PBS Tribute to Mr. Rogers... Best Thing I've Seen in a While

[ChellyNelly]

This is amazing:

It made me laugh, it made me almost cry, and it made me happy to think about the awesome people our world has been blessed with through time. RIP Mr. Fred Rogers

 

[Los Marauder]

ChellyNelly-Thanks, this is great. A lot of people don't know Mr. Rogers was a honerd Vietnam Vet. He saw some serious stuff go down over there. He came back and changed telivision for ever. To think back to Pres. Nixon and he was so opposed to public television. I never would have known this wonderous world of make believe. Alot of people hated Mr. Rogers, but he realy would be a "good neighbor".

 

[ChellyNelly]

Actually, that Vietnam Vet thing was just a rumor, which has been dispelled. He isn't a vet but he is an ordained Presbyterian minister who loved children and wanted to see television educate them and make them better people. Awesome guy, regardless. Can't stop listening to the song

 

[torradan]

That was great! I used to watch his show religiously, and this brought back a lot of memories. It's a shame that he is no longer with us.

 

[aggo]

Wow! Did you know that Mr. Rogers started his own show in Canada? And he brought up Ernie Coombs (Mr. Dressup) to help him with the new show, and Ernie stayed. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fred_Rogers

 

[ChellyNelly]

I did, and it's wonderful I loved Mr. Dressup, as well Ahhhhh, nostalgia.

 

[Hot Sauce]

Awesome! Reminds me of the time Mr. Rogers beat Mr. T in a rap battle...

[youtube]v=7ZsKqbt3gQ0[youtube]

 

[Hot Sauce]

Mr T vs Mr Rogers. Epic Rap Battles of History #13 - YouTube

my bad

 

[Mindfield]

I saw that a couple of days ago, and it's excellent. It was done by the same guy who does the equally excellent Symphony of Science videos.

I watched Mr. Rogers' Neighbourhood when I was a kid, and Mister Dressup as well, whom my father used to refer to as "Mister Messup" just to get a rise out of me. Fred Rogers was a real standup guy though. He was religious, but never preached, and he always taught kids that they were individuals, and to be excellent to each other long before Bill and Ted did. And he practiced what he preached -- he was a man who truly walked the walk.

For those who haven't seen it, here's his speech before the US senate defending his program and public broadcasting. It pretty much encapsulates everything he was about.

 

[denali_41]

here are some very interesting facts about the even tone speaking Mr Rogers



On another note, there was this wimpy little man
(who passed away) on PBS, gentle and quiet. Mr. Rogers is
Another of those you would least suspect of being anything
But what he now portrays to our youth.
But Mr. Rogers was a U.S. Navy Seal, combat-proven in
Vietnam with over twenty-five confirmed kills to his name.
He wore a long-sleeved sweater on TV, to cover the many
Tattoos on his forearm and biceps.
He was a master in small arms and hand-to-hand combat,
Able to disarm or kill in a heartbeat



After the war Mr. Rogers became an ordained Presbyterian minister
And therefore a pacifist. Vowing to never harm another human and also dedicating the rest of his life to trying to help lead children on the right path in life... He hid away the tattoos and his past life and won our hearts with his quiet wit and charm..

 

[ChellyNelly]

The tattoos and Vietnam vet things are rumors that have been dispelled, just to be clear

Here's a link: http://urbanlegends.about.com/od/fredrogers/a/mr_rogers.htm

TL;DRlink:

Fred Rogers won our hearts, true enough; but the rest of the story as told in this email is hogwash. After graduating from Rollins College in Florida with a degree in music in 1951, he immediately embarked on a broadcasting career — a career that continued uninterrupted for nearly 50 years, even while he studied for a Bachelor of Divinity degree, eventually becoming an ordained minister in 1962. Far from hiding a secret past as a trained killer, Fred Rogers was a truly gentle soul who devoted his entire adult life to educating and bettering the lives of children, and as such he deserves to be remembered.

 

[MisterMike]

Like a lot of people here within a certain age demographic, I also grew up with Mr. Rogers, Mr. Dressup and Sesame Street. I watched the vid in the original post a couple days ago, and rewatched it again today. So many childhood memories came flooding back at the sound of his voice.

I don't think I've seen the likes of Mr. Rogers' Neighbourhood, or Mr. Dressup for that matter, on TV in quite a while. It's probably one reason I rate kids' TV as 'adequate' nowadays. Only thing that comes close is Sesame Street, but even it's starting to show its age. (Odd tangent - I saw a DVD set of Season 1 or 2 of Sesame Street on sale somewhere a couple years ago, and on the back, it said right on the package that some content may not be suitable for children. Uh, what?)

Makes me want to hunt down a Mr. Rogers DVD boxed set (if such an animal exists) and plonk my kids in front of it every day and watch an episode with them. Ever since we got rid of the cable, I'm sure they'd be thrilled.

Another somewhat related tangent - My father-in-law reminds me a lot of Mr. Rogers, if Mr. Rogers was a retired entomologist, used more cuss words and kicked back with a beer or two every now and again. He's got that soft-spoken, laid-back sort of perpetual cheerfulness going on.

 

[aggo]

Don't forget The Friendly Giant. I loved that show: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WV2P6P4p6Hg

 

[aggo]

Speak of the devil (so to speak). Posted on Facebook's Vintage Toronto today:
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?...55119605.77315.256041347799190&type=1&theater

 

[AinSophAur]

Another great remix is the Carl Sagan and Stephen Hawking's A Glorious Dawn.

 

[Rttch]

I don't think I've seen the likes of Mr. Rogers' Neighbourhood, or Mr. Dressup for that matter, on TV in quite a while. It's probably one reason I rate kids' TV as 'adequate' nowadays. Only thing that comes close is Sesame Street, but even it's starting to show its age. (Odd tangent - I saw a DVD set of Season 1 or 2 of Sesame Street on sale somewhere a couple years ago, and on the back, it said right on the package that some content may not be suitable for children. Uh, what?)

Oscar the Grouch and the Cookie Monster are still my role models

Back on topic, I never got to watch Mr. Rogers but I do recall some pent up nostalgia of watching Mr. Dressup.