Premiering on PBS in 1968, Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood was the sweet and placid yin to Sesame Street’s hyperkinetic yang.
While Sesame Street (which actually premiered a year later) taught letters and numbers, Mister Rogers showed kids the world of imagination, taught them how to deal with life’s problems (anger, jealousy, divorce, losing a pet), and told them they were special.
Kindly and soft-spoken, Fred Rogers – an ordained Presbyterian minister – was the neighbour everyone wanted.
The programme had a homey feel, with Mister Rogers opening each show with his signature song, “It’s a beautiful day in this neighborhood,” while changing from suit to sweater (many of which were knitted by his mother) and from dress shoes to sneakers.
Guests from around the neighbourhood showed up to help teach the day’s lesson, and every show featured a visit to the Neighborhood of Make-Believe, where King Friday, Queen Sara, Prince Tuesday, Lady Elaine, X the Owl, Henrietta Pussycat, and Daniel Tiger helped each other and their human friends with problems and concerns.
Mister Rogers would also take the home viewers along on field trips, visiting factories to see how things were made.
New episodes were created each year and put into rotation with older ones until Mister Rogers finally hung up his cardigan for good in late 2000.
Fred Rogers died of stomach cancer on 27 February 2003, aged 74.
Mister Rogers
Fred Rogers
Lady Aberlin
Betty Aberlin
Mr McFeely
David Newell
Chef Brockett
Don Brockett
Joe Negri
Himself
Miss Paulifficate
Audrey Roth
Mayor Maggie
Maggie Stewart
Bob Dog
Robert Trow
