“Well, life isn't cheap. It's the greatest mystery of any millennium, and television needs to do all it can to broadcast that ... to show and tell what the good in life is all about.” (Fred Rogers)

On February 19, 1968, Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood made its national TV debut. The show’s purpose was to promote: good self esteem, self control, imagination, creativity, curiosity, appreciation of diversity, cooperation, patience, and persistence. It was the brainchild of Fred Rogers. It aired for 31 seasons. Generations of children grew up watching Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood.

Fred Rogers was a role model for kindness, and compassion. Through Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood, he taught children about life with songs, puppets and sincere conversations about difficult topics. Plenty of people felt like Fred Rogers were their real-life neighbor as they got to know him through his long-running show, Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood. You may be surprised to learn a few interesting unknown facts about this wonderful man:

1. 895 episodes of Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood were filmed with the first episode broadcasting in 1968 and the last episode shot on December of 2000 and was subsequently aired in August of 2001.

2. Contrary to rumors spread about on the Internet, Fred Rogers was never a sniper in the military nor was the reason he wore sweaters because he had tattoos all over his arms and body, one for each person he killed. These, and other similar rumors, first started on the Internet around 1994 and saw a surge in popularity after his death. Fred Rogers. He never served in the military and was a pacifist.

3. Fred Rogers did the voices on the show for: King Friday XIII, Queen Sara Saturday, Henrietta Pussycat, Daniel Striped Tiger, Lady Elaine Fairchild and Larry Horse among others. He also composed most of the music on the show.

4. Fred Rogers didn’t just try to teach children important life lessons, but he also produced a series of specials intended for parents called “Mister Rogers Talks to Parents About X”, where X was whatever the topic of the day was. These shows were meant to help parents be able to answer any questions their child might have after watching a particular Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood episode.

5. Fred Rogers died of stomach cancer at the age of 74 years old on February 27, 2003.

6. Fred Rogers famously didn’t mind if people recorded his show with a VCR, arguing for people’s right to do so in a 1979 case Sony Corp. of America v. Universal City Studios, Inc. At the time, it was being argued by the opposition that this constituted a copyright infringement. Fred Rogers was one of the few involved in television that did not believe so and felt people should be allowed to record programs. The Supreme Court noted that Fred Rogers’ testimony was a significant piece of evidence that helped lead them to their ultimate decision.

7. Fred Rogers got into TV because the first time he saw a TV show it had “something horrible on it with people throwing pies at one another…” He stated, “I went into television because I hated it so, and I thought there was some way of using this fabulous instrument to be of nurture to those who would watch and listen.”

8. Fred Rogers once appeared as preacher, Reverend Thomas, on an episode of Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman called “Deal with the Devil”.

9. Fred Rogers once appeared on the Soviet Union children’s show Spokoynoy Nochi, Malyshi (Good Night, Little Ones) and was the first foreign guest to do so. That show has been on the air since 1964.

10. Fred Rogers was a vegetarian. He didn’t smoke or drink. He was married for 47 years to Joanne with sons, Jim and John. The only even slightly scandalous thing Fred Rogers seemed to do was to swim laps completely nude nearly every morning of his adult life at various clubs that allowed this at certain times of the day.

11. Fred Rogers was an ordained Presbyterian minister. In 1962, he received a Bachelor of Divinity degree, and was ordained as a minister in the United Presbyterian Church. Fred was charged with continuing his work on creating and contributing to wholesome children’s television programs, which was his passion.

12. Fred Rogers was red/green colorblind. He once asked a friend if he was eating tomato soup or pea soup.

13. Many of Fred Rogers’ famous sweaters he wore on Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood were lovingly made by his mother. Fred announced feeding the fish for a blind fan.

14. The reason Fred Rogers started wearing sneakers on the show was because they made less noise than normal dress shoes when moving around behind the sets.

15. Unlike on most children’s shows, Fred Rogers played himself in personality and mannerisms. He changed nothing about how he acted off camera to how he acted on camera. His reasons for this were that: “One of the greatest gifts you can give anybody is the gift of your honest self. I also believe that kids can spot a phony a mile away.”

16. Scientists dubbed an asteroid 26858 Misterrogers in his honor.

17. In honor of the 50th anniversary of the premiere of “Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood,” the late star got a stamp dedicated to him in 2018. He appears on the stamp alongside King Friday XIII, ruler of the Neighborhood of Make-Believe.

18. Fred Rogers never threw a letter away from any of his many fans over the years. He did his best to answer each one personally. In 1996 a book of fan’s letters with Fred’s replies was published. It was entitled Dear Mr. Roger, Does It Ever Rain in Your Neighborhood?

19. Fred Rogers was bullied and teased as a child about his weight, which is why he believed in making all children feel special.

"We live in a world in which we need to share responsibility. It's easy to say, 'It's not my child, not my community, not my world, not my problem.' Then there are those who see the need and respond. I consider those people my heroes." (Fred Rogers)[i]