David Alexander Newell (born November 24, 1938) is an American

television actor An actor (masculine/gender-neutral), or actress (feminine), is a person who portrays a character in a production. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. ...

known primarily for his portrayal of Mr. McFeely, the delivery man on ''

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. It was created and hosted by Fred Rogers. Its original incarnation, the se ...

''. He also worked in the

public relations Public relations (PR) is the practice of managing and disseminating information from an individual or an organization (such as a business, government agency, or a nonprofit organization) to the public in order to influence their perception. Pu ...

department of

Fred Rogers Productions Fred Rogers Productions is an American non-profit organization specializing in children's programming for public television in the United States. Founded by Fred Rogers, it was initially renamed The Fred Rogers Company in his honor after his dea ...

. His character's most famous catchphrase was "Speedy Delivery!" He toured the country until he retired in 2015, promoting ''Mister Rogers' Neighborhood'' as Mr. McFeely.

Life

Newell was born in O'Hara Township,

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

, a suburb of

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, second-most populous city in Pennsylvania (after Philadelphia) and the List of Un ...

. A graduate of the

University of Pittsburgh The University of Pittsburgh (Pitt) is a Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. The university is composed of seventeen undergraduate and graduate schools and colle ...

, he was the director of public relations for Fred Rogers Productions. Newell still resides in O'Hara Township with his wife Nan. They have a daughter, Catherine; two sons, Taylor and Alexander; and four grandchildren.

Career

Newell began his acting career at a theatre school known as the Pittsburgh Playhouse. Through connections made there, he eventually met

Fred Rogers Fred McFeely Rogers (March 20, 1928 – February 27, 2003), better known as Mister Rogers, was an American television host, author, producer, and Presbyterian minister. He was the creator, showrunner, and host of the preschool television s ...

. Newell was originally hired onto the show as a public relations manager, but Rogers also cast him in the role of Mr. McFeely. (McFeely was Rogers' middle name, taken from his mother's maiden name.) As a result, he and Rogers became lifelong friends until Rogers' death in 2003. A documentary feature about Newell entitled '' Speedy Delivery'', which chronicles his travels around the world as Mr. McFeely, debuted on public television in 2008. An animated version of Mr. McFeely is a recurring character on the new PBS series ''

Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood ''Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood'', also spelled ''Daniel Tiger's Neighbourhood'' in Commonwealth of Nations, Republic of Ireland, Ireland and Hong Kong, is an animated musical children's television series aimed at preschool children. It was creat ...

''. Canadian actor Derek McGrath performs the voice. In 2017, Newell appeared as a special guest on the live-action children's web series ''Danny Joe's Tree House''. Newell made a cameo in the Fred Rogers biopic ''

A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood ''A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood'' is a 2019 American biographical film, biographical drama (film and television), drama film on the TV presenter Fred Rogers, directed by Marielle Heller and written by Micah Fitzerman-Blue and Noah Harpster ...

''.

Quotes

"Working with Fred Rogers was like receiving a master’s degree in child development. Fred taught by example, and he was subtle—but suddenly you’d realize that, after working side by side with him, your knowledge base had expanded almost beyond description." "What I like about ''Danny Joe's Tree House'' is that children can interact with a live person. Danny is a big kid at heart and I think that is very helpful. In today's world where everything is virtual and robotic, here's a person giving original thoughts and ideas."

References

External links

*
A downloadable audio interview with Mr. McFeely actor and Family Communications Inc. Public Relations Director David Newell. From Wisconsin Public Television.
* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Newell, David 1938 births Living people American male television actors University of Pittsburgh alumni People from Allegheny County, Pennsylvania Male actors from Pennsylvania People from Fox Chapel, Pennsylvania