On the welcoming set of Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood, Fred Rogers offered warmth, affirmation, and education to millions of children—“one buckaroo at a time.”
VICTOR PARACHIN
N 1997, at the twenty-fourth Daytime Entertainment Emmy Awards at New York City’s Radio City Music Hall, a Lifetime Achievement Award was presented to Fred Rogers, host of the children’s television program Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood. After a five-minute video trib-
I
ute, Rogers was called to the stage to accept
the award.
Speaking softly, he asked the audience to “take, along with me, ten seconds to think of the people who have helped you become who you are, those who have cared about
you and wanted what was best for you in life. Ten seconds of silence. I’ll watch the time.”
Then a remarkable thing happened. During the ten sec-
onds of silence, tears could be seen flowing freely on the faces of people in the audience, many of whom were tough, seasoned, even cynical entertainment professionals. At the
26
end of ten seconds, Rogers offered these words: “Whomever you’ve been thinking about, how pleased they must be to know the difference you feel they’ve made. They’re the kind of people television does well to offer our world.” Bill Isler, CEO of Family Communications Inc., the com-
includes who we were in the past.” “Who we are in the present
pany that produces Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood, later said of the moment: “I’ve never seen anything like it. I don’t know that I ever will.” The soft-spoken, gentle, af-
firming man the world knows as Mr. Rogers touched the
hearts of children and adults alike. He had a powerful impact upon all who came into contact with him. For nearly half a century, Fred Rogers educated, empowered, and entertained children and their families on national televi- sion. At his show’s peak in 1985, television sets in eight million homes in the United States were tuned to the show
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PHOTO: ©DEBORAH FEINGOLD/CORBIS
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