Fred Rogers
TV Personality / Clergyman
Fred Rogers was the host of the popular long-running public television children's show Mister Rogers' Neighborhood. The show debuted in Pittsburgh in 1967 and was picked up by PBS the next year, becoming a staple of public TV stations around the United States. Rogers' mild manner, cardigan sweaters and soft speaking voice made him both widely beloved and widely parodied. Rogers ended production of the show in 2001, but reruns of the show continued to be aired on many PBS stations. He died in 2003 after a short battle with stomach cancer.Extra credit: Rogers was an ordained Presbyterian minister... Comedian Eddie Murphy did a popular parody of Rogers for the TV show Saturday Night Live... There is no truth to the rumor that Mr. Rogers was once an Army sniper, a Marine or a Navy SEAL. (Similar untrue stories are told about John Denver and TV's Captain Kangaroo.) He did not serve in the military in any capacity.
Other favorites of children's TV include Steve Burns of Blue's Clues, Barney the dinosaur, and Jim Henson of Sesame Street.
Read more about the 'Mister Rogers was a sniper' rumor in our loop Legends of E-Mail.
Blog posts mentioning Fred Rogers:
Mister Rogers +5
Four Good Links
'Mister Rogers' Dies at 74
2003 obituary from CNN, with added tidbits on his career
Family Communications
The non-profit organization he started in 1971
Would You Be Mine?
Salon memorial from 2003
Mr. Rogers Dies
The CNN obituary
Vital Stats
Birth
Birthplace
Death
27 February 2003
(stomach cancer, age 74)
Best Known As
Host of the children's TV series Mister Rogers' Neighborhood
