Mister Rogers' Neighborhood

Did You Know?

• When Fred Rogers died in 2003, PBS's website provided suggestions to parents on how to respond to children who ask about Rogers' death.
• The song 'Won't You Be My Neighbor?' was written by Fred Rogers in 1967.

History

The series began with The Children's Corner, a live weekday-afternoon program that debuted on WQED on April 5, 1954, featuring Rogers as puppeteer and composer and Josie Carey as host. Many puppets and characters later used in Mister Rogers' Neighborhood, such as King Friday XIII, Daniel Tiger, and X the Owl, were developed there. Rogers moved to Toronto in 1961 to work on Misterogers, a 15-minute CBC Television program that ran for about four years. On that show, Rogers appeared on camera for the first time, and set pieces like the trolley and castle were created by CBC designers. In 1966, Rogers acquired the rights from CBC and moved the show to WQED in Pittsburgh, renaming it Misterogers' Neighborhood. It initially aired regionally in the northeastern United States through EEN. The series was cancelled in 1967 due to lack of funding, but public response led to renewed funding.

Format

Each half-hour episode featured Rogers speaking directly to the viewer about various topics, taking tours of factories, demonstrating experiments and crafts, and interacting with friends. He aimed to behave naturally on camera rather than acting out a character. Episodes included a puppet segment set in the Neighborhood of Make-Believe and visits to places such as Brockett's Bakery, Bob Trow's Workshop, and Negri's Music Shop. The show opened with a camera pan over a model of the neighborhood, then showed Rogers coming home, singing 'Won't You Be My Neighbor?', changing into a cardigan sweater and blue sneakers. One of Rogers' sweaters is now in the Smithsonian Institution.

Characters

Characters included Neighbor Aber, Lady Aberlin, Scientist Alder, Charles Appel, Natalie Baker, Marilyn Barnett, Chef Brockett, Bob Brown, Judy Brown, Michael Brown, Tony Chiroldes, Jose Cisneros, Officer Clemmons, Dr. David Crippens, Keith David, Emily the Poetry Lady, Joey Hollingsworth, Pilot Ito, Susan Linn, and Mayor Maggie. Each character had a role in the real world or the Neighborhood of Make-Believe. For example, Officer Clemmons was a police officer and trained opera singer, while Chef Brockett owned Brockett's Bakery and had a counterpart in the Neighborhood of Make-Believe who assisted in the kitchen.

Broadcast history

The first broadcast on NET was February 19, 1968. The first season consisted of 130 black-and-white episodes. From seasons 2 through 8 (1969–1975), 65 new color episodes were produced each year. After season 8, Rogers took a break; season 9 (1976) had only five episodes. Production resumed in 1978, with 15 new episodes per year from 1979 to 1993. These 'second series' episodes aired alongside repeats of the earlier color episodes. Occasional specials titled 'Mister Rogers Talks with Parents About...' aired on weekends before new batches of weekday episodes.