Can any Americans explain Mr Rogers to me please?

[Glitterbiscuits]

I've heard references to it over the years and a film about him is on Sky today.
Was it a family sit com of a wholesome life?
What is the enduring appeal?

It sounds a bit like the TV show that Mrs Doubtfire ends up doing?

You can watch some of them online :)

www.misterrogers.org/watch/

@Mrsemcgregor

It sounds a bit like the TV show that Mrs Doubtfire ends up doing?

I was just about to say that. That’s what he sounds like. Without the granny drag.

Aw I grew up watching Mr Rogers. A lot of the stuff (the segregated swimming etc) went over my head (maybe it was a bit of a dig aimed at the parents!) but he was so gentle and lovely.

He was great at teaching in a thoughtful way that didn't feel preachy at all.

Americans love Mr Rogers because "he likes us, just the way we are". He was kind and gentle. He taught that there is value and worth in every single human being. That each of us is unique and special. And that we all are those helpers his mum spoke about.

The documentary about him is called "Won't You Be My Neighbor". I don't know where/if it's available in the UK.

He was absolutely wonderful. I remember his program with such fondness. When I was very little, whenever my mother wondered where I learned some fact or other, I would say, "Mr. Rogers told me." That's how it felt as a young child, that Mr. Rogers was speaking directly to me.

Half the program was in the Neighborhood of Make-Believe, a magical place populated by puppets: King Friday XIII, Henrietta Pussycat, Daniel Striped Tiger, X the Owl, among others. Mr. Rogers had a miniature trolley that traveled between his house and the Neighborhood of Make-Believe. I remember being enraptured by the whole thing. He also did all the voices for the puppets and wrote all the music for the show.

There's a brilliant video showing how he almost single-handedly saved funding for public television in the 1960s. He is testifying before a congressional committee, and the senator chairing the committee is clearly dubious about public TV. But Mr. Rogers explains exactly what he does and how important it is for children to learn how to express their feelings. The cynical senator is completely won over. You can find the clip on YouTube. Well worth watching.

My sister and I grew up in NY and loved this as small children. We still reference some things from it even now!
He also had fish tank and feeding the fish was part of his ritual.

We loved the puppet world and I remember avidly following a storyline where the King and Queen had a baby. Ugly looking puppets too !
It was all very 50s America which was even retro at the time I watched in the 70s.

Such a sweet program but also talked about real stuff too. About feelings around death and being sad. Had a beautiful calm way of speaking. It was great to hear that this was his real persona and not just an actor.

Thanks for reminding me of this . A lovely memory at a time when we need some small joys in life

He was weirdly a committed republican

Mr Rogers was centred on stillness and acceptance, which is so unusual for a kids show. Or anything really. His main messages were that you (the child) are wonderful just the way you are, and that we can be good neighbours. That's such a wonderful concept isn't it. We are all neighbours, let's be good neighbours. There are good neighbours all around you. I wish we had more Mr Roger's in the world!!

I was also imagining a bean bath! Is the film suitable/interesting for young primary dc?

@DolphinsAndNemesis here is the video for the senate hearing

I watched the movie and didn’t like it - I got a very unsettling vibe from the character, which I put down to not having grown up with it.

@Heygirlheyboy
I watched it last night, not suitable for primary children in my opinion.
It will go over their heads. It's quirky!
It's told from the perspective of a journalist who goes to interview Mr Rogers and is helped by Mr Rogers to come to terms with his broken relationship with his father.
It's a bit fantastical in places. It's difficult to describe. In no way is at a biopic
I suspect if we'd grown up with Mr Rogers it would be a different thing.
My patient DH thought it was slow and dull.
I rather liked it. It was well done and that fact that I had no clue about Mr R or the format of his TV show made it interesting.

Ah OK, thank you.

When Rogers was a young man, the Democrats were still associated with racist institutions in the South. This is the 1956 Republican party planform & tell me it's outrageous. Lots of lefty progressives proudly voted Republican in 50s & early 60s.

I recall his TV programme as sweet... I liked watching it as a preschooler but I don't remember why.

yes it all completely flipped in 1965 with the civil rights act and the republicans adopting specifically racist policies to take the south.

I would say... lefty types fled Republican party due to Watergate in early 70s, which created space for the evangelical right to become the Republican base by early 80s.