Editing Fred Rogers (section)

==Career==
===Early work===
Rogers wanted to enter [[seminary]] after college,<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://interviews.televisionacademy.com/interviews/fred-rogers?clip=48375 |title=Fred Rogers: On his college years |last=Herman |first=Karen |date=October 22, 2017 |website=Television Academy Interviews |publisher=Academy of Television Arts & Sciences |language=en |access-date=November 23, 2019 |archive-date=October 13, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201013213431/https://interviews.televisionacademy.com/interviews/fred-rogers?clip=48375 |url-status=live }}</ref> but instead chose to go into the nascent medium of television after experiencing TV at his parents' home in 1951, during his senior year at Rollins College.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/03/05/arts/television/mister-rogers-neighborhood-at-50.html |title='Mister Rogers' Neighborhood' at 50: 5 Memorable Moments |last=Deb |first=Sopan |date=March 5, 2018 |work=The New York Times |access-date=November 23, 2019 |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=April 2, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200402040003/https://www.nytimes.com/2018/03/05/arts/television/mister-rogers-neighborhood-at-50.html |url-status=live }}</ref> In a [[CNN]] interview, he said, "I went into television because I hated it so, and I thought there's some way of using this fabulous instrument to nurture those who would watch and listen".<ref>{{cite news |last=Schuster |first=Henry |title=Fred and me: An appreciation |url=http://www.cnn.com/2003/SHOWBIZ/TV/02/27/rogers.appreciation/ |access-date=January 21, 2019 |work=CNN.com |date=February 27, 2003 |archive-date=February 24, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200224014346/http://www.cnn.com/2003/SHOWBIZ/TV/02/27/rogers.appreciation/ |url-status=live }}</ref>{{refn|group=note|According to ''Mister Rogers' Neighborhood'' producer [[Hedda Sharapan]], Rogers used television to communicate his message;<ref name="king-266">King, p. 266.</ref> [[David Newell]], who played Mr. McFeely on the ''Neighborhood'', said, "Television was a vehicle for Fred, to reach children and families; it was sort of a necessary evil".<ref>King, p. 265.</ref>}} After graduating in 1951, he worked at [[NBC]] in New York City as floor director of ''[[Your Hit Parade]]'', ''[[Kate Smith|The Kate Smith Hour]]'', and [[Gabby Hayes]]'s children's show, and as an assistant producer of ''[[The Voice of Firestone]]''.<ref name="Washington Post 1982">{{cite news |last=Hendrickson |first=Paul |title=In the Land of Make Believe, The Real Mister Rogers |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=November 18, 1982 |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1982/11/18/in-the-land-of-make-believe-the-real-mister-rogers/7ca0e14f-5f91-48e0-932c-898e24970890/ |access-date=October 20, 2018 |archive-date=July 9, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200709110442/https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1982/11/18/in-the-land-of-make-believe-the-real-mister-rogers/7ca0e14f-5f91-48e0-932c-898e24970890/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>Gross (1984), event occurs at 6.38.</ref><ref name="highlights">{{cite news |title=Highlights in the life and career of Fred Rogers |url=http://old.post-gazette.com/localnews/20030227timelinep5.asp |access-date=January 21, 2019 |work=Pittsburgh Post-Gazette |date=February 27, 2003 |archive-date=August 4, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200804025550/http://old.post-gazette.com/localnews/20030227timelinep5.asp |url-status=dead }}</ref>

[[File:Josie Carey, Fred Rogers, and Various Puppets.jpg|thumb|Josie Carey and Rogers filming an Attic scene in ''The Children's Corner''. Over Carey's shoulder is Daniel S. (Striped) Tiger, and to the right of Rogers is King Friday XIII.]]
