Fred Rogers was a gentle genius who knew how to make children feel good about themselves.
Even after his death in February 2003, he continues to fascinate and inspire folks of
all ages.
Here are a few interesting facts we've learned about Mister Rogers since he died.
For many people, the introduction to Mister Rogers' Neighborhood is a precious childhood
memory in and of itself.
If you ever watched the show growing up, the thought of Fred Rogers walking through that
front door is enough to fill your heart with joy.
Every young fan knew what came next.
He'd hang up the jacket, put on a sweater, and switch out the loafers for sneakers, all
while singing about how much he appreciated his viewers.
As you may already know, Rogers' mother personally knitted his sweaters as a way of saying, "I
love you."
"My mother, as long as I could remember, made at least one sweater every month."
After she died, the show's staff purchased similar-looking sweaters and dyed them to
keep the tradition going.
The clothes didn't just have sentimental value, though.
According to a 2014 post on FredRogers.org,
"This predictability offered a sense of security.
Through your rituals and routines, you’re offering that to children, too."
And since Rogers was remarkably thoughtful, he based his routine on what viewers might
expect at home.
Since the show originally aired late in the afternoon, right around the time parents typically
returned home from work, Rogers switched from jackets to sweaters to signify that work time
was over.
Similarly, putting on sneakers was meant to create a more casual atmosphere.
When you're hospitalized for any reason, having a friend in your corner can mean the world.
For Beth Usher, that friend was Fred Rogers.
In 2018, Usher shared her ordeal with Today as part of a tribute to Rogers.
As a child, Usher suffered from a rare and debilitating disease called Rasmussen's encephalitis,
which was destroying her brain cells and causing up to 100 seizures per day.
As a result, she frequently fell and hit her head on the floor.
At the age of five, she had to have half of her brain removed.
Watching Mister Rogers' Neighborhood brought Usher solace, so her mother contacted his
assistant in the hopes of getting an autographed picture.
Instead, Rogers called and spoke to young Usher for an hour.
They discussed her fears and her favorite puppets on the show.
After her operation, Usher fell into a weeks-long coma. Rogers, an ordained minister, prayed
with Usher's mother over the phone and eventually flew from Pittsburgh to Baltimore to see Beth.
He greeted the unconscious child with her favorite puppets.
As she writes in her essay,
"For the following hour I was the star in his neighborhood."
As Beth told the New York Post in 2018,
"I felt like I was touched by an angel when I met Mr. Rogers."
Their friendship would last a lifetime.
In 1968, Mister Rogers asked Francois Clemmons to play the neighborhood policeman on his
show.
This was a significant casting choice for a number of reasons.
As Clemmons told the New York Post,
"I come from the ghetto!
I always thought of the police as being the most dangerous person in the neighborhood."
In addition to facing the racial tensions of the time, Clemmons had to grapple with
being gay.
In the 2018 documentary Won't You Be My Neighbor?, he says:
"There were black kids watching the show.
They needed a black figure who would not let them down."
He goes on to explain:
"If I came out as gay, and there was some kind of scandal, that would not serve the
race."
Rogers learned Clemmons was gay a few months after he was hired.
Concerned about backlash from conservative viewers, he asked Clemmons to remain closeted.
Clemmons complied and even married a woman, but these sacrifices didn't spoil his view
of Rogers.
As he explains:
"From then on he became my surrogate father."
When Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated, Rogers personally picked up a distraught Clemmons
from his home out of concern for his safety.
Clemmons tells Variety:
"I never had someone express that kind of deep sense of protection for me."
Rogers' views evolved over time, and he later sought out openly gay guests on his show.
In a 2018 Today interview, Fred Rogers' widow Joanne opened up about how her husband of
nearly 51 years proposed:
"He wrote me a letter.
My last year at Florida State, he wrote me a letter proposing marriage."
In the documentary Won't You Be My Neighbor?, Fred Rogers' son Jim revealed how his dad
vented his anger.
Rather than shout or dole out spankings, he spoke in the voice of his often grumpy puppet
creation, Lady Elaine Fairchilde.
And in regards to Daniel Striped Tiger, Joanne revealed:
"But I think Daniel was the real Fred."
In a 2015 article headlined "Saint Fred," Atlantic contributor Jonathan Merritt wrote
that,
"If Protestants had saints, Mister Rogers might already have been canonized."
Speaking to Today in 2018, Won't You Be My Neighbor? director Morgan Neville revealed
that Fred wouldn't have wanted such high praise, at least according to his widow, Joanne.
As Neville puts it:
"[Joanne] told me at the beginning, 'Don't make Fred into a saint.'
Because Fred's struggle was often against people who didn't take him seriously, and
understand the profundity of his message.
Treating him like a saint keeps him two-dimensional.
His mission was to tell us that we all struggle, and he doesn't exist on another plane."
Mere months before Fred Rogers succumbed to stomach cancer, he recorded a short message
for the adults who enjoyed his show when they were kids.
It was the last recording he ever made at WQED studios, where Mister Rogers' Neighborhood
was filmed.
"I know how tough it is some days to look with hope and confidence on the months and
years ahead."
He goes on to say:
"I would like to tell you what I often told you when you were much younger, I like you
just the way you are."
He then thanks his grown-up fans for helping the children in their lives feel safe.
The clip ends with Rogers doing what he always did best: making other people feel valued.
"It's such a good feeling to know that we are lifelong friends."
In the documentary Won't You Be My Neighbor?, Joanne reveals what Fred asked her on his
deathbed:
"He said, 'Do you think I'm a sheep?'"
Fred was likely referring to this passage in The Bible:
"When the Son of Man comes in his glory...he will separate the people one from another
as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats.
He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left."
"There was a little silence and then I said, 'Fred, if ever there was a sheep, you're one.'"
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