It’s A Beautiful Day In The Neighborhood: A Look Back At Mr. Rogers
Mr. Rogers Was an Author and Musician
In addition to being one of the most beloved TV personalities of all time, Mr. Rogers also had several other talents including writing and playing music. Mr. Rogers was a prolific writer, and authored more than thirty-six books. Some of his books are titled Going to the Doctor, Moving, Going to the Hospital, Going to Day Care, Making Friends, The New Baby, Going to the Potty, When a Pet Dies, and The World According to Mister Rogers: Important Things to Remember. The majority of Mr. Rogers’ books were like his show, and were meant to help children navigate through life and deal with any difficult situations.
Mr. Rogers was also a trained composer. He was the composer of all the original songs that were heard on the show. He was a perfectionist when it came to music and his television program, he was very thorough and made sure everything was done correctly. He said that children deserved to have television programs that were as good as programming created for adults.
An Emotional Moment
Over the years, Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood won four Emmy awards, and Fred Rogers was awarded a Lifetime Achievement Award at the Daytime Emmys in 1997. He made only a brief statement as his acceptance speech, but it was more moving than speeches thrice its length.
He said, “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, I’ll watch the time.” He paused for those ten seconds, looking at his watch. When the ten seconds were up, he said, “May God be with you.” The crowd was visibly moved and you can watch the moment here; prepare for the waterworks.