In 1953, Rogers returned to Pittsburgh to work as a program developer at [[public television]] station [[WQED (TV)|WQED]]. [[Josie Carey]] worked with him to develop the children's show ''The Children's Corner'', which Carey hosted. Rogers worked off-camera to develop puppets, characters, and music for the show. He used many puppet characters developed during this time, such as Daniel the Striped Tiger (named after WQED's station manager, Dorothy Daniel, who gave Rogers a tiger puppet before the show's premiere),<ref>Tiech, p. 10.</ref> King Friday XIII, Queen Sara Saturday (named after Rogers' wife),<ref>{{cite web |title=Fred Rogers |url=https://www.pbs.org/wnet/pioneers-of-television/pioneering-people/fred-rogers/ |website=Pioneers of Television |publisher=PBS.org |access-date=January 22, 2019 |date=2014 |archive-date=January 7, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220107035320/https://www.pbs.org/wnet/pioneers-of-television/pioneering-people/fred-rogers/ |url-status=live }}</ref> X the Owl, Henrietta, and Lady Elaine, in his later work.<ref name="Early Years">{{cite web |title=Early Years in Television |website=Fred Rogers Center for Early Learning & Children's Media |url=http://www.fredrogerscenter.org/about-us/about-fred/mister-rogers-neighborhood/early-years-in-television/ |access-date=November 1, 2018 |archive-date=December 14, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191214194452/https://www.fredrogerscenter.org/about-us/about-fred/mister-rogers-neighborhood/early-years-in-television/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>Tiech, p. 9.</ref> Children's television entertainer [[Ernie Coombs]] was an assistant puppeteer.<ref name="Broughton 1986 p. 51"/> ''The Children's Corner'' won a [[Sylvania Award]] for best locally produced children's programming in 1955 and was broadcast nationally on NBC.<ref name="Presbyterian Historical Society 2018">{{cite web |title=Sunday on the Children's Corner, Revisited |website=Presbyterian Historical Society |date=February 15, 2018 |url=https://www.history.pcusa.org/blog/2018/02/sunday-childrens-corner-revisited |access-date=November 1, 2018 |archive-date=September 19, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200919194336/https://www.history.pcusa.org/blog/2018/02/sunday-childrens-corner-revisited |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Schultz">{{cite web |url=http://uv201.com/TV_Pages/sylvania_award.htm |title=Sylvania Award |last=Schultz |first=Mike |publisher=uv201.com |access-date=January 22, 2019 |archive-date=November 9, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191109191338/http://uv201.com/TV_Pages/sylvania_award.htm |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Fred Rogers Official Bio">{{cite web |title=Fred Rogers Biography |website=Fred Rogers Productions |date=2018 |url=https://www.fredrogers.org/fred-rogers/bio/ |access-date=November 1, 2018 |archive-date=July 29, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180729173153/https://www.fredrogers.org/fred-rogers/bio/ |url-status=dead }}</ref> While working on the show, Rogers attended Pittsburgh Theological Seminary and was ordained as a Presbyterian minister in 1963. He also attended the [[University of Pittsburgh]]'s Graduate School of Child Development,<ref name="Fred Rogers Official Bio"/><ref name="Flecker">{{cite web |last=Flecker |first=Sally Ann |title=When Fred Met Margaret: Fred Rogers' Mentor |date=Winter 2014 |website=Pitt Med |publisher=University of Pittsburgh |url=https://www.pittmed.health.pitt.edu/story/when-fred-met-margaret |access-date=October 26, 2018 |archive-date=July 30, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200730212846/https://www.pittmed.health.pitt.edu/story/when-fred-met-margaret |url-status=live }}</ref> where he began working with child psychologist [[Margaret McFarland]]—who, according to Rogers' biographer Maxwell King, became his "key advisor and collaborator" and "child-education guru".<ref name="king-126">King, p. 126.</ref> Much of Rogers' "thinking about and appreciation for children was shaped and informed" by McFarland.<ref name="Flecker"/> She was his consultant for most of ''Mister Rogers' Neighborhood''{{'}}s scripts and songs for 30 years.<ref name="king-126"/>

