public figures like this don’t come
around too often welcome to
watchmojo.com and today we’re counting
down our picks for the top 10 things to
know about Mister Rogers
before we begin we publish new content
every day so be sure to subscribe to our
Channel and ring the bell to get
notified about our latest videos for
this list we’re looking at a variety of
fun little-known facts about this late
great icon of children’s television
which are sure to make you love him even
more number 10 he got into television
because he was unimpressed with it he’d
think that anybody who stars in a
television show for decades would have a
great love for the medium but as Mister
Rogers once explained quote when I first
saw children’s television I thought it
was perfectly horrible my neighbor so
how did he wind up becoming a shining
light of children’s television well
rather than simply complain about the
object of his disdain he decided to do
something about it as he put it to CNN
quote I went into television because I
hated it so and I thought there’s some
way of using this fabulous instrument to
nurture those who would watch and listen
and he did just that number 9 he was an
ordained minister life could have played
out very differently for Fred Rogers in
1963 he graduated from Pittsburgh
Theological Seminary and became an
ordained minister within the United
Presbyterian Church the next logical
step would have been for him to begin
preaching but he’d been working in
television since the early 1950s and so
even after he was ordained he continued
along the career path he’d started
having already begun to hone his craft
in children’s television on the
award-winning WQED public television
series the Children’s Corner though he
never wound up leading a congregation
with Mister Rogers neighborhood
he found a flock of his own one that
spanned generations number 8 he was
equally loved by animals
they say animals make great judges of
character and the way our friends in the
animal kingdom responded to Fred Rogers
calm welcoming and gentle demeanor
certainly supports that claim would you
like something deep black bear perhaps
his most famous non-human fan was Coco
the gorilla who was reportedly an avid
viewer of his program in 1998 Coco
actually appeared on an episode of
Mister Rogers neighborhood as part of a
series about looking beyond superficial
differences and facing our fears the
greedy you maybe been eating Coco was
thrilled to see mr. Rogers and didn’t
hide her affection and as a committed
lover of animals mr. Rogers was also a
vegetarian number seven
he was the victim of bullying as a child
then what might surprise you given his
famously slim frame mr. Rogers was
actually chubby when he was young and
this apparently made him the butt of
jokes in his own real-life neighborhood
growing up similarly surprising
considering his career in television as
an adult he was also reportedly very shy
which only exacerbated the bullying his
peers were allegedly so merciless that
according to mr. Rogers and me director
Benjamin Wagner young Fred Rogers would
cry when he was alone this was clearly a
formative experience for Rogers who
rather than become embittered channeled
his feelings into positivity and learned
to look beyond the surface of others
[Music]
talk about an inspiration
number six he did one TV guest spot as a
fictional character mr. Rogers was best
known for appearing on his own eponymous
television series but he also had a
habit of occasionally venturing into
other televised neighborhoods in series
the thing is no matter where he went he
was always the same old soft-spoken
loving and compassionate Fred Rogers
yet on Sesame Street or when you
encountered him in person oh my goodness
mr. Rogers there was one notable
exception however in 1996 he played a
character other than himself on dr.
Quinn Medicine Woman he played a
reverend who in a very unneighborly
fashion
his church for reasons of vanity what’s
going on here number five he wore
sneakers for production reasons mr.
