Fred Rogers - A Life of Service 

Such a loss! My sincere and heartfelt condolences... and how blessed, that you turned to one who would never do nothing. His presence was a gift to us all, truly! I'm alive today because of him, as I'm certain many of us are. Perhaps no-one can know just how many lives he has benefited so deeply

Trying not to cry while listening to this.

rhijulbec1 Fantastic story. Realistically speaking though who wouldn't write to him and even then, you're lucky. Very long odds. Impossible to write back even to a couple hundred viewers. God sat with you that time.

This is a very moving story. Thank you for sharing it with us all.

Wow, that was touching. I’m so glad everything worked out well!

David Kugel yes. I agree with you David. The world definitely seems like a different place now that he’s gone. There will be no one like him

a lot of people could learn from Mister Rogers, I wish he could still be teaching our generations now because their are a lot that need his guidance

David Kugel I agree 100%. We need more men like Fred Rogers. The WORLD needs more men like Fred Rogers. Not all men need to be tough obnoxious jerks. To just be kind to others, willing to listen, and being a comforting shoulder makes one a true man in my book. There is a time to be strong and aggressive....and a time to be kind and gentle. As a lonely kid with few or new friends...I saw Mr. Rogers as a friend. A great neighbor. 😭I miss him so much.

Mr Rogers is in heaven.

Completely agree.

TheLadyBridget. STORY? I believe it's TRUE! Even criminals have SOME values, and even they KNOW he was very beloved by children, even by the criminals OWN children! 🤔😉

I LOVE that story !

I heard that before. From what I know it is a true story

WOW!

@@coiledsteel8344 lol

Exactly

Exactly

Robert Ward uh... calm down pls

Pliny the Younger indeed. He’s exactly what we needed

Pliny the Younger yes but it is way easyer to be good when you don't have to worry about money and you had a peacefull childhood.

And would thank Thor for the chance to do so while gently handing it back.

Cap went back in time to become Mr. Rogers. That's so cannon for me now

HE WAS WORTHY!

And then ask thor to show him how it was made

This comment was epic.

He recited a song he'd written and brought the senator to tears. It's an absolutely beautiful video.

Yeah I watched it a while back. Absolutely amazing.

The video stated $10 million, but it was actually doubled that of $20 million dollars during that time. This amount would be $139,587,465.94 in today's value, which is a huge amount of fundings thanks to the efforts of Fred and his colleagues.

The most amazing part about it? It only took 6 minutes.

Mr Rogers always knew the truth, adults are just children in adult suits, so he would talk to both child and adult equally, and in turn both could not help but admire him.

I can confirm this, I sent and received many letters when I was a child, what a great man!

I hope that you have a life where you are comfortable and can always be comforted by this fantastic man. We all have a due date and yours certainly hasn’t been met yet, there is far more to explore and learn

We like you exactly as you are! 😄 thank you for sharing your experience with this amazing person!

I grew up in post troubles Northern Ireland. My Parents and I went to America after 3 years of saving up money for the holiday. While we were there we taped some Mr. Rogers Re-Runs. When we came back I remember when riots or shootings would happen (Paramilitaries turned into gangs after the good Friday agreement) my parents turned on Mr Rogers for me and my siblings. Although he was dead he helped a small boy in Northern Ireland understand that it's okay to be scared or sad. Thank You Mr. Rogers.

I was just thinking about that today. Wicked tornadoes in the SE part of the country. 1st Responders running into danger with covid-19 safety regulations in place. Look for the helpers.

Topically relevant post

This certainly was true after the attacks of 9-11.

When everything of perceived value is stripped away and we are left with seemingly nothing, that is when the true kindness of humanity shines brightest. The walls between us are gone and we are just people, caring for each other. Mr. Rogers was able to live with this gentle and kind knowledge every single day of his life and did not need a disaster to bring it out of him. It's who I aspire to be.

@@deketk As honest & well-meaning as that quote is, we need to do more than just look for the helpers, we need to also be the helpers ourselves.