In 1963, the [[Canadian Broadcasting Corporation]] (CBC) in Toronto contracted Rogers to come to Toronto to develop and host the 15-minute black-and-white children's program ''Misterogers;'' it lasted from 1963 to 1967.<ref name="Broughton 1986 p. 51">{{cite book |last=Broughton |first=Irv |title=Producers on Producing: The Making of Film and Television |publisher=McFarland & Company, Inc. |year=1986 |isbn=978-0-7864-1207-5 |page=51}}</ref><ref>King (2018), p. 145.</ref> It was the first time Rogers appeared on camera. CBC's children's programming head Fred Rainsberry insisted on it, telling Rogers, "Fred, I've seen you talk with kids. Let's put you yourself on the air".<ref name="Roberts 2018">{{cite web |last=Roberts |first=Soraya |title=The Fred Rogers We Know |date=June 26, 2018 |url=https://hazlitt.net/longreads/fred-rogers-we-know |work=Hazlitt Magazine |publisher=Penguin Random House |access-date=October 28, 2018 |archive-date=January 5, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220105162500/https://hazlitt.net/longreads/fred-rogers-we-know |url-status=live }}</ref> Coombs joined Rogers in Toronto as an assistant puppeteer.<ref name="Broughton 1986 p. 51"/> Rogers also worked with Coombs on the children's show ''[[Butternut Square]]'' from 1964 to 1967. Rogers acquired the rights to ''Misterogers'' in 1967 and returned to Pittsburgh with his wife, two young sons, and the sets he developed, despite a potentially promising career with CBC and no job prospects in Pittsburgh.<ref name=":1">{{cite book |last=Matheson |first=Sue |chapter=Good Neighbors, Moral Philosophy and the Masculine Ideal|editor1-last=Merlock Jackson |editor1-first=Sandra |editor2-last=Emmanuel |editor2-first=Steven M. |title=Revisiting Mister Rogers' Neighborhood: Essays on Lessons about Self and Community |date=2016 |publisher=McFarland & Company, Publishers |location=Jefferson, North Carolina |isbn=978-1-4766-2341-2 |page=25}}</ref><ref>King, p. 150.</ref> On Rogers' recommendation, Coombs remained in Toronto and became Rogers' Canadian equivalent of an iconic television personality, creating the children's program ''[[Mr. Dressup]]'', which ran from 1967 to 1996.<ref name="National Post 2018">{{Cite news |url=https://nationalpost.com/entertainment/television/how-mr-rogers-and-mr-dressups-road-trip-from-pittsburgh-to-toronto-changed-childrens-television-forever |title=How Mr. Rogers and Mr. Dressup's road trip from Pittsburgh to Toronto changed children's television forever |last=Gillmor |first=Don |date=July 11, 2018 |website=National Post |access-date=October 26, 2018}}</ref> Rogers' work for CBC "helped shape and develop the concept and style of his later program for the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) in the U.S."<ref>{{cite web |title=Mister Rogers' Neighborhood and Beyond |website=Fred Rogers Center for Early Learning & Children's Media |url=http://www.fredrogerscenter.org/about-us/about-fred/mister-rogers-neighborhood/mister-rogers-neighborhood-and-beyond/ |access-date=October 28, 2018 |archive-date=March 31, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190331095125/http://www.fredrogerscenter.org/about-us/about-fred/mister-rogers-neighborhood/mister-rogers-neighborhood-and-beyond/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

===''Mister Rogers' Neighborhood''===
{{Main|Mister Rogers' Neighborhood}}
{{multiple image
| align             = right
| direction         = horizontal
| total_width       = 400
| image1            = François Clemmons and Fred Rogers Having Foot Bath.jpg
| caption1          = Rogers and [[François Clemmons]] having a foot bath in 1969, breaking a well-known [[Racial segregation in the United States|color barrier]]<ref name="biography.com">{{cite news | url=https://www.biography.com/news/mister-rogers-officer-clemmons-pool | work=Biography | title=Fred Rogers Took a Stand Against Racial Inequality When He Invited a Black Character to Join Him in a Pool | date=May 24, 2019 | access-date=August 8, 2020 | archive-date=November 28, 2021 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211128212147/https://www.biography.com/news/mister-rogers-officer-clemmons-pool | url-status=live }}</ref>
