i am a huge mr rogers fan...so i feel the need to share....
Fred Rogers, who gently invited millions of children to be his neighbor as host of the public television show ``Mister Rogers' Neighborhood'' for more than 30 years, died of cancer early Thursday. He was 74.
Rogers died at his Pittsburgh home, said family spokesman David Newell, who played Mr. McFeely on the show. Rogers had been diagnosed with stomach cancer sometime after the holidays, Newell said.
``He was so genuinely, genuinely kind, a wonderful person,'' Newell said. ``His mission was to work with families and children for television. ... That was his passion, his mission, and he did it from day one.''
From 1968 to 2000, Rogers, an ordained Presbyterian minister, produced the show at Pittsburgh public television station WQED. The final new episode, which was taped in December 2000, aired in August 2001, though PBS affiliates continued to air back episodes.
Rogers composed his own songs for the show and began each episode in a set made to look like a comfortable living room, singing ``It's a beautiful day in the neighborhood,'' as he donned sneakers and a zip-up cardigan.
``I have really never considered myself a TV star,'' Rogers said in a 1995 interview. ``I always thought I was a neighbor who just came in for a visit.''
His message remained simple: telling his viewers to love themselves and others. On each show, he would take his audience on a magical trolley ride into the Neighborhood of Make-Believe, where his puppet creations would interact with each other and adults.
Rogers did much of the puppet work and voices himself. He also studied early childhood development at the University of Pittsburgh and consulted with an expert there over the years.
Fred Rogers, who gently invited millions of children to be his neighbor as host of the public television show ``Mister Rogers' Neighborhood'' for more than 30 years, died of cancer early Thursday. He was 74.
Rogers died at his Pittsburgh home, said family spokesman David Newell, who played Mr. McFeely on the show. Rogers had been diagnosed with stomach cancer sometime after the holidays, Newell said.
``He was so genuinely, genuinely kind, a wonderful person,'' Newell said. ``His mission was to work with families and children for television. ... That was his passion, his mission, and he did it from day one.''
From 1968 to 2000, Rogers, an ordained Presbyterian minister, produced the show at Pittsburgh public television station WQED. The final new episode, which was taped in December 2000, aired in August 2001, though PBS affiliates continued to air back episodes.
Rogers composed his own songs for the show and began each episode in a set made to look like a comfortable living room, singing ``It's a beautiful day in the neighborhood,'' as he donned sneakers and a zip-up cardigan.
``I have really never considered myself a TV star,'' Rogers said in a 1995 interview. ``I always thought I was a neighbor who just came in for a visit.''
His message remained simple: telling his viewers to love themselves and others. On each show, he would take his audience on a magical trolley ride into the Neighborhood of Make-Believe, where his puppet creations would interact with each other and adults.
Rogers did much of the puppet work and voices himself. He also studied early childhood development at the University of Pittsburgh and consulted with an expert there over the years.
