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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Fred Rogers: a bona-fide good neighbor

Dan Webster

I had the chance to see the documentary "Won't You Be My Neighbor?" Following is the review of the film that I wrote for Spokane Public Radio:

My first impression of Fred Rogers was not particularly favorable. I found the host of the popular children’s TV show “Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood” strange and off-putting, square to the point of absurdity.

I was then in my 20s ,and I shared my thoughts to a close friend who had children. And my friend, who at the time was every bit as cynical about the world as I, was uncharacteristically dismissive in his reply.

“My kids love the guy,” he said. “They can’t get enough of him.”

I’d like to say that my friend’s reaction changed my mind. But I would be lying. Still, they did make me wonder: What did the kids see that I did not? What was I missing?

Well, all these years later the documentary “Won’t You Be My Neighbor?” gave me an answer. In this collection of the late host’s interviews, of commentaries provided by others – from friend and colleagues to family members and celebrities such as cellist Yo-Yo Ma – filmmaker Morgan Neville gets right to the heart of Rogers’ appeal, which children picked up almost immediately:

He was genuinely kind and concerned, and he exhibited what most people, especially children, need most: total and unequivocal acceptance.

To quote the man himself, “The greatest thing that we can do is to help somebody know that they're loved and capable of loving.”

What’s more, it was no act. In interview after interview, those whom Neville talks to don’t refuse to dish dirt, they simply can’t seem to find any dirt worth dishing. Not that Rogers was a saint, even if he was an ordained Presbyterian minister. He had his doubts, his fears and even if he – as his wife explained – was unable to express his anger in words, he himself explains that he could express it through music. Banging on a piano, for example.

Professionally, Rogers began working in television in 1953. Only a couple of years out of college, he took a job in programming for the Pittsburgh community television station WQED. It wasn’t until 1966 that Rogers debuted “Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood” for the station, and not until two years later did the show begin airing on Public Broadcasting stations around the country. It remained a PBS mainstay until Rogers retired in 2001.

The show, for those who never saw it, offered a stark contrast to regular children’s program. As producer Margaret Whitmer said, “If you take all of the elements that make good television and do the exact opposite, you have ‘Mister Rogers' Neighborhood.’ Low production values, simple set, an unlikely star.”

“Yet,” Whitmer added, “it worked.”

Part of what made the show different, other than the respect it had for its audience, was how serious Rogers was about explaining the confusing vagaries of life to children. He had no qualms about tackling such touchy issues as divorce or racism, and he even dedicated one show to – following the death of Robert Kennedy – the topic of assassination.

But the real draw was Rogers himself. Kids could see right away how genuine he was, even if it took some adults decades longer.