Finally, someone who gets it and doesn’t think Mr. Rogers was evil just because he was a priest

Sir Boomsalot do people actually think that? 🤔

@Andrew Brent mr andrew, you raise very good points and i thank you for them, but i suspect you have mistaken the intent of the original poster. He never specifies a singular religion and says he does not personally care whether they are right or not. Perhaps he is not talking about specifically christianity and means the potential good of religions in general? Im sorry if i missed something and thank you again for saying there are many ways to be good.

Well said!!! Personally, I don’t a ‘religion’ is necessary; all one needs to do is follow the golden rule: treat others as you would want to be treated.... problem solved!!!

Funny you wrote this, because I was thinking in another time and place the man definitely could have had a religion built around him.

This just proves that you don’t have to preach Christian values in order for children and people to be Christ like

I always found Billy Graham to be in second place

His genuineness and his goodness are really the embodiment of Christianity

@@marcusblackwell2372 Graham had his issues with antisemitism but when asked he had the integrity to own it and apologized. That says a lot in his favor.

@@ParanormalEncyclopedia At least he learned from it

Although Rodgers was a Presbyterian it would be nice to see him be titled a Saint by the Catholic Church.

I can scarcely think of anyone more deserving in the modern age than Mister Rogers.

Sadly one of the requirements is to have performed at least 2 miracles to be able to become a saint. Though what would be the saint of? Children and television?

@@OMartinez91 If mother Taresa can be a saint, despite being a horrible person, then Mr Rogers should be a shoe-in. There are no such thing as miracles, but the amount of children he helped over the years is as close as the world can get. “There is something beautiful in seeing the poor accept their lot, to suffer it like Christ’s Passion. The world gains much from their suffering,” - Mother Taresa

@@OMartinez91 Getting to be a major celebrity without a single scandal is one. That speaking ill of him is a bannable offense on fricking 4 chan of all places would make 2.

Color me surprised as well. I assume they didn’t like our presentation. How could you downvote Mr. Rogers? - Shell

Robots.

Faux (Fox) News. They, along with selective college professors, claimed Mr. Rogers created a generation of excessive doting. These are the same people who now use words like "snowflake" & "social justice warrior" to people like Mr. Rogers, who are conservatively liberal & have progressive minds that fly against uber-religious tradition & male-dominated power structures.

Actually, he was. Before it was used as a negative catch-all term usually by online bigots who needed a term to lump all people against their archaic views together, "social justice warrior" (shortened to "SJW" in this day & age) was a term used by advocates of social justice. Mr. Rogers was an advocate of social justice, because he was pro-minority rights, supportive of people with mental illnesses, pro-LGBTQ+, pro-weight acceptance, pro-feminist (the original definition, not the current fem-nazi version that tries to emasculate men) & basically everything positive & progressive about the world. Of course, this would see him listed as a "social justice warrior" in the eyes of people who hate on minorities, who hate on those with mental issues, who hate on people who are LGBTQ+, who hate on people who accept their plus-size figures & those "macho men" (no correlation to the pro-gay workout song _Macho Man_ by The Village People, nor its mere ironic wordplay, as most supposed "real men" - i.e. those "tough guy" assholes hating on feminist [original post-Suffrage Movement definition] women, as well as other guys who either show emotional sincerity [whom they refer to as "sissies", "wussies", "pussies" or "cucks"] or that might perhaps appear flamboyant/androgynous [cue inflammatory anti-gay remarks from the peanut gallery], to serve as a timely segue into their hatred towards all LGBTQ+ persons - typically have issues concerning their own sexuality anyway, more often than not) who hate that women aren't just subservient to them anymore (i.e. that they aren't simply doting, house-making wives & stay-at-home mothers, but rather that they are able to, instead, go out & achieve their own career successes, with or without being indebted to men). This, just in, it's the 21st Century & beyond! Such bigotry should no longer exist, as it was still ethically wrong even when it was acceptable thinking/behavior, so much so that family sitcoms _All in the Family_ (which revolved Carroll O' Connor's Archie Bunker being an opinionated bigot clearly set in his ways, who hated the ongoing changes surrounding him (his beautiful but headstrong daughter Gloria marrying liberal "Meathead" Michael [thereby typically resulting in family fights due to differing political beliefs on certain topics]) & _The Jeffersons_ (focusing on a moderately successful African-American family living in a high-rise apartment, led by equally stubborn patriarch George Jefferson), both existed as two prime[time] programs representing antiquated ways that should've remained firmly in the past. Despite being a champion for social justice, Mr. Rogers didn't use this for self-glorification like biased bigots claim contemporary "SJWs" tend to, as he was always about serving others, even if they held opposing views from his own.