Rogers fashion sense is a big part of
his image and legacy and we’ll be
talking more about that later but right
now we want to talk about those sweet
kicks considering his old-timey attire
the sneakers always seemed like an
interesting outlier and people could not
help but fixate on them especially since
he was always tying and untying them
so why sneakers as opposed to a more
conventional and outfit appropriate pair
of dress shoes it’s simple really Fred
Rogers thought work shoes or dress shoes
were too loud for the quiet space he was
creating and working in number four he
wrote all the music for the show a big
part of mr. Rogers neighborhood was the
soothing music being played in the
background though it was no secret that
Fred Rogers played piano what not
everyone realizes is just what a
talented musician he really was he first
began playing piano at the tender age of
five and would go on to earn a Bachelor
of Arts in music composition he actually
got his start in television working on
such musical programs as your hit parade
he used this passion for music and
Composition to personally write with
only a few exceptions all of the music
on his show when you wake up ready to
number three he reportedly responded to
all his fan mail considering just how
many lives mr. Rogers affected with his
television series over the decades you
can imagine that he likely received a
whole lot of letters most celebrities
simply don’t have the time to respond to
their fans while others have a stock
response that goes out to make fans feel
like they’ve at least been acknowledged
but not mr. Rogers as part of his daily
routine he allegedly sat down and wrote
thoughtful considerate responses to
every single piece of mail he received
he gives opens his arms and he’s like
it’s great to see you again neighbor and
it just gives me this big hug you know
though Fred Rogers is no longer with us
but countless letters out there must be
a great comfort to fans and an enduring
reminder that he truly cared
[Music]
number two his mom knit all of his
sweaters though the sneakers were a big
part of his image the sweaters worn by
mr. Rogers in every episode are truly
iconic arguably on par with his
catchphrase won’t you be my neighbor
just taken at face value these cozy
sweaters are adorable and endlessly
endearing but when you add to that the
fact that they were reportedly made by
his mom huh doesn’t your heart just melt
as he once explained in an interview
until the time of her death Rogers
mother would knit and send sweaters to
friends and family every Christmas and
those are the ones he wore you know when
I put on one of these sweaters it helps
me to think about my mother
number one he helped to save public
television in 1969 Mister Rogers
appeared before Congress to speak out
against proposed budget cuts to funding
for public broadcasting one of the first
things that a child learns in a healthy
family is trust
he gave an impassioned speech about the
virtues of public television painting a
vivid picture for skeptical politicians
that made it incredibly hard for them to
deny its importance I think it’s
wonderful
I think it’s wonderful looks like you
just earned the 20 million dollars the
end result was that just two years later
the budget increased by 11 million
dollars that’s not the only public cause
Rogers champion however he similarly
came to the defense of home VCRs
and the home recording of programs in
1979 why because he felt that people
should have the opportunity to watch
quality programming whenever they could
find the time to do it as a family do
you agree with our picks check out these
other great clips from WatchMojo and be
sure to subscribe and ring the bell to be notified about our latest videos
around too often welcome to
watchmojo.com and today we’re counting
down our picks for the top 10 things to
know about Mister Rogers
before we begin we publish new content
every day so be sure to subscribe to our
Channel and ring the bell to get
notified about our latest videos for
this list we’re looking at a variety of
fun little-known facts about this late
great icon of children’s television
which are sure to make you love him even
more number 10 he got into television
because he was unimpressed with it he’d
think that anybody who stars in a
television show for decades would have a
great love for the medium but as Mister
Rogers once explained quote when I first
saw children’s television I thought it
was perfectly horrible my neighbor so
how did he wind up becoming a shining
light of children’s television well
rather than simply complain about the
object of his disdain he decided to do
something about it as he put it to CNN
quote I went into television because I
hated it so and I thought there’s some
way of using this fabulous instrument to
nurture those who would watch and listen
and he did just that number 9 he was an
ordained minister life could have played
out very differently for Fred Rogers in
1963 he graduated from Pittsburgh
Theological Seminary and became an
ordained minister within the United
Presbyterian Church the next logical
step would have been for him to begin
preaching but he’d been working in
television since the early 1950s and so
even after he was ordained he continued
along the career path he’d started
having already begun to hone his craft
in children’s television on the
award-winning WQED public television
series the Children’s Corner though he
never wound up leading a congregation
with Mister Rogers neighborhood
he found a flock of his own one that
spanned generations number 8 he was
equally loved by animals
they say animals make great judges of
character and the way our friends in the
animal kingdom responded to Fred Rogers
calm welcoming and gentle demeanor
certainly supports that claim would you
like something deep black bear perhaps
his most famous non-human fan was Coco
the gorilla who was reportedly an avid
viewer of his program in 1998 Coco
actually appeared on an episode of
Mister Rogers neighborhood as part of a
series about looking beyond superficial
differences and facing our fears the
greedy you maybe been eating Coco was
thrilled to see mr. Rogers and didn’t
hide her affection and as a committed
lover of animals mr. Rogers was also a
vegetarian number seven
he was the victim of bullying as a child
then what might surprise you given his
famously slim frame mr. Rogers was
actually chubby when he was young and
this apparently made him the butt of
jokes in his own real-life neighborhood
growing up similarly surprising
considering his career in television as
an adult he was also reportedly very shy
which only exacerbated the bullying his
peers were allegedly so merciless that
according to mr. Rogers and me director
Benjamin Wagner young Fred Rogers would
cry when he was alone this was clearly a
formative experience for Rogers who
rather than become embittered channeled
his feelings into positivity and learned
to look beyond the surface of others
[Music]
talk about an inspiration
number six he did one TV guest spot as a
fictional character mr. Rogers was best
known for appearing on his own eponymous
television series but he also had a
habit of occasionally venturing into
other televised neighborhoods in series
the thing is no matter where he went he
was always the same old soft-spoken
loving and compassionate Fred Rogers
yet on Sesame Street or when you
encountered him in person oh my goodness
mr. Rogers there was one notable
exception however in 1996 he played a
character other than himself on dr.
