Mister Rogers Dies
By Lia Haberman
It's a somber day in the neighborhood as news breaks that Fred Rogers has passed away.
The iconic television personality, recognized by millions of children simply as Mister Rogers, died of cancer early Thursday. He was 74.
Rogers, who passed away in his Pittsburgh home, had been diagnosed with stomach cancer after the holidays according to family spokesman David Newell, who played Mr. McFeely on Mister Rogers' Neighborhood.
A statement on Rogers' Website, www.misterrogers.org, thanked fans for watching and encouraged them to carry on Rogers' friendly philosophy: "We are grateful for the many people, young and old, who have cared about his work over the years and who continue to appreciate Mister Rogers' Neighborhood on PBS. We hope that you'll join us in celebrating his life by reflecting on his messages and taking them into your everyday lives."
For 34 years Rogers slipped on his sneakers and signature cardigan and sang "It's a beautiful day in the neighborhood," before taking a trolley tour through the Kingdom of Make Believe to greet his friends (both human and puppet).
One of his infamous cardigans currently hangs in the Smithsonian Institution (news - web sites) in Washington, D.C.
A staple of children's educational television, right up there with Sesame Street, Mister Rogers' Neighborhood has long been praised for teaching tykes how to play fair, respect others, deal with their anger and make them feel loved and valued.
His kid-friendly work won him four Emmys, a George Foster Peabody Award "in recognition of 25 years of beautiful days in the neighborhood" and induction into the Television Hall of Fame in 1999.
His good-natured ways and un-hip attire also earned him an Eddie Murphy parody in the '80s on Saturday Night Live (news - Y! TV) with Mister Robinson's Neighborhood but Rogers was more amused than annoyed by the urban spoof.
More important to Rogers than the honors and celebrity recognition was his connection with kids. "He was so genuinely kind, a wonderful person," Newell told the Associated Press. "His mission was to work with families and children for television…That was his passion, his mission, and he did it from day one."
Rogers, an ordained Presbyterian minister since 1963, was born in Latrobe, a suburb of Pittsburgh, in 1928. After earning his degree in music composition at Rollins College in Winter Park, Florida in 1951 he went to work for NBC as an assistant producer for The Voice of Firestone and later as floor director for The Lucky Strike Hit Parade, The Kate Smith (news) Hour and the NBC Opera Theatre.
Two years later Rogers went to work as an unseen puppeteer on a live WQED broadcast in Pittsburgh called The Children's Corner, during which he created many of the characters that would later populate Mister Rogers' neighborhood, including King Friday XIII, Daniel Striped Tiger, Henrietta Pussycat and Lady Elaine Fairchilde.
In 1963, Rogers developed his own 15-minute show Misterogers for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. The show was brought back to Pittsburgh and aired on the East Coast in 1966, going national two years later on what is now PBS. It became public television's longest running series.
The finale episode of Mister Rogers was taped in December 2000 and aired on PBS in August 2001. But the kindly host lived on through back to back reruns. He also continued to focus his creative energy on teaching preschoolers through his Website, publications and special museum programs. Just last month Rogers was awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and served as grand marshall of the Tournament of Roses Parade.
Rogers is survived by his wife Joanne, two sons and two grandsons.
RIP
AI
