Fred Rogers Biography

TV Personality / Clergyman

Fred Rogers was the host of the popular long-running public television children's show Mister Rogers' Neighborhood. The show debuted in Pittsburgh in 1967 and was picked up by PBS the next year, becoming a staple of public TV stations around the United States. Rogers' mild manner, cardigan sweaters and soft speaking voice made him both widely beloved and widely parodied. Rogers ended production of the show in 2001, but reruns of the show continued to be aired on many PBS stations. He died in 2003 after a short battle with stomach cancer.

Extra credit: Rogers was an ordained Presbyterian minister... Comedian Eddie Murphy did a popular parody of Rogers for the TV show Saturday Night Live... There is no truth to the rumor that Mr. Rogers was once an Army sniper, a Marine or a Navy SEAL. (Similar untrue stories are told about John Denver and TV's Captain Kangaroo.) He did not serve in the military in any capacity.

Other favorites of children's TV include Steve Burns of Blue's Clues, Barney the dinosaur, and Jim Henson of Sesame Street.

Read more about the 'Mister Rogers was a sniper' rumor in our loop Legends of E-Mail.

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