Not in real life, on the show. In real life, Fred Rogers was a minister in addition to his children’s show. But on the show itself, what did he do?
At the beginning of each episode, he’d come into his house, singing “It’s a beautiful day in the neighborhood,” and he’d change into his sneakers from his work shoes. So he was obviously coming from somewhere where he needed to dress up.
Was he a minister on the show, too? And it wasn’t very obvious?
WAG: I always figured he was just being a typical coming-home-from-work father figure from the '50s.
I always assumed it was a show about a retired guy sitting around his house all day. For kids. Getting the mail, feeding the fish, practicing penmanship. I was amazed that it worked so well, but it did. 
I thought we were supposed to know that wasn’t his real house, considering he talked about his sons and his wife and they weren’t there, and he was coming to his hangout house to hang out with us.
Yep, me too. I never thought about it too much.
This was always my interpretation as well, especially considering that at the end of each show he changes back into his other clothes/shoes and leaves (presumably to go home to his real house).
Maybe Mr. Rogers just had a really bitchin’ tree house.
It wasn’t about going to his house, it was about going to a neutral place without the kid’s grownups around making demands. How better for a kid to get dependable one-on-one time with a grownup who understood, cared, and knew how to speak to kids? That’s what Mr. Rogers did.
So, ridiculed though he may have been, my hat’s off and glass lifted to the memory of Fred Rogers.
Yeah, but he got changed as soon as he got there. If it wasn’t his house, he would have gotten changed before coming over. He was obviously coming home from somewhere - but where?
pimpin’ and dealin’
According to Captain Kangaroo, a definitive source if ever there was one, Freddy was king.
Crap on a stick - should this be in CS? It’s a GQ about a CS topic. Maybe it should be moved PDQ and ASAP, SVP?
I reckon he spent all day hanging around by the 7-11, dancing for nickels.
Catholic Priest???
Maybe he was a ninja warrior. At the end of a long day fighting evil overlords, he might need to kick back in the Land of Make-Believe for a bit.
I assumed that he was a hitman for the CIA, after his stint as a sniper in Vietnam.
He was not only the Host of the show but he played voice characters with the puppets. I know he was the king but I can’t remember who else he played.
He was a great guy and will be missed.
This is also what I thought.
Hmm, I thought he played all the puppets. All the ones I can think of sounded like him, anyway.
I was always under the impression that we were to believe him to be a real estate mogul, as it was his neighborhood, after all. I figured he had a set of shoes and a sweater hanging inside the closet of every house on the block.