Fred McFeely Rogers

1928-2003

Fred Rogers, better known as Mister Rogers, was an American television host, author, producer and Presbyterian minister.  He was the creator and host of the preschool television series Mister Rogers' Neighborhood.  The series ran from 1968-2001.  

Born in Latrobe, Pennsylvania, Rogers earned a bachelor's degree in music from Rollins College in 1951.  He began his television career at NBC in New York City, returning to Pittsburgh in 1953 to work for children's programming at NET (later PBS) television station WQED.  He graduated from Pittsburgh Theological Seminary with a bachelor's degree in divinity in 1962.  In 1963, he helped develop the children's shows The Children's Corner in 1955 for WQED in Pittsburgh and Misterogers in 1963 in Canada for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation.  In 1968, he returned to Pittsburgh and adapted the format of his Canadian series to create isster Rogers' Neighborhood.  It ran for 33 years and was critically acclaimed for focusing on children's emotional and physical concerns such as death, sibling rivalry, school enrollment and divorce.  

Rogers work in children's television has been widely lauded and he received more than forty honorary degrees and several awards including a Lifetime Achievement Emmy in 1997 and the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2002.  He was inducted into the Television Hall of fame in 1999.  Rogers influenced many writers and producers of children's television shows and his broadcasts provided comfort during tragic events, even after his passing.  

He met his wife, Joanne Byrd while attending Rollins College in Florida.  They married in 1952 and had two children.

When I was a boy and I would see scary things in the news, my mother would say to me, "Look for the helpers.  You will always find people who are helping."  To this day, especially in times of "disaster", I remember my mother's words and I am always comforted by realizing that there are still so many helpers .. so many caring people in this world.

Fred Rogers

A roadside Pennsylvania Historical marker dedicated to Rogers was approved by the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission on March 4, 2014.  It was installed on June 11, 2016 with the title "Fred McFeely Rogers (1928-2003)".

Won't You Be My Neighbor? director Morgan Neville's 2018 documentary about Rogers' life, grossed over $22 million and became the top-grossing biographical documentary ever produced,the highest-grossing documentary in five years and the twelfth-largest-grossing documentary ever made!  The 2019 drama film A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood tells the story of Rogers and his television series with Tom Hanks portraying Rogers.

The Lifetime Achievement Emmy was awarded to Rogers "for giving generation upon generation of children confidence in themselves, for being their friend, for telling them again and again and again that they are special and that they have worth".

The Presidential Medal of Freedom is the highest American civilian honor.  It was awarded to Rogers by President George W. Bush.

East Room of the White House

July 9, 2002

In 2008, a day known as "Sweater Day" was announced paying tribute to Rogers on what would have been his 80th birthday.  People,worldwide, were encouraged to wear a sweater honoring Rogers' legacy and the final event in a six-day celebration in Pittsburgh.

On January 8, 1998, Rogers received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame located at 6600 Hollywood Blvd.  

In 2018, a First-class/Forever postage stamp was issued by the U.S. Postal Service.  It was dedicated on March 23 at WQED.

In 1984, Rogers donated a red knit cardigan sweaters to the Smithsonian Institution's permanent collection.  The symbolism behind the act of changing from a suit jacket to a sweater at the beginning of each episode symbolized a transition from the formal world of adults to the more relaxed, imaginative world of children.  This ritual helped set the tone for the show.

Sidenote:  Up until Nancy McFeely Rogers passing in 1981, she knitted all of her son, Fred's cardigans and every Christmas she would give each of her children a hand-knit sweater.  

The famous pair of sneakers worn by Fred Rogers on Mister Rogers' Neighborhood were blue low top Sperry Top-Sider sneakers with white rubber soles and canvas upper and flat cloth laces. 

RIP Mr. Rogers

Job Well Done