| image2            = Fred Rogers Changing Shoes.jpg
| caption2          = Rogers changing shoes
}}
''Mister Rogers' Neighborhood'' (also called the ''Neighborhood''), a half-hour educational children's program starring Rogers, began airing nationally in 1968 and ran for 895 episodes.<ref>{{cite magazine |last=Bahr |first=Lindsey |title=Mister Rogers pic in development with 'Little Miss Sunshine' directors |url=https://ew.com/article/2013/09/27/mister-rogers-movie-development/ |access-date=March 21, 2019 |magazine=Entertainment Weekly |date=September 27, 2013 |archive-date=January 5, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220105163630/https://ew.com/article/2013/09/27/mister-rogers-movie-development/ |url-status=live }}</ref> It was videotaped at WQED in Pittsburgh and broadcast by [[National Educational Television]] (NET), which later became the [[Public Broadcasting Service]] (PBS).<ref>{{cite news |title=Children's TV Host Fred Rogers Dies At 74 |url=https://www.pbs.org/newshour/nation/remember-jan-june03-rogers_02-27 |access-date=March 21, 2019 |work=[[PBS NewsHour]] |date=February 27, 2003 |archive-date=January 5, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220105162615/https://www.pbs.org/newshour/nation/remember-jan-june03-rogers_02-27 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Burns |first=Asia Simone |title=Mister Rogers Is Coming Back To Your Neighborhood, On A Stamp |url=https://www.npr.org/2018/02/07/583970831/mister-rogers-will-appear-forever-on-a-stamp |access-date=March 21, 2019 |work=NPR.org |date=February 7, 2018 |archive-date=January 5, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220105162431/https://www.npr.org/2018/02/07/583970831/mister-rogers-will-appear-forever-on-a-stamp |url-status=live }}</ref> Its first season had 180 black-and-white episodes. Each subsequent season, filmed in color and funded by PBS, the [[Sears-Roebuck]] Foundation, and other charities, consisted of 65 episodes.<ref>King, p. 164.</ref><ref name="wapostobit">{{cite news |last=Estrada |first=Louie |title=Children's TV Icon Fred Rogers Dies at 74 |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/2003/02/28/childrens-tv-icon-fred-rogers-dies-at-74/8f5b9796-3588-42cf-aa84-45daec1f0583/ |access-date=March 31, 2019 |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] |date=February 28, 2003 |archive-date=February 6, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210206060251/https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/2003/02/28/childrens-tv-icon-fred-rogers-dies-at-74/8f5b9796-3588-42cf-aa84-45daec1f0583/ |url-status=live }}</ref> By the time it ended production in December 2000, its average rating was about 0.7% of television households or 680,000 homes, and it aired on 384 PBS stations. At its peak in 1985–1986, its ratings were 2.1%, or 1.8 million homes.<ref>{{cite news |last=DeFranceso |first=Joyce |title=A Life Well-Lived |url=http://www.wqed.org/mag/0403_remember3.shtml |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050103143529/http://www.wqed.org/mag/0403_remember3.shtml |url-status=dead |archive-date=January 3, 2005 |access-date=March 22, 2019 |work=Pittsburgh Magazine |date=April 2003}}</ref><ref name="finalday">{{cite news |last=Montgomery |first=David |title=For Mister Rogers, a Final Day in the Neighborhood |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/2001/09/01/for-mister-rogers-a-final-day-in-the-neighborhood/6c6b6bdd-82f6-4a7e-92c0-af5493837953/ |access-date=March 22, 2019 |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] |date=September 1, 2001 |archive-date=October 29, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201029203142/https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/2001/09/01/for-mister-rogers-a-final-day-in-the-neighborhood/6c6b6bdd-82f6-4a7e-92c0-af5493837953/ |url-status=live }}</ref> The last original episode aired in 2001, but PBS continued to air reruns, and by 2016 it was the third-longest-running program in PBS history.<ref name="wapostobit"/><ref>{{cite book |last1=Jackson |first1=Kathy Merlock |last2=Emmanuel |first2=Steven M |title=Revisiting Mister Rogers' Neighborhood: Essays on Lessons about Self and Community |date=2016 |publisher=McFarland & Company, Inc. |location=Jefferson, North Carolina |isbn=978-1-4766-2341-2 |page=1 |chapter=Introduction}}</ref>

