In the early 1950s, television as a medium was in its infancy and the little that Fred Rogers saw of it left him unimpressed.
every week. The final original episodes started airing in August 2001, but reruns have continued ever since and seem set to continue for many years.
Early Years
Although Fred Rogers is now a household name, his rise to fame was slow and laborious. He was born in Latrobe, Pennsylvania, on March 20, 1928. He began playing the
piano at the age of five, sparking an interest in music that led to his graduating from Rollins College, Florida, in 1951 with a Bach- elor of Arts degree in music composition. Rogers applied to Pittsburgh Theological Seminary with the intention of studying to become a minister, but before he took up the place he was offered in the seminary, he surprised his parents by declaring: “I think I’ll go into television.” His family responded: “How can you say that? You haven’t even seen television!” He answered:
“Well, I’ve
seen enough to try to put my hand in it.” In the early 1950s, television as a me- dium was in its infancy and the little that Rogers saw of it left him unimpressed. “I just hated it,” he recalled later. “Grown men were throwing pies at each other.” As he reflected more deeply on the new medium, he realized it could be a powerful tool to teach and perhaps even improve humanity. So, even though he had no experience to list on his resume except for writing and playing some songs, he made his way to New York City at the end of 1951 to seek work in television.
He landed a job at NBC as a “gofer”— fetching coffee and soft drinks for the televi- sion crew and doing anything else he was asked to do. It was not a glamorous job, especially for a young man with a college degree and a new bride—in June 1952, Rogers married Joanne Byrd, whom he had met in 1951 when they were both students at Rollins College. However, Rogers kept reminding himself that he was gaining im- portant experience. At the television station, he paid close attention, asked questions, and learned everything he could. “It was an in- valuable time for me,” Rogers said. His commitment paid off when he was rewarded with the position of floor man- ager, working on programs such as The Kate Smith Hour, The Lucky Strike Hit Parade, and The Gabby Hayes Show. In 1953, Rogers decided to join an educational television station, WQED, that was about to start up in Pittsburgh,
T H E E L K S M A G A Z I N E
Pennsylvania. When he told his employers at NBC that he was going to join the nation’s first community-sponsored public television station, they replied: “You’re crazy! That place isn’t even on the air yet.” But Rogers believed that because the station had a low profile,
it gave him an
opportunity to work with a clean slate. Rogers was asked to develop the program schedule, and one of the shows he produced was called The Children’s Corner, hosted by Josie
Leland Hazard, vice- president of WQED, was one of the executives who invited Fred Rogers to the Pittsburgh-based TV
station in 1953 to develop children’s programs.
Carey. The show was first broadcast in 1954, with Rogers working behind the scenes, playing the organ, writing mu- sic for the hostess to sing, and working some puppets. During the show’s seven-year run, Rogers learned much that he would later put to good use when he stepped in front of the camera himself.
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PHOTO: TIME & LIFE PICTURES/GETTY
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