Qardo "And if there's anything that bothers me, it's one person demeaning another." - Fred Rogers But it's ok, I love you anyways. It's what Mr. Rogers would have wanted.

They don't do reruns on PBS?

@@jmitterii2 I was born in 2002 and I remember seeing reruns of the show.

Same

You would probably like Jesus, and the best thing is, Jesus is alive :)

@calamity joe Yeah :)

What's sad is we were given Michael Jackson too but we killed him

I think we all have the potential to be the next Mr. Roger's just by being kind and trying to manage our anger. If there's one thing Fred taught me, it's that we don't need to be perfect, but that we should try to be better. :)

You're like the 10th person from the UK to say they've never heard of Fred Rogers...Can we like...get a petition going or something for the BBC or someone to air reruns over there? The idea that children anywhere in the world would be deprived of the gift that was Fred Rogers breaks my heart.

TAN Railgun Seriously. It's just wrong for ANY place to not have Mr. Rogers.

He's nicer than the Christian god (I say this bc the Christian god killed lot of people in the bible and other horrible things *but somehow people think he's loving?*)

@@tanrailgun2971 only if you show jim'll fix it

@@michaelflood2622 🙈🙈🙈

He wouldn't accept it, though

@@marcusblackwell2372 lol.. he honestly might have..

​@@marcusblackwell2372 He might have, if someone told him how happy it would make the Nobel committee and others for him to receive it. If there was cash with the prize, he could have donated it to the Pittsburgh Area Food Bank to help others.

Bill pretended to be the kind of man that Fred really was for so many years.

Amen!

So say we all.

Amen

Its a beautiful day in the neighborhood!

Yes, we need more Fred Rogers in America!

Jpay 😂

@payne bobbees Maybe they live in another country bro, or may have just moved to the States where Mr. Rogers seems to be somewhat forgotten as of now.

thor7789 I remember him as a kid. I miss him now these days.

What country are you from?

RU-vid is not only for Americans. His death was felt around the world is a sweet sentence. I've never heard of him

And yet, he was that only by being as simple as possible. Inspiring huh?

JackDWhiskey you should check out the stream on twitch, it’s wonderful to see the show again, and the messages are still as great as an adult.

He WAS a friend. Even though he never met you, he was speaking right to you, and he loved you.

Same, I put on Mr. Rogers for my daughter in the morning before I take her to school. I sing along with Mr. Rogers and watch the show with my daughter.

Growing up, the only ones I knew cared about me were my parents, and Mr. Rogers. I wrote him a fan letter when I was 21. A dear, sweet, compassionate person, exemplifying the best we could possibly be.

James Vaughan this is deep!

@Robert Ward fred Roger's was an ordained minister. All Catholics are Christian's but not Christian's are catholic. Mr. Roger's was a real christian but was not a catholic.

@Robert Ward yes but because jesus gave peter the keys to heaven and who holds those keys helps sets the way to get into heaven; the catholic church wrote the king james bible to evolve christianity. So those that are not catholics can still be Christian's.

@Robert Ward mr. Roger was not gay and he was married with children. Jesus did not disowned anyone that didnt follow the law. He still showed kindness and love to everyone. Mr Roger's has been following the steps of jesus.

@Robert Ward you are taking scripture way too literal and not only that you are adding to it from what it does not say. That is not very Christian of you.

He truly was. You could tell he cared deeply about what he did. He was someone I looked up to as a child and now admire as an adult.

Amazing does this man absolutely no justice whatsoever…no words can do justice to the kind and gentle soul of Fred Rogers

Jenny JC yes he was. I didnt have a childhood and Mr. Rogers helped fill that void. He was a great man.

The world can lose as many good people as it can find more good people

That's sweet 💕

I Understand completely. I came to this Video from Biographics' video on Bill Cosby.

