Fresh Air, Remembering Fred Rogers (Nonfiction)
-
-
5.0 • 2 Ratings
-
-
- $1.99
-
- $1.99
Publisher Description
Children's TV host Fred Rogers on this edition of Fresh Air. Rogers died of stomach cancer on February 27, 2003, at the age of 74. His popular show, Mister Rogers' Neighborhood, was the longest-running program on public television. It ended in 2001 after 33 years on the air. Last year, Rogers was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian honor the nation can bestow. (Original Broadcast Date: November 13, 2002)
Customer Reviews
Back in the Old 'Hood
I met Fred Rogers once in the fall of 1988, and even though I was (theoretically) a somber grad student, I couldn't stop beaming in his presence -- I can still hear him saying, "Would you like to have our picture taken under X's tree?" As this tribute attests, it's hard to listen to that maple-syrup voice without feeling "special" in an absolutely un-ironic way. The hardest thing to believe about Rogers is that he really was that uncomplicated -- not childish, but open and truly disarming. Listen, for example, as Rogers unexpectedly lets loose with impersonations of King Friday XIII, Lady Elaine Fairchild, X the Owl and Daniel Striped Tiger -- rendering Fresh Air's Barbara Bulgaev temporarily speechless. The interview reveals a surprising side of Rogers: the childhood illnesses and painful shyness that inspired him to devote his "ministry" (as he always called it) to helping children discover their value. The man who taught us that it's okay to have mad days (and that you won't go down the bathtub drain) shows why millions of children and alleged adults are still looking for a way back to the neighborhood.
Listeners Also Bought