Fred Rogers’ widow, Joanne, chats with Closer about the TV legend’s legacy.
FIFTY YEARS AFTER HE WELCOMED US TO HIS NEIGHBORHOOD, THE KIDS’ TV ICON LIVES ON FOR FAMILY, FANS AND IN FILMS
It was always a beautiful day in Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood for the crew of the classic PBS children’s show to play pranks on its host. “One day, he was changing out of his loafers into sneakers, and he wore size 10, but the crew gave him size 8,” David Newell, who played Mr. McFeely, tells Closer. “He was trying to get his foot into the sneakers, and the crew started laughing, then Fred just broke up laughing.”
Fred was a perfect fit as the host of Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood, and the show’s 50th anniversary is being celebrated with a pair of new documentaries, including Mister Rogers: It’s You I Like, airing on PBS in March. Offscreen, Fred was a devoted family man; he was wed to his college sweetheart, Joanne, for 50 years until his death at 74 in 2003 and was the proud father of two sons. “Fred was my best friend,” Joanne tells Closer. “The boys loved him — he was more patient with them than I was!”
Many of Fred’s famous fans sing his praises to this day, including Michael Keaton, who worked on the Neighborhood crew in Pittsburgh before Fred put him on camera. “One day, Michael and the crew did a skit and wanted Fred to see it,” says David. “Fred came into the office laughing and said, ‘That boy is going to be a star,’ and Michael proved him right.”
Another Hollywood A-lister, Tom Hanks, just signed to play the lead in a Mister Rogers biopic, and Joanne says Fred would’ve approved of the casting wholeheartedly: “He was such a big fan of Tom’s. Fred must’ve seen Forrest Gump 15 or 16 times in the theater!”
Fred’s legacy of kindness remains strong. “He considered himself an educator more than an entertainer,” Joanne says. “He didn’t like going away on work trips, but he would always come back with stories about the people he met. He would say, ‘We have such wonderful neighbors out there.’ ” And who wouldn’t want to be Mister Rogers’ neighbor?
— Bruce Fretts, with reporting by Amanda Champagne-Meadows