I grew up in Pittsburgh, so I always considered Fred Rogers to truly be my neighbor. The miniature town at the beginning always reminded me of Mt. Washington, where my mother’s family was from. I even met Mr. McFeely as a child and got his autograph.
From my childhood, two of the most stable, dependable, and enlightened figures to me were Mr. Rogers and Carl Sagan…and they’re now both gone.
Farewell Mr. Rogers, my worthy adversary. As long as there are those who follow your example, my forces of evil shall never prevail.
First Charles Schultz, now this… (by the way, I didn’t just change my location, it’s always been that!)
cry
Such a sad day. It is a rare man who can go through life with that much good nature and love. As a role model, he is unbeatable, worth a million druggie movie stars and uncountable thug sports stars. I think when the day comes little lives are entrusted to me, I’ll just hook up the TV to a VCR or DVD player and loop the good old stuff I grew up on.
For a man who could run a career that long and get across a message that profound to so many people, without ever being preachy, complicating things, or selling out, he deserves the world.
Sitting here hearing the news this morning, I suddenly pictured him walking into my room, putting on his sneakers, and saying, “Cheer up, Brian. It is a lovely day outside, isn’t it? A lovely day to go out and spend some time with people you love, and just stare up at the sky and look at clouds.” So I did. Took a walk, sat around and thought, called my parents and my sister, went out to dinner with some friends. Thank you, Mr. Rogers.
I would say rest in peace, but the man lived in peace.
TGWATY, that interview was beautiful, and surprisingly moving, especially when he describes meeting Eddie Murphy. What a wonderful man; I’m sadder than I would have expected myself to be at his passing.
I remember an episode in which he went to a music school of some kind, where kids were playing the violin. He tried to play one, drawing the bow over the strings, then immediately stopped and said, “Oh, that doesn’t sound very good, does it? You’re much better at this than I am.”
The kid absolutely beamed. I have no doubt that Mr. Rogers knew at least the basics of violin-playing, but would rather cheer a kid than show off.
R.I.P., Mr. Rogers. And isn’t it strange, for those of us who grew up watching him, what a magical influence the name “Mr. Rogers” exerts?
I missed it this morning, but tomorrow I will wear my cardigan.
I found this interesting. I used to frequent a different message board, full of the usual disgruntled youths who hate everything and are all smarter than everyone else and see through the bullshit and yadda yadda. I was curious as to what their take on it was.
Nearly every one of them was sad. And the few people who did come up and try to make a joke of it got smacked down.
Even people for whom supposedly nothing is sacred held him in high esteem.
I’ve just been on PBS’s Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood website, bawling like a baby at the “Thoughts for all Ages” section. I also found the “Click to Color” (very well-designed, for children with different levels of small-muscle control) and “Build Your Own Neighborhood” sections theraputic.
I also went to the Web site; there’s a long article on how to eal with kids with respect to Mr. Rogers dying. It’s a fantastic primer on teaching children about loss and grieving, just wonderfully written. Evidently, Mr. Rogers taught the folks at PBS more than a few things about kids, because it reads as if he wrote it.
Wow… I was bummed about his death, but for some reason I didn’t cry until I read that article about telling kids about his death… 
I hope lots of parents read it.
Is it possible that he did write it? He found out about the stomach cancer right after the holidays, so he’d have had a month or two to prepare something to help his younger fans deal with the loss. And it’s just like him, really…precious few months to live and he’d still take the time to help the little ones get through it.
So long, neighbor.
I’ve lived all my life in St. Louis, and I’ve never known a time when Mr. Rogers wasn’t on PBS–you probably just missed his timeslot. As a child, I found his show dull, and my children have never been very fascinated by him, but he was certainly a very good man, and I know a lot of people really got a lot out of his show.
BTW, I recall hearing a routine on a comedy record (no idea who it was or what it was called) that was mainly a Mr Rogers as child molester bit. Perhaps someone heard that, and that’s what their memory has made of it?
It was Robin Williams. Reality…What A Concept. I think Eddie Murphy also satirized Mr Rogers on SNL… As I stated in a previous post, it made me very uncomfortable, but the radio station I worked for played the bit off the Williams album during morning drive time…
Quasi
i too think it was sad…i was talking to a coworker and he had never heard of mr rogers. i swear he said he hadnt. he is a black men in his late 50’s, but has kids in there twenties. ay some point wouldnt you think most have heard of this guy? even in passsing?
This is hard. There is a special on PBS right now, and while I’ve been sad to hear of his death, especially being a child-care worker, this thread and the show I’m watching, has completely brought me to tears.