Ironically, it is because of "the last son of Krypton" - particularly, kids inadvertently injuring or even accidentally killing themselves by pretending to fly like Superman - that led to the week of MRN episodes dedicated to both fictional superheroes (Mr. Rogers even went to the original set of _The Incredible Hulk_ to interview the actor who played the not-so jolly green giant) & real-life heroes (such as visiting a fire station & talking with some firemen).

"And as I told you when you were much younger, I like you just the way you are. It's such a good feeling to know that we're lifelong friends."

TherealRNO Goddamnit man....I am NOT crying right now!

It's okay to cry. Mr. Rogers taught us that (among other things).

I got the 69th like!

I will always say this "yes Mister Rogers we will be your neighbor and hope to be neighbors in Heaven

we need him in 2020 right now honestly

@@nugybugy0816 We do need him, but we also need to learn from his example, as well.

They played endless reruns on PBS until 2001 when he ended the show.

Actually in Milwaukee they played them even more. How I got to see them. Even now I look back to watching them fondly. But at that time I never knew he died 17 days after I was born.

Roger Holloway I cried too, I was in the navy at the time. I'm originally from Latrobe, Pennsylvania same as Mr. Rogers.

Not a Marine, but I come from a military family with a rough upbringing. I can say the same, my mom had died before I found out about him and when I learned it felt like a second sucker punch, felt like another important parental figure/adult had been taken from me. I wept, he was a positive influence for me and really made a difference across generations.

Elliott, You said exactly;y what I was thinking. When I was a child I loved Mr. Rogers but the other kids made fun of me, so I learned to just keep it to myself. I was a faithful viewer and I grew up learning many lessons in his neighborhood. Thank you, Simon and team,, great job.

I know, right?

Trolls and haters

As of right now there is 49 trolls and haters.

People who can't see through tears

Charley Edwards mine to he made everyone feel special the neighborhood isn't the same without him

Mine, too!

They're blue & white sneakers. Converse brand, with the show itself sponsored by Sears & Roebuck.

I think he meant white bottomed sneakers, which they always were. I believe before he had certain sponsorships and before "Mr. Rogers Neighborhood" (which was the time period they were talking about) they were all white shoes.

The problem is that he was Presbyterian, and they don't have saints.

@@bradypostma5167 he's a saint to me anyway, if there was a Jesus then Mr. Rogers was his equal in goodness and love.

The Bible uses the metaphor of people being identified as sheep or goats -- judged to be righteous or sinful. Mr. Rogers is definitely one of the sheep. That skips the whole saints/beatification thing.

Pierre Begley, How right you are. He was a morally, mentally, spiritually and cardio completely, beautifully constructed being. Netflix would do extremely well by us, as well as itself, if the Tom Hanks movie on Mr. Rodgers, And as many as possible of his serials/talks were also on its channel, before its too late, for us to enjoy.

Well, the Canadian province of Ontario's public TV network, TVOntario ran Mr. Rogers for a few years.

As a Canadian, I can say that that him being unknown isn't necessarily true, it may depend on the province. Mr. Rogers is/was well known and well loved in Canada. In Ontario Mr. Rogers Neighbourhood was aired and re-run constantly. I watched it throughout my childhood in the 90s and my mom even watched it in the late 60s & 70s. If I remember right, it would air over PBS here or sometimes on the kids channel.

Ian Colquhoun I think it is fair to say that Mr. Dressup holds the same high regard in Canada as Mr. Rogers. Miss the tinkle trunk.

Mr. Rogers, Mr. Dress-up, and Captain Kangaroo. I watched all these in the 70's growing up in Ontario.

@@tammihunter5913 Bob Keeshan - the Captain himself - even appeared as a special guest on a 70's MRN episode, coincidentally.

"The Flying Zookeenie brothers"

Keaton also worked the Trolley behind-the-scenes in conjunction with the pull switch (allowing Trolley to move forwards & backwards) built into the side of the living room window seat set piece that setup the Neighborhood of Make-Believe portion of the show (Other times, Mr. Rogers would go into the kitchen & get out the toy models of the Neighborhood of Make-Believe and a miniature Trolley that Bob Trowe [Bob performed the live costume characters Robert Troll & Bob Dog and was also the puppeter/voice of bovine schoolteacher Harriet Elizabeth Cow] made for him and the Neighborhood of Make-Believe portion of the show would start from that setup instead).

I wholeheartedly agree