March 20 – Happy Birthday, Mr. Rogers!

Posted on March 20, 2016

“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.'”

“I like you just the way you are.”

“It always helps to have people we love beside us when we have to do difficult things in life.”

Today is a great day to celebrate the life of beloved TV personality Fred Rogers. Born on this date in 1928, Mr. Rogers created and hosted a preschool TV series called Mister Rogers' Neighborhood...a show that featured field trips, educational films about how things like bulldozers work or how things like crayons are made, make-believe segments, and earnest conversations with the TV audience and live guests. Mr. Rogers' loving, gentle wisdom was delivered with a soft-spoken voice and with a respectful directness – I love to see adults with that sort of respectful attitude toward kids.

Mr. Rogers, in turn, earned a lot of respect, from kids and adults. And he earned around 40 honorary degrees, a Peabody Award, an induction into the Television Hall of Fame, and the Presidential Medal of Freedom!

Did you know...?

All 895 episodes of Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood began with Mr. Rogers coming home and changing into his sneakers and zippered cardigan. He said that all of his sweaters were knitted by his mother.

One of his sweaters is on display at the Smithsonian Institution, labeled as one of the “Treasures of American History.”

Mr. Rogers wore tennis shoes because they were quieter than “work shoes” as he moved around behind the set.

An asteroid is named after Mr. Rogers: 26858 Misterrogers.

Michael Keaton, the actor famous for movies as varied as Beetlejuice, Batman, and Multiplicity, was a stagehand for Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood before he became an actor!