Many of the sets and props in ''Mister Rogers' Neighborhood'', like the trolley, the sneakers, and the castle, were created for Rogers' show in Toronto by CBC designers and producers. The program also "incorporated most of the highly imaginative elements that later became famous",<ref name="King, p. 158">King, p. 158.</ref> such as its slow pace and its host's quiet manner.<ref name="King, p. 158"/><ref>King, p. 146.</ref> The format of ''Mister Rogers' Neighborhood'' "remained virtually unchanged" for the entire run of the program.<ref>{{cite book |last=Wolfe |first=Mark J. P. |title=The World of Mister Rogers' Neighborhood |date=2017 |publisher=Routledge Publishers |location=New York |isbn=978-1-315-11008-0 |page=16}}</ref> Every episode begins with a camera's-eye view of a model of a neighborhood, then panning in closer to a representation of a house while a piano instrumental of the theme song, "Won't You be My Neighbor?", performed by music director [[Johnny Costa]] and inspired by a Beethoven sonata, is played.<ref>{{cite news |last=Woo |first=Elaine |title=From the Archives: It's a Sad Day in This Neighborhood |url=https://www.latimes.com/local/obituaries/la-me-fred-rogers-20030228-story.html |access-date=April 25, 2019 |work=Los Angeles Times |date=February 28, 2003 |archive-date=January 5, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220105163606/https://www.latimes.com/local/obituaries/la-me-fred-rogers-20030228-story.html |url-status=live }}</ref> The camera zooms in to a model representing Mr. Rogers' house, then cuts to the house's interior and pans across the room to the front door, which Rogers opens as he sings the theme song to greet his visitors while changing his suit jacket to a cardigan (knitted by his mother)<ref>{{cite web |last=Jackson |first=Christine |title=The Importance of Sweaters and Sneakers in Mister Rogers' Neighborhood |url=https://www.rewire.org/pbs/sweaters-sneakers-rogers-neighborhood/ |website=Rewire.org |publisher=PBS |access-date=April 10, 2019 |date=March 20, 2017 |archive-date=February 7, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200207163832/https://www.rewire.org/pbs/sweaters-sneakers-rogers-neighborhood/ |url-status=live }}</ref> and his dress shoes to sneakers, "complete with a shoe tossed from one hand to another".<ref>Wolfe, p. 11.</ref> The episode's theme is introduced, and Mr. Rogers leaves his home to visit another location, the camera panning back to the neighborhood model and zooming in to the new location as he enters it. Once this segment ends, Mr. Rogers leaves and returns to his home, indicating that it is time to visit the Neighborhood of Make-Believe. Mr. Rogers proceeds to the window seat by the trolley track and sets up the action there as the Trolley comes out. The camera follows it down a tunnel in the back wall of the house as it enters the Neighborhood of Make-Believe. The stories and lessons take place over a week's worth of episodes and involve puppets and human characters. The end of the visit occurs when the Trolley returns to the same tunnel from which it emerged, reappearing in Mr. Rogers' home. He then talks to the viewers before concluding the episode. He often feeds his fish, cleans up any props he has used, and returns to the front room, where he sings the closing song while changing back into his dress shoes and jacket. He exits the front door as he ends the song, and the camera zooms out of his home and pans across the neighborhood model as the episode ends.{{refn|group=note|See Wolfe, pp. 9–16, for a complete description of the structure of ''Mister Rogers' Neighborhood''.}}

