Happy Birthday, Mr. Rogers

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Mr. Rogers,  kind, compassionate and beautiful in every way, turned 91 yesterday… Mr. Rogers.  Famous for his gentle, kind-hearted personality, Fred Rogers was born in Latrobe, PA, some 40 miles to the southeast of Pittsburgh. He began playing the piano at the age of 5.  Graduating from Latrobe High School, he attended Dartmouth and later Rollins Colleges, earning a degree in Music Composition.  Interestingly enough, he was also a trained pilot in general aviation.

Returning to Pittsburgh, he graduated from the Pittsburgh Theological Seminary in 1963 and was ordained a minister in the United Presbyterian Church.

Mr. Rogers did not smoke or drink, and he was a vegetarian, once quoted as saying “I don’t want to eat anything that has a mother.”  His office at WQED in Pittsburgh contained a sofa and arm chairs, as he thought office furniture was a barrier to communication.

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Not happy with the way television at the time addressed children, he decided to change things.  Writing for and performing on local Pittsburgh shows dedicated to kids, WQED helped him develop his own show in 1968 and it was eventually distributed nationwide by the Eastern Educational Television Network.  Over the course of the next 30 years, Mr. Rogers became an icon of child entertainment and education.

Mr. Rogers was presented with the Presidential Medal of Freedom, a Peabody Award and forty honorary degrees.  Mr. Rogers Neighborhood won 4 Emmys, and he was presented the Lifetime Achievement Award at the Daytime Emmys in 1997.  Inducted into the Television Hall of fame, he was ranked 35th in TV Guides Fifty Greatest TV Stars of All time.  One of his sweaters (all made by his mother, according to him) is displayed at the Smithsonian Institute as a “Treasure of American History.”

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Esquire’s Tom Junod described this scene at the Lifetime Achievement Award in 1997:

“Mister Rogers went onstage to accept the award—and there, in front of all the soap opera stars and talk show sinceratrons, in front of all the jutting man-tanned jaws and jutting saltwater bosoms, he made his small bow and said into the microphone, “All of us have special ones who have loved us into being. Would you just take, along with me, ten seconds to think of the people who have helped you become who you are. Ten seconds of silence.”

And then he lifted his wrist, looked at the audience, looked at his watch, and said, “I’ll watch the time.” There was, at first, a small whoop from the crowd, a giddy, strangled hiccup of laughter, as people realized that he wasn’t kidding, that Mister Rogers was not some convenient eunuch, but rather a man, an authority figure who actually expected them to do what he asked. And so they did. One second, two seconds, three seconds—and now the jaws clenched, and the bosoms heaved, and the mascara ran, and the tears fell upon the beglittered gathering like rain leaking down a crystal chandelier. And Mister Rogers finally looked up from his watch and said softly “May God be with you,” to all his vanquished children.

Happy Birthday, Mr. Rogers.

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4 thoughts on “Happy Birthday, Mr. Rogers”

  1. Mary C Schlumberger

    Born and raised in Pittsburgh, Mister Roger’s was a part of life. We memorized his songs and the characters. His kind voice and routine, also were known to my children. And in 1988, when my husband and our two daughters moved from Butler to Florida, I still watched Mister Roger’s as he visited local landmarks, and cried because I still missed my family in Pittsburgh. He was still impacting my life. I remember when he died. I knew in my heart that I would once again get to see him in Heaven. And it will be “a wonderful day in the neighborhood” again.
    Blessings to his family.

  2. I loved Mr Rogers! He was so kind and helped me see how others felt about things as I was just a five year old. He was a friend to all children.

  3. Shawn McConville

    I had a very sad and abusive childhood. I watched Mr. Rogers every day and he became a father figure to me. I couldn’t wait for his show to come on because in the midst of my caoitic life of fear and abuse …..there was this person who told me I was special….that I meant something. I was carried away into this imaginary place call “The Neighborhood Of Makebelieve” where I learned everything from lessons on manners, how to treat others, that it is ok to feel sad, and that kindness and love are the best ways to give to others. I learned how to accept other people’s differences, I learned about art and music and how things were made. Mr. Rogers gave me hope in a world where I felt there was none. His words of love and encouragement resonate in me to this day and will continue for the rest of my life. I am certain that there were hundreds of others children struggling just like me through their childhood, looking for someone to say they care….that they were special ‘just the way they are’. From all of us we resonate a loud Happy Birthday to the heavens….to Mr. Rogers! The man who gave us the building block to keep going, to feel loved and to give it, to be kind and courteous to everyone…..and to never stop trying! Thank You Mr. Rogers!!!!!!!

    1. I LOVE MISTER RODGERS AND WATCHED HIM DAILY . WHEN I HAD CHILDREN MY CHILDREN also LOVED HIM! My First born son actually met him over at CHILDREN hospital . We had his brother there for a follow up appoint! My boys are now 42 and 40 and they have told their children this story!

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