I suppose I’m with all those who have said before that they ridiculed, or down-played Mr. Rogers in their tumultuous teen years.
But just to see some clips from his show, to be reminded of him, and his gentle nature, and all the wonderful things he shared with everyone. I’m crying, and I can’t stop.
RIP, Mr. Rogers. You touched us in so many ways, and your presence will be missed in this difficult world of ours.
His genuineness is why his death hit so hard. I can’t think of any other “actor” in children’s TV or otherwise who was so identical and just impossibly but legitimately good.
I’ve always used his name as a synonym for total goodness: “X would make me Mr. Rogers kick a kitten” or “He makes Clinton look like Mr. Rogers”. I’m trying to think of any public figure alive who so radiates goodness and is totally free of scandal as Mr. (technically, Dr.) Rogers was and NOBODY comes to mind.
I saw the CANDID CAMERA episode somebody mentioned earlier and he literally seemed totally unconcerned, saying something like “There’s quite enough TV in my life already, thank you”. I’ve seen pictures of him hugging huge burly biker type guys in NYC who were crying and had to have their pictures made with him and he let them.
I also remember a few years ago when McDonald’s (or was it Burger King?) had a Mr. Rogers parody on a commercial knocking their competitor and he objected to the commercialization of his image- what would anybody else do? They’d contact a powerhouse PR lawyer and sue for $250 million. What did Mr. Rogers do? He called the local McDonalds (or was it Burger King?) regional office and asked to be connected to the main headquarters, then calmly said “I really wish you wouldn’t show that commercial again”, and believe it or not, even though they were protected by parody copyright, they ceased and desisted immediately because even megabillion dollar corporations literally revered him.
Speaking of billions of $, he was offered HUGE- we’re talking HUGE- amounts of money to go network, developing a new series and merchandising everything that stood still. He could easily have been richer than Kelsey Grammer or Johnny Carson or the cast of FRIENDS, but had absolutely no interest in that type of wealth. (I’m sure he was far from indigent, but I’m equally sure he’s not leaving behind a 12 bedroom penthouse on whatever Pittsburgh’s equivalent of 5th Ave. is.) Incredible- so good you just can’t conceive of it. Regardless of what your definition of a holy man is, I think he’d qualify. (No doubt now that he’s dead somebody will release a book claiming he killed JFK and had an affair with Winona Ryder, but they’ll be renting a room from Salmon Rushdie before nightfall.)
Total off the subject hijack, but somebody who definitely WAS once a sniper, and a very good one, is Dr. Ruth Westheimer.
Bren_Cameron and Quasimodem:
Bren may also be thinking of The National Lampoon’s album, THAT’S NOT FUNNY, THAT’S SICK! which has a sketch in which a neighbor accuses “Mister Roberts” of having an unhealthy interest in the neighborhood children. This is not as horrible as it may sound, because it is obvious to the listener that the Mister Rogers character is NOT a child molester. The neighbor is overreacting because he cannot believe that a gentle, quiet man who is a friend to children does not have other, unhealthy motives. The neighbor starts off with insinuations, then heaps abuse on “Roberts,” who remains friendly, never reacting angrily or raising his voice, even as the neighbor becomes more and more unhinged. It’s darkly funny, and absolutely maddening.
Even as the neighbor beats “Mister Roberts” up at the end of the sketch, “Roberts” replies gently and calmly, “Ouch. That hurts, you know. Oh, there go my loafers . . .”
I was devastated when I learned of his passing that fateful morning. I loved Mr. Rogers when I was very young, then eventually grew out of him, but now I appreciate his message and technique more than ever.
Here is a man who never sold out his image to merchandising, when he could have easily allowed the Neighborhood of Make Believe characters be marketed. Here is a man who saw his young (and old) audience as friends and neighbors rather than dollar signs.
I say “is” and not “was” because, while no longer physically with us, Fred Rogers will live on indefinitely through his legacy of superlative children’s programming.
sniffle… scablet just spent a very therapeutic and nostalgic half an hour exploring the Mr. Rogers site. The Fun Facts especially brought a happy tear or two to my eye.
A couple of years ago I saw an episode in which he visited the workshop of an artist who creates Rube Goldberg-style devices which incorporate billiard balls. You probably know what I’m talking about. The guy who painted the gadgets was named “Spider”, and looked like he had done prison time. That’s just my gut feeling. Mr. Rogers greeted Spider warmly and immediately asked about what he was doing, with no apparent fear or prejudice.
Mr. Rogers was and is my hero. If there’s a heaven, he’s there.