FRED ROGERS

He thinks you're special

Mister Rogers. Just the name gives many people a special feeling. Millions of adults grew up watching Mister Rogers Neighborhood, just as millions more children are growing up today watching it. It has been on television for 30 years, with a unique brand of touching the feelings of children. Some children's shows try to teach children. Some try to sell them products. Mister Rogers does want his "friends" to learn, but mostly he wants them to feel good about the most special person they know - themselves.

It's easy to make fun of the simple, soft-spoken man and the "unsophisticated" personality that is reflected in the show and its characters. But behind everything is, in fact, a true sophistication. One that knows what children need, and an amazing ability to let his real caring come through.

This quiet, unassuming man has received many honors. He has gotten Emmies. His trademark sweater hangs in the Smithsonian Institution. He has been honored by TV Guide as one of television's 50 all-time greats. He has received the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2002. And in a very touching moment, he received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences. In receiving this latter award, he did not brag of his accomplishments. In his acceptance speech he asked the audience to take "10 seconds to think of the people who have helped you become who you are, those who have cared about you and wanted the best for you in life. Ten seconds. I'll watch the time." 10 seconds of silence while accepting a major award, but it was the audience who began thinking, just as he had told them to. When the time was up, and Mister Rogers told them how pleased those people would be to know how highly they were thought of, tears were on the faces of many of those hard-nosed show-biz types in the audience. He can really get to your feelings - and make you happy that he did.

Rogers deals with many feelings on his show. Many of them, like anger, violence, death, and divorce, are not easy to deal with on a children's show. But he does it because its not easy for children to deal with them in their own lives.

Fred Rogers was born in Latrobe, PA on March 20, 1928. He had a very protected and sickly childhood and, as an only child, used puppets and made up his own music to cope with his world. These are two important ingredients in his show, as are many memories and people from his childhood. He studied music at Rollins College in Florida, and was about to enter the Pittsburgh Theological Seminary to become a Presbyterian minister when he suddenly decided to go into television. First he worked for NBC in New York in various capacities and then, in 1953, he left to return to Pittsburgh's WQED - a public television station that was not yet broadcasting. It doesn't sound like a step up the career ladder for most people, but Rogers thought it was the only way he could do what he felt was important. After working for ten years, he finally put together his own show, using his ideas and his childhood, but also deeply rooted in child psychology. On February 27, 2003, cancer overcame Mr. Rogers, and he passed away, mourned by many children and adults all over the United States.

Mister Rogers wanted every child to feel special, to know that someone cares for him or her, and to use their imaginations. If they can do that, they can be a success.