A long time ago, this man use to kind of creep me out, but then after seeing him on several interviews and watching his show when I was older I kind of have a place of true affection for this man in my heart. I miss the old fella, nobody can take his place.


PITTSBURGH (Feb. 27) - A tribute to children's public television pioneer Fred Rogers will include an effort to get people everywhere to wear a sweater on what would have been his 80th birthday.

March 20th is being promoted as "Sweater Day" to honor Rogers, who died of cancer five years ago. A sweater was his trademark garb on "Mister Rogers' Neighborhood."

David Newell, who played speedy deliveryman Mr. McFeely on the show, appears in a YouTube video that touts the event.

"Sweater Day" is the capstone to a six-day celebration planned by Family Communications Inc. of Pittsburgh. Rogers created the company to produce his show.

if i remember, i'll do it.

Here's Mr. Roger's Eddie Murphy Style From SNL

a truly great, generous man...he is missed...

He still creeps me out. And his speech was weird.

My wife says I already dress like Mr. Rogers , but I'll absolutely rock the cardigan and sneakers on this day. He was awesome.

morningsong said:

mr. rogers - what a sweetheart. i can't watch old episodes of his show anymore without getting all weepy-eyed.

Anxiety said:

This is true especially when you know that this man has met his maker. PBS should respect his memory and stop showing his reruns.

MsLegs said:

stop? i think they should keep showing his reruns, or at least issue them as DVDs. i think future generations of little ones need to hear the things he had to say, because nobody on TV is picking up the torch and saying those things to kids now, which is kinda sad.

Anxiety said:

Well, you do have a point.

Anxiety said:

exactly, it would be a shame if todays children never knew the real Mr. Rogers...I think it's the ultimate show of respect to let his show continue...his message is universal and timeless...should we stop listening to Bob Marley because he passed?

MsLegs said:

things like telling kids they're perfect just the way they are and that sometimes it's okay to be a little sad...hell, i think ADULTS need to hear someone say those things most of the time.

Anxiety said:

Exactly.

Never understood how anyone could find this man creepy. There is not a creepy bone in him.

He was a truly genuine, kind man.

A friend of mine worked at the Pittsburgh PBS affiliate where his show was produced, and she said that what we saw on TV was exactly what they saw everyday off-camera. Absolutely zero artifice.

I don't think people appreciate just how amazing that man was. He was a beast! An accomplished musician, an ordained Prebyterian minister, a university instructor, a TV producer...

I will never forget when he got his Lifetime Achievement Emmy in '97. When he got up onstage and accepted his award, there was total magic. He absolutely owned that audience! This is from his Wiki page..

Mister Rogers went onstage to accept the award — and there, in front of all the soap opera stars and talk show sinceratrons, in front of all the jutting man-tanned jaws and jutting saltwater bosoms, he made his small bow and said into the microphone, "All of us have special ones who have loved us into being. Would you just take, along with me, ten seconds to think of the people who have helped you become who you are. Ten seconds of silence.

And then he lifted his wrist, looked at the audience, looked at his watch, and said, 'I'll watch the time." There was, at first, a small whoop from the crowd, a giddy, strangled hiccup of laughter, as people realized that he wasn't kidding, that Mister Rogers was not some convenient eunuch, but rather a man, an authority figure who actually expected them to do what he asked. And so they did. One second, two seconds, seven seconds — and now the jaws clenched, and the bosoms heaved, and the mascara ran, and the tears fell upon the beglittered gathering like rain leaking down a crystal chandelier. And Mister Rogers finally looked up from his watch and said softly, "May God be with you," to all his vanquished children.

It was stunning!

Lammastide said:

wow. fred was the man.