Wishes Don't Make Things Come True'' (illustrated Pat Sustendal), 1987, Random House, * ''No One Can Ever Take Your Place'' (illustrated by Pat Sustendal), 1988, Random House, * ''When Monsters Seem Real'' (illustrated by Pat Sustendal), 1988, Random House, * ''You Can Never Go Down the Drain'' (illustrated by Pat Sustendal), 1988, Random House, * ''The Giving Box'' (illustrated by Jennifer Herbert), 2000, Running Press, * ''Good Weather or Not'' (with Hedda Bluestone Sharapan, illustrated by James Mellet), 2005, Family Communications, * ''Josephine the Short Neck-Giraffe'', 2006, Family Communications, * ''A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood: The Poetry of Mister Rogers Neighborhood'' (illustrated by Luke Flowers), 2009, Quirk Books, ;First Experiences series illustrated by Jim Judkis: * ''Going to Day Care'', 1985, Putnam, * ''The New Baby'', 1985, Putnam, * ''Going to the Potty'', 1986, Putnam, * ''Going to the Doctor'', 1986, Putnam, * ''Making Friends'', 1987, Putnam, * ''Moving'', 1987, Putnam, * ''Going to the Hospital'', 1988, Putnam, * ''When a Pet Dies'', 1988, Putnam, * ''Going on an Airplane'', 1989, Putnam, * ''Going to the Dentist'', 1989, Putnam, ;Let's Talk About It series: * ''Going to the Hospital'', 1977, Family Communications, * ''Having an Operation'', 1977, Family Communications, * ''So Many Things To See!'', 1977, Family Communications, * ''Wearing a Cast'', 1977, Family Communications, * ''Adoption'', 1993, Putnam, * ''Divorce'', 1994, Putnam, * ''Extraordinary Friends'', 2000, Putnam, * ''Stepfamilies'', 2001, Putnam,


Songbooks

* ''Tomorrow on the Children's Corner'' (with Josie Carey, illustrated by Mal Wittman), 1960, Vernon Music Corporation, * ''Mister Rogers' Songbook'' (with Johnny Costa, illustrated by Steven Kellogg), 1970, Random House,


Books for adults

* ''Mister Rogers Talks to Parents'', 1983, Family Communications, * ''Mister Rogers' Playbook'' (with Barry Head, illustrated by Jamie Adams), 1986,
Berkley Books Berkley Books is an imprint of the Penguin Group. History Berkley Books began as an independent company in 1955. It was founded as "Chic News Company" by Charles Byrne and Frederick Klein, who had worked for Avon; they quickly renamed it Berkl ...
, * ''Mister Rogers Talks with Families About Divorce'' (with Clare O'Brien), 1987, Berkley Books, * ''Mister Rogers' How Families Grow'' (with Barry Head and Jim Prokell), 1988, Berkley Books, * ''You Are Special: Words of Wisdom from America's Most Beloved Neighbor'', 1994,
Penguin Books Penguin Books is a British publishing, publishing house. It was co-founded in 1935 by Allen Lane with his brothers Richard and John, as a line of the publishers The Bodley Head, only becoming a separate company the following year.Running Press Running Press is an American publishing company and member of the Perseus Books Group. The publisher's offices are located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, with many of the corporate functions taking place in Perseus' New York City headquarters. It ...
, * ''The Mister Rogers Parenting Book'', 2002, Running Press, * ''You are special: Neighborly Wisdom from Mister Rogers'', 2002, Running Press, * ''The World According to Mister Rogers'', 2003, Hyperion Books, * ''Life's Journeys According to Mister Rogers'', 2005, Hyperion Books, * ''The Mister Rogers Parenting Resource Book'', 2005, Courage Books, * ''Many Ways to Say I Love You: Wisdom For Parents And Children'', 2019,
Hachette Books Hachette Books, formerly Hyperion Books, is a general-interest book imprint of the Perseus Books Group, which is a division of Hachette Book Group and ultimately a part of Lagardère Group. Established in 1990, Hachette publishes general-inte ...
,


Discography

* ''Around the Children's Corner'' (with Josey Carey), 1958, Vernon Music Corporation, * ''Tomorrow on the Children's Corner'' (with Josie Carey), 1959 * ''King Friday XIII Celebrates'', 1964 * ''Won't You Be My Neighbor?'', 1967 * ''Let's Be Together Today'', 1968 * ''Josephine the Short-Neck Giraffe'', 1969 * ''You Are Special'', 1969 * ''A Place of Our Own'', 1970 * ''Come On and Wake Up'', 1972 * ''Growing'', 1992 * ''Bedtime'', 1992 * ''Won't You Be My Neighbor?'' (cassette and book), 1994,
Hal Leonard HAL may refer to: Aviation * Halali Airport (IATA airport code: HAL) Halali, Oshikoto, Namibia * Hawaiian Airlines (ICAO airline code: HAL) * HAL Airport, Bangalore, India * Hindustan Aeronautics Limited an Indian aerospace manufacturer of fi ...
, * ''Coming and Going'', 1997 * ''It's Such A Good Feeling: The Best Of Mister Rogers'', 2019, Omnivore Recordings, posthumous release


See also

* '' Won't You Be My Neighbor?'', 2018 documentary * '' Mister Rogers: It's You I Like'', 2018 documentary * ''
A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood ''A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood'' is a 2019 American biographical drama film directed by Marielle Heller and written by Micah Fitzerman-Blue and Noah Harpster, inspired by the 1998 article "Can You Say... Hero?" by Tom Junod, published in ...
'', 2019 biographical drama film * List of vegetarians


Notes


References


Works cited

* Gross, Terry (1984)
"Terry Gross and Fred Rogers".
''Fresh Air''. NPR. * King, Maxwell (2018)
''The Good Neighbor: The Life and Work of Fred Rogers''.
Abrams Press. . * Tiech, John (2012). ''Pittsburgh Film History: On Set in the Steel City''. Charleston, North Carolina: The History Press. .


External links

* *
PBS Kids: Official Site

The Fred M. Rogers Center

The Fred Rogers Company
(formerly known as Family Communications) * * 1984 interview with Fred Rogers.
The Music of Mister Rogers—Pittsburgh Music History
*
Fred Rogers at Voice Chasers
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Rogers, Fred 1928 births 2003 deaths 20th-century American composers 20th-century American male actors 20th-century American male writers 20th-century American singers 20th-century Presbyterians 21st-century Presbyterians American children's television presenters American male composers American male singers American male songwriters American male television actors American male voice actors American philanthropists American Presbyterian ministers American Presbyterians American puppeteers American television hosts Burials in Pennsylvania Christianity in Pittsburgh Columbia Records artists Culture of Pittsburgh Dartmouth College alumni Daytime Emmy Award winners Deaths from cancer in Pennsylvania Deaths from stomach cancer Male actors from Pittsburgh Omnivore Recordings artists PBS people Peabody Award winners Pennsylvania Republicans People from Latrobe, Pennsylvania Pittsburgh Theological Seminary alumni Presbyterians from Pennsylvania Presidential Medal of Freedom recipients Rollins College alumni Singers from Pennsylvania Songwriters from Pennsylvania Television personalities from Pittsburgh Television producers from Pennsylvania United Presbyterian Church in the United States of America ministers Vegetarianism activists Writers from Pittsburgh Articles containing video clips