1.A loved TV Show Host

Fred Rogers was a much loved television show host. His show, Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood ran on PBS television from for 32 years, between 1968 and 2001.

2.Early Childhood

Fred McFeely Rogers was born in 1928 in Pennsylvania’s Latrobe area. His parents, Nancy and James had him as the only child till he was aged 11 when they adopted a baby girl. As a young child, he played piano and loved puppetry. Rogers graduated from High School in Latrobe and joined Dartmouth College for a year before mobbing to Rollins College, Winter Park. He graduated with a music composition degree.

3.Early TV Career

In his senior college year, he found a television set at his home when he visited. He saw the bright future the medium presented and immediately wanted to be part of it. He got his initial TV job in 1953 as a programmer in Pittsburgh’s WQED community station. It was the first station of its kind in the U.S. He began co-producing The Children’s Corner, a new program a year later. He introduced some puppets to his children audience through this program.

4.An Ordained Minister

In 1962, Rogers got a divinity degree and was ordained as a minister by the Presbyterian Church. The Church also requested him to serve families and children through the television during the ordination ceremony.

5.Debut of Mister Rodgers

Rogers appeared for the first time on Mister Rogers in 1963 on a Canadian Broadcast System known as Misterrogers. However, he and his wife Joanne whom he met at Rollins felt Canada wasn’t the place to raise their 2 sons. The Rogers moved back to Pittsburg and in 1966, they launched the Misterrogers Neighborhood show. The show aired on PBS stations across most of the U.S. 2 years later.

6.He wrote scripts and songs for the Show

Rogers wrote some 200 songs, including its theme song, “It’s a Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood.” He was at the core of the show working as the host, head puppeteer, script writer and series producer.

7.A Children’s Activist

The Rogers’ show had very few variations through its running decades. Rogers approached his children audience with directness and respect about children issues that were rarely addressed by other programs. His commitment to children surpassed TV sets as he served as an expert on children issues. He chaired the White House Child Development Forum and Mass Media in 1968. His testimony was key to the decision by the Supreme Court on VCR tape recorders.

8.Rogers’ TV Ritual

Mr. Rogers always started his program walking through his TV house front door and trading his suit jacket and raincoat for his zippered sweater. His sweaters became synonymous with the program, just like his puppets. His mother made the sweaters for him and Rogers had at least 2 dozens of them. One of Rogers’ sweaters was picked and exhibited by the Smithsonian Institution in 1984.

9.Longest PBS Show

Mr. Rogers’ show was PBS station’s longest running program having run 998 episodes over a 32 year period. Throughout his career, Rogers was honored with numerous awards including honorary degrees, National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences Achievement Award and Presidential Medal of Freedom. Rogers joined the Television Hall of Fame in 1999.

10.Curtailed Production

Towards the end of his career, Rogers slowed down production to about 15 episodes each year. His final episode was recorded in December, 2000 and PBS aired his original programs through to August, 2001. Rogers was diagnosed in 2002 with stomach cancer and died at his Pittsburgh home on 27^th, February, 2003 with his wife at his bedside.