[[File:Fred Rogers and X the Owl Look Magazine photo 1969.png|thumb|left|upright|Rogers on the cover of [[Look (American magazine)|Look Magazine]] in 1969]]
''Mister Rogers' Neighborhood'' emphasized young children's social and emotional needs, and unlike another PBS show, ''[[Sesame Street]]'', which premiered in 1969, did not focus on cognitive learning.<ref>King, p. 145.</ref> Writer Kathy Merlock Jackson said, "While both shows target the same preschool audience and prepare children for kindergarten, ''Sesame Street'' concentrates on school-readiness skills while ''Mister Rogers Neighborhood'' focuses on the child's developing psyche and feelings and sense of moral and ethical reasoning".<ref>{{cite book |last=Jackson |first=Kathy Merlock |editor1-last=Jackson |editor1-first=Kathy Merlock |editor2-last=Emmanuel |editor2-first=Steven M. |title=Revisiting Mister Rogers' Neighborhood: Essays on Lessons about Self and Community |publisher=McFarland & Company, Publishers |location=Jefferson, North Carolina |isbn=978-1-4766-2341-2 |page=11 |chapter=Social Activism for the Small Set |date=February 17, 2016}}</ref> The ''Neighborhood'' also spent fewer resources on research than ''Sesame Street'', but Rogers used early childhood education concepts taught by his mentor Margaret McFarland, [[Benjamin Spock]], [[Erik Erikson]], and [[T. Berry Brazelton]] in his lessons.<ref>King, p. 134.</ref> As ''[[The Washington Post]]'' noted, Rogers taught young children about civility, tolerance, sharing, and self-worth "in a reassuring tone and leisurely cadence".<ref name="postobit">{{cite news |last=Estrada |first=Louie |title=Children's TV Icon Fred Rogers Dies at 74 |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/2003/02/28/childrens-tv-icon-fred-rogers-dies-at-74/8f5b9796-3588-42cf-aa84-45daec1f0583/ |access-date=April 10, 2019 |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] |date=February 28, 2003 |archive-date=February 6, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210206060251/https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/2003/02/28/childrens-tv-icon-fred-rogers-dies-at-74/8f5b9796-3588-42cf-aa84-45daec1f0583/ |url-status=live }}</ref> He tackled difficult topics such as the death of a family pet, sibling rivalry, the addition of a newborn into a family, moving and enrolling in a new school, and divorce.<ref name="postobit"/> For example, he wrote a special segment that dealt with the [[assassination of Robert F. Kennedy]] that aired on June 7, 1968, two days after the assassination occurred.<ref>King, p. 192.</ref>

[[File:Fred Rogers 1968.jpg|thumb|upright|Rogers in 1968]]
According to King, the process of putting each episode of ''Mister Rogers' Neighborhood'' together was "painstaking"<ref>King, p. 184.</ref> and Rogers' contribution to the program was "astounding". Rogers wrote and edited all the episodes, played the piano and sang for most of the songs, wrote 200 songs and 13 operas, created all the characters (both puppet and human), played most of the significant puppet roles, hosted every episode, and produced and approved every detail of the program.<ref>King, p. 204.</ref> The puppets created for the Neighborhood of Make-Believe "included an extraordinary variety of personalities".<ref>King, p. 216.</ref> They were simple puppets but "complex, complicated, and utterly honest beings".<ref>King, p. 219.</ref> In 1971, Rogers formed Family Communications, Inc. (FCI, now [[Fred Rogers Productions]]), to produce the ''Neighborhood'', other programs, and non-broadcast materials.<ref>{{cite web |title=Mister Rogers' Neighborhood and Beyond |url=http://www.fredrogerscenter.org/about-us/about-fred/mister-rogers-neighborhood/mister-rogers-neighborhood-and-beyond/ |website=Fred Rogers Center for Early Learning & Children's Media |access-date=April 25, 2019 |archive-date=March 31, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190331095125/http://www.fredrogerscenter.org/about-us/about-fred/mister-rogers-neighborhood/mister-rogers-neighborhood-and-beyond/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Jefferson |first=Robin Seaton |title=