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An innovator of children’s television, Mister Rogers’s salt-of-the-earth demeanor and genuinely gentle nature taught a generation of kids the value of kindness.
In honor of the release of #ABeautifulDayMovie
, here are some things you might not have known about Fred Rogers.
In honor of the release of #ABeautifulDayMovie
, here are some things you might not have known about Fred Rogers.
Fred Rogers was an Ivy League dropout. He spent his freshman year at Dartmouth College, then transferred to Rollins College, where he pursued a degree in music and graduated Magna cum laude.
He was not a fan of television, which is why he gravitated toward it. "When I first saw children's television, I thought it was perfectly horrible. And I thought there was some way of using this fabulous medium to be of nurture to those who would watch and listen," Rogers said.
He wrote all the songs for ‘Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood’—plus hundreds more.
Rogers liked to maintain a weight of exactly 143 pounds. The number had special meaning to him. "It takes one letter to say I and four letters to say love and three letters to say you," Rogers once said. "One hundred and forty-three."
Fred Rogers took time out of each day to respond to his fan mail, and he responded to each and every letter he received—typically between 50 and 100 of them per day.
In the opening sequence of ‘Mister Rogers' Neighborhood,’ the stoplight is always on yellow as a reminder to kids (and their parents) to slow down a little.
Rogers always made sure to announce that he was feeding his fish because a young blind viewer once asked him to do so. She wanted to know the fish were OK.
It wasn’t just kids and their parents who loved Mister Rogers. Koko, the Stanford-educated gorilla who understood 2000 English words, was an avid fan, too. When Rogers visited once her, she immediately gave him a hug—and took his shoes off.
If watching an episode of ‘Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood’ gives you sweater envy, we’ve got bad news: You’d never be able to find his sweaters in a store. All of those comfy-looking cardigans were knitted by Fred’s mom.
While being transported to a PBS executive's house for dinner, Rogers heard his limo driver say that he was going to have to wait outside for two hours while they ate—so Rogers insisted that the driver join them for dinner.
On the ride back home, the same driver mentioned that they were passing his own house on their way back to Rogers's home. Rogers asked if they could stop in so he could meet the family. Rogers played piano and chatted with them until late into the night.
Rogers was regularly parodied—and he loved it. The first time Eddie Murphy met Mr. Rogers, he couldn't stop himself from giving the guy a big hug.
Those brightly colored sweaters were a trademark of ‘Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood,’ but the host himself might not have always noticed: Fred Rogers was colorblind.
