Fred+Rogers+21+G6

= Fred Rogers=

[[image:http://web.mit.edu/vsg/www/vsg/INFO/Pictures/mr_rogers.gif width="150" height="210" align="right" caption="Fred Rogers" link="http://web.mit.edu/vsg/www/vsg/INFO/Pictures/mr_rogers.gif"]]
Rogers was born in Latrobe, Pennsylvania, a town located 40 miles southeast of Pittsburgh. He was born to James and Nancy Rogers on March 20th, 1928. At an early age Fred was very interested in music and would often sing along as his mother would play the piano and, at the age of 5, began to play the piano as well. Rogers earned his bachelor's degree in music composition at Rollins College in Winter Park, Florida in 1951. Immediately upon graduation, he was hired by NBC television in New York as an assistant producer for //The Voice of Firestone// and later as floor director for //The Lucky Strike Hit Parade//, //The Kate Smith Hour//, and the //NBC Opera Theatre//. Rogers was married in 1952 to Joanne Byrd, a concert pianist and fellow Rollins graduate.

Central Issue
Rogers 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." He thus applied for a job at NBC in New York and was accepted because of his music degree. Rogers moved to New York in 1951 and spent three years working in the production staff for music-centered programming such as //NBC Opera Theater//. In 1954, he began working at WQED, a Pittsburgh public television station, as a puppeteer on a local children's series, //The Children's Corner//. For eight years during this period, he would leave the WQED studios during his lunch breaks to study theology at the nearby Pittsburgh Theological Seminary. Rogers, however, was not interested in preaching, and after his ordination, he was specifically charged to continue his work with children's television. He later started the show, //Mister Rogers' Neighborhood//, and his career took off.

//Mister Rogers' Neighborhood// began airing in 1968 and ran for 895 episodes; the last set of new episodes were taped in December 2000, and began airing in August 2001. At its peak, in 1985, 8 percent of households tuned in to the show. The shows philosophy and purpose was to encourage the healthy emotional growth of children and their families. Fred is most well known for his trade mark sweaters, many made by his mother, which he wore in every episode. Rogers composed all the music for his series. He was concerned with teaching children to love themselves and others. He also tried to address common childhood fears with comforting songs and skits. For example, one of his famous songs explains how you can't be pulled down the bathtub drain—because you won't fit. ====

Conclusion
Rogers was diagnosed with stomach cancer in December 2002 and underwent surgery on January 6, 2003. He died at home on the morning of February 27, 2003, not long after his retirement and less than a month before he would have turned 75. Speakers remembered Rogers' love of children, devotion to his religion, enthusiasm for music, and quirks. Teresa Heinz Kerry said of Rogers, "He never condescended, just invited us into his conversation. He spoke to us as the people we were, not as the people others wished we were."