Quinn Medicine Woman he played a
reverend who in a very unneighborly
fashion
his church for reasons of vanity what’s
going on here number five he wore
sneakers for production reasons mr.
Rogers fashion sense is a big part of
his image and legacy and we’ll be
talking more about that later but right
now we want to talk about those sweet
kicks considering his old-timey attire
the sneakers always seemed like an
interesting outlier and people could not
help but fixate on them especially since
he was always tying and untying them
so why sneakers as opposed to a more
conventional and outfit appropriate pair
of dress shoes it’s simple really Fred
Rogers thought work shoes or dress shoes
were too loud for the quiet space he was
creating and working in number four he
wrote all the music for the show a big
part of mr. Rogers neighborhood was the
soothing music being played in the
background though it was no secret that
Fred Rogers played piano what not
everyone realizes is just what a
talented musician he really was he first
began playing piano at the tender age of
five and would go on to earn a Bachelor
of Arts in music composition he actually
got his start in television working on
such musical programs as your hit parade
he used this passion for music and
Composition to personally write with
only a few exceptions all of the music
on his show when you wake up ready to
number three he reportedly responded to
all his fan mail considering just how
many lives mr. Rogers affected with his
television series over the decades you
can imagine that he likely received a
whole lot of letters most celebrities
simply don’t have the time to respond to
their fans while others have a stock
response that goes out to make fans feel
like they’ve at least been acknowledged
but not mr. Rogers as part of his daily
routine he allegedly sat down and wrote
thoughtful considerate responses to
every single piece of mail he received
he gives opens his arms and he’s like
it’s great to see you again neighbor and
it just gives me this big hug you know
though Fred Rogers is no longer with us
but countless letters out there must be
a great comfort to fans and an enduring
reminder that he truly cared
[Music]
number two his mom knit all of his
sweaters though the sneakers were a big
part of his image the sweaters worn by
mr. Rogers in every episode are truly
iconic arguably on par with his
catchphrase won’t you be my neighbor
just taken at face value these cozy
sweaters are adorable and endlessly
endearing but when you add to that the
fact that they were reportedly made by
his mom huh doesn’t your heart just melt
as he once explained in an interview
until the time of her death Rogers
mother would knit and send sweaters to
friends and family every Christmas and
those are the ones he wore you know when
I put on one of these sweaters it helps
me to think about my mother
number one he helped to save public
television in 1969 Mister Rogers
appeared before Congress to speak out
against proposed budget cuts to funding
for public broadcasting one of the first
things that a child learns in a healthy
family is trust
he gave an impassioned speech about the
virtues of public television painting a
vivid picture for skeptical politicians
that made it incredibly hard for them to
deny its importance I think it’s
wonderful
I think it’s wonderful looks like you
just earned the 20 million dollars the
end result was that just two years later
the budget increased by 11 million
dollars that’s not the only public cause
Rogers champion however he similarly
came to the defense of home VCRs
and the home recording of programs in
1979 why because he felt that people
should have the opportunity to watch
quality programming whenever they could
find the time to do it as a family do
you agree with our picks check out these
other great clips from WatchMojo and be
sure to subscribe and ring the bell to be notified about our latest videos
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