It’s A Beautiful Day In The Neighborhood: A Look Back At Mr. Rogers
Interacting with Interesting Characters
Over the years, Mr. Rogers hosted a variety of interesting characters, and he also worked with some behind the scenes. In the 1970s he had The Wizard of Oz actress Margaret Hamilton, who played the Wicked Witch, on several episodes. Mr. Rogers wanted to remind children that even though she was scary in the movie, that it was all just pretend and in real life she was a nice person. Another similar incident involved the actor who played Big Bird on Sesame Street, Caroll Spinney.
Spinney was asked to be a guest on Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood in the 1960s. Mr. Rogers wanted Spinney to appear on the show and have him take off the Big Bird costume and show them how costumes and puppetry worked. However, Spinney refused saying he didn’t want to ruin the illusion of the character. He did end up appearing but only as Big Bird. Another interesting character is George Romero, who is also from Pennsylvania like Fred. George Romero was hired to work on films for the show and it was his very first film job. George Romero is, of course, a huge icon in the horror film world and considered to be the father of the zombie movie. He made such famous movies as Night of the Living Dead and Dawn of the Dead.
Mr.Rogers’ Affinity for Music
Being an avid musician himself, Mr. Rogers also had a huge affinity for music. He had jazz pianist Johnny Costa work as the Musical Director for the program for nearly 30 years. All the music was performed live, including the sound effects heard in each episode such as the trolley whistle, background music, and entry and exit music, by Costa and his trio. Johnny Costa passed away in 1996, and the show dedicated an episode to his memory.
In another episode, Mr. Rogers had the famous cellist, Yo Yo Ma as a guest. Mr. Rogers and Yo Yo Ma discussed their mutual love of music as well as how music can help us to express feelings and emotions, an important topic for all the children watching the program. Yo Yo Ma was later chosen as the first recipient of the Fred Rogers award. A beautiful story involving the Mr. Rogers’ theme song took place in New York. While taking the subway with a friend, the subway was also crowded with many school children. Instead of approaching him they all sang “Won’t You Be My Neighbor,” turning the subway into a choir. If we know anything about Mr. Rogers by now it’s that he would have been extremely moved by such a moment.