Fred Rogers
Fred McFeely Rogers (March 20, 1928 - February 27, 2003) was the host of the children's television show Mister Rogers' Neighborhood. Mister Rogers, a Presbyterian minister, lived and worked in the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania area.
Roberts' show won four Emmy awards, including one for lifetime achievement. He also recieved a George Foster Peabody award in 1983, "in recognition of 25 beautiful years in the neighborhood". In 2002, Fred Rogers received the Presidential Medal of Honor 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.
He was born in Latrobe, Pennsylvania, about 30 miles souteast of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
He studied early childhood development at the University of Pittsburgh.
In 1954, he began working at WQED Pittsburgh as a puppeteer on a local children's TV series, "The Children's Corner." For the next seven years, he work in unscripted live TV, and developed many of the puppets, characters and music used in his later work. Notably, "King Friday the XIII", and "Curious X the Owl."
In 1963 he was ordained as a Presbyterian minister, specifcally charged to continue his work with children's TV.
In 1963, Canadian Boadcasting Company contracted him to develop a 15 minutes children's show, "Mister Roger's Show."
In 1966 he moved the show back to WQED in Pittsburgh, incorporating parts of the show into a show he developed for the Eastern Educational Network to cities including Boston, Washington and New York.
Distribution of "Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood" began on National Educational Television on February 19, 1968. The following year the show moved to the PBS network, where it continues to be broadcast today. The last set of new episodes was taped in December 2000 and began airing on August 2001.
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 comfortable shoes and a cardigan (i.e., button-up) sweater.
The show's target audience was chiefly pre-school children and featured none of the animation or fast pace of Sesame Street. Rogers, who composed all the music for the show, would interact with live guests or with the puppets of his "make-believe world", featuring a trolley (with its own chiming theme song), a castle and various citizens of the kingdom.
Mr. 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 flushed down the toilet- because you won't fit.
During the Gulf war, he assured chidlren that all children inthe neghborhood would be well cared-for, and asked parents to promise to take care of their 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."
His gentle manner has been the satirized by some comedians, notably a parody in the 1980s by Eddie Murphy on Saturday Night Live, "Mister Robinson's Neighborhood," a routine Rogers found funny and affectionate. [1]
Fred Rogers died on February 27, 2003, succumbing to cancer of the stomach a short time after his retirement. He was 74 years old.