It's a beautiful day in this neighborhood! For more than 36 years, Fred Rogers was a welcome visitor to American living rooms. Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood premiered on Public Television in 1968, and generations of children came to regard Mr. Rogers as a father figure and teacher.
A television producer and host, born in Latrobe, Pennsylvania, Fred Rogers studied musical composition at Rollins College, FL (1951), and began working for NBC in New York City. He produced a local children's show in Pittsburgh during the 1950s, becoming a Presbyterian minister in 1962. In 1965 National Educational Television began broadcasting Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood, which Rogers continued to produce, host and write, using puppets and songs to talk to preschool children about their feelings on serious issues.
Rogers' distinctive gentle manner made him a national institution. In fact, Rogers became such a soothing national figure, that during the Gulf War in 1991, and again after 9/11, he was asked to make public service addresses to calm a jittery nation. He died in 2003, at the age of 74. However, his shows live on in the memories of viewers and on many public television stations across the country, where they are still shown.
This BIOGRAPHY® highlights important moments both on and off screen and includes conversations with some of the people on whom Fred Rogers left a lasting impression - a diverse group ranging from First Lady Laura Bush to comedienne Joan Rivers, violinist Itzak Perelman, and Lou Ferrigno, TV's Incredible Hulk.
Included as well in this program are insights from Fred himself, in interviews over the years, plus additional interviews with:
- Fred's sister, Laney Crozier, the model for his popular puppet character, Lady Elaine Fairchild
- Jim and John Rogers, Fred's two sons
- Joanne, Fred's wife of fifty years
Also with Sarah Jessica Parker, Levar Burton, Candace Bergen, David Newell (Mr. McFeely), T. Berry Brazelton, MD, Peggy Charren ACT, Marc Brown (creator, Arthur), and Lynn Swann (former Pittsburg Steeler).
