Remembering Fred Rogers...

[sidcrowe]

I'll miss Mr. Rogers too

Sorry I got on the thread a little late. Of all the tributes out there so far, I think this MC thread is one of the best.

His idyllic neighbourhood reminded me a bit of a British stop-motion animated show called Postman Pat, another perfect, charming distilled environment and community of people who are nice to each other.

For other Canadians, it's like the loss of the TRINITY of nice guys who did about 30 years each. And all on the CBC, where they all worked (Mr. Rogers for a little while before going back to the USA).

In Cananda we had The Friendly Giant, who was just a nice giant who invited you in, read a story and palyed the flute with a giraffe and a rooster. If you've never watched it in the USA, it may sound stupid, but it was just like Mr. Rogers in that it was a nice quiet polite visit with a nice man.

“The Friendly Giant” began in 1953 as a radio programme in the American state of Wisconsin. Robert Homme (pronounced Hummy) was the show's creator, writer and star.

In 1958, Homme moved the show to the CBC in Canada. The programme was a big part of CBC Television for more than 25 years. “The Friendly Giant” introduced thousands of Canadian children to books and music – two things Bob Homme loved dearly.

Bob Homme died May 3, 2000 after a long fight with cancer. He was 81. A picture of the man and his set can be found here:
http://www.friendscb.org/calendar/1999/june.htm

More info here:
http://www.tvparty.com/lostgiant.html

Mr. Dressup died on Sept 18, 2001, from a series of strokes, a week after Sept 11, 2001. I remember feeling upset already, but when Ernie Coombs passed, I felt sick. He'd been around for as long as I could remember, too. He as well was a nice American guy who quietly invited people to his house, put on costumes and would draw a lot and hang around with puppet friends.

Mr. Dressup ran from 1967 to 1996. After he retired from TV, he did tours.

Here are two links about him:
http://www.cbc4kids.cbc.ca/general/time/history_radio_tv/mrdressup.html
http://cbc.ca/onair/personalities/mrdressup/coombs.html

And now Mister Rogers has died.

It's really sad, and for me (as well as most of you, too), comes at a time of extra fear for the state of the world.

I always watched Mr. Dressup, The Friendly Giant, and Mr. Rogers Nighbourhood.

I think that they were all cut from the same cloth.

I now realize that they all came from the USA. As a Canadian, I say "thank you" to the USA for all three of these wondeful people, and their messages.

There doesn't seem to be much time in the world for people who want to quietly build up a TV friendship and teach the messages of being nice, decent and sharing.

Many are called, but few answer.

Here at MC, the membership is made up of many who answered.

In the smilie menu, the eagle is referred to as "attitude." I am not selecting to express "attitude." I am selecting the eagle as a SALUTE to three great men from America, who shared their kindness and wisdom with their country of birth–the USA–, Canada, and the world.

Here's to Bob Homme, Ernie Coombs and Fred Rogers:

 

[Skeeter Muppet]

Of all the tributes out there so far, I think this MC thread is one of the best.

Ditto that. I've seen some messages at other boards with threads like this that make me think, "Are these people trying to be disrespectful to his memory on purpose?" I always like coming back to this thread to read the nice stuff, and I'm sure I'll enjoy reading the tributes once they're up as well.

I'm not even going to touch what these people say to each other with a 39 and 1/2 foot pole.


-Kim

 

[Jackie]

Originally posted by Doogied
And by the way, did anyone else catch Lady Aberlin dressed as a nun in Doggma?

That was Princess Leia. You got them confused.

 

[sidcrowe]

Skeeter is right.

Let's keep this thread a TRIBUTE to Fred Rogers in case we have visitors. Keep in mind that Fred Rogers is on the main page of MC right now

 

[Phillip]

Originally posted by Doogied
Did you ever see the A&E biography of Mr. Rogers?

No I haven't seen this! Didn't know it existed. I checked A&E's site and this isn't available for sale. Hopefully they will re-air it soon. I'm sure we will see several programs in honor of Mister Rogers the next few months. PBS showed a great special around 1993 as well celebrating the show's 25th year. Hopefully they will re-air that for those who might have missed it.

 

[Cantus Rock]

Fred on The Diane Rehm Show

My mother just remembered today that she had heard Fred Rogers on National Public Radio's Diane Rehm Show in promotion of his parenting book in December of last year:

http://www.wamu.org/dr/shows/drarc_021216.html

By clicking there and scrolling down a bit, you can listen to, and I believe purchase, the interview, as well as buy the book in promotion, "The Mister Rogers Parenting Book".

My mom said she thought it was especially sad, as this interview must have been conducted just weeks before he found out about his cancer.

-Matt

 

[Cantus Rock]

Also..

I was just doing a search for a good picture of Mr. Rogers for a school project, and I found this:

http://www.apts.org/html/whatsnew/previous headlines/RTL_WH event.html

There is a photo of Fred with Elmo at the very bottom, as well as a picture of Elmo and Zoe directly above it.

(and..listening to the Diane Rehm interview...I am still so, so sad. )

-Matt

 

[electricmayhem]

Re: Also..

Originally posted by Cantus Rock
(and..listening to the Diane Rehm interview...I am still so, so sad. )

-Matt

I just listened to it too...thanks for posting the link, it was good to hear him talking again

 

[GonzoLeaper]

Goodbye neighbor

I just had to post on this thread.
Mr. Roger's Neighborhood was certainly a mainstay of my favorite television shows growing up. Right on in there with Sesame Street and Reading Rainbow, it was one of the PBS shows I had to see.
I always enjoyed visiting different work places, like when he showed us how crayons are made and when he visited Bill Bixby and Lou Ferrigno on the set of the Incredible Hulk.
Make-Believe land was cool! I always enjoyed watching the adventures of King Friday and company.
One thing I hadn't realized until a few years ago is that Mr. Fred Rogers was an ordained Presbyterian minister and he always let his Christian faith and values come through on his show. And one of the main messages of the faith is that God loves everyone and he certainly loved everyone.
He taught us that everyone is important.
He will be dearly missed. ('')

 

[EmmyMik]

Here's a story that happened to me this morning. It's so fitting.

Usually, on Monday mornings, I wake up at about 9:00. My first class is at 11:00, and I usually leave my house around 10:15 (I have this all planned out, or at least I like to think that I do). I take forever to wake up, so that's why I need that hour and 15 minutes. Sadly, my alarm clock hates me, and it became unplugged over night (your guess is as good as mine). I woke up, and it was blank. That's not good. I plug it in, and it says "10:00" (I had the back-up battery in there). Crap. So I run downstairs and ask my mom, "What time is it?" She tells me it's 10. Not good. So I have 15 minutes to get dressed, eat, brush my teeth, and gather up my books and stuff. And it takes me 15 minutes to get dressed. Not good. My mom makes some toast for me, and I run up to my room to get dressed. Needless to say, I was not in a good mood. I turn on the tv, because that's what I always do. My tv was on PBS (it's always on PBS. I love that channel), and what do you know, Mr. Rogers is on. I stopped what I was doing to see what color sweater he was wearing. I've done this ever since I was little. Anyway, it was red-- my favorite color. When I was little, I always felt that if he wore a red sweater, it was going to be a great day. Today was no different. I stood there smiling, looking at my tv thinking, "Today is going to be a great day."

And that just goes to show you how wonderful Mr. Rogers is. I had the makings of a horrible day, but it's not. I left the house a little late, but with a smile on my face. He's not gone. Not from our hearts...