Fred Rogers

Fred McFeely Rogers (March 20, 1928 – February 27, 2003) was an American television personality,
musician, puppeteer, writer, producer, and Presbyterian minister. He was known as the creator,
composer, producer, head writer, showrunner and host of the preschool television series Mister Rogers'
Neighborhood (1968–2001). The show featured Rogers's kind, neighborly persona,[1] which nurtured his
connection to the audience.[2] Rogers would end each program by telling his viewers, "You've made this
day a special day, by just your being you. There's no person in the whole world like you; and I like you
just the way you are."[3]

Trained and ordained as a minister, Rogers was displeased with the way television addressed children.
He began to write and perform local Pittsburgh-area shows for youth. In 1968, Eastern Educational
Television Network began nationwide distribution of Rogers's new show on WQED. Over the course of
three decades, Rogers became a television icon of children's entertainment and education.[4]

Rogers advocated various public causes. In the Betamax case, the U.S. Supreme Court cited Rogers's
prior testimony before a lower court in favor of fair-use television show recording (now called time
shifting). Rogers also testified before a U.S. Senate committee to advocate for government funding of
children's television.[5]

Rogers received the Presidential Medal of Freedom, 40 honorary degrees,[6] and a Peabody Award. He
was inducted into the Television Hall of Fame and was recognized in two congressional resolutions. He
was ranked number 35 of the TV Guide's Fifty Greatest TV Stars of All Time.[7] Several buildings and
artworks in Pennsylvania are dedicated to his memory, and the Smithsonian Institution displays one of
his trademark sweaters as a "Treasure of American History". On June 25, 2016, the Fred Rogers
Historical Marker was placed near Latrobe, Pennsylvania in his memory.[8]

Rogers was born on March 20, 1928, in Latrobe, Pennsylvania 40 miles (65 km) southeast of Pittsburgh,
at 705 Main Street,[9] to James and Nancy Rogers. James was "a very successful businessman"[10] who
was president of the McFeely Brick Company, one of Latrobe's largest businesses. Nancy's father, Fred
Brooks McFeely, after whom Rogers was named, was an entrepreneur.[11] Nancy knitted sweaters for
American soldiers from western Pennsylvania who were fighting in Europe and regularly volunteered at
the Latrobe Hospital. Initially dreaming of becoming a doctor, she settled for a life of hospital volunteer
work. Rogers grew up in a three-story brick mansion at 737 Weldon Street in Latrobe.[12][9] He had a
sister, Elaine, who was adopted by the Rogerses when he was 11 years old.[12] Rogers spent much of his
childhood alone, playing with puppets and spending time with his grandfather. He learned how to play
the piano when he was five years old.[6]
Rogers had a difficult childhood; he had a shy, introverted personality and was overweight. He was
frequently homebound after suffering bouts of asthma.[10] He was bullied and taunted as a child for his
weight, and was called "Fat Freddy."[13] According to Morgan Neville, director of the 2018 documentary
Won't You Be My Neighbor?, Rogers had a "lonely childhood... I think he made friends with himself as
much as he could. He had a ventriloquist dummy, he had [stuffed] animals, and he would create his own
worlds in his childhood bedroom."[13]

Rogers attended Latrobe High School, where he overcame his shyness.[14] "It was tough for me at the
beginning," Rogers told NPR's Terry Gross in 1984. "And then I made a couple friends who found out
that the core of me was OK. And one of them was...the head of the football team."[15] Rogers served as
president of the student council, was a member of the National Honor Society and was editor-in-chief of
the school yearbook.[14] He attended Dartmouth College for one year before transferring to Rollins
College in Winter Park, Florida; he graduated in 1951 with a degree in music composition.[6]

Rogers graduated from Pittsburgh Theological Seminary and was ordained a minister of the United
Presbyterian Church in 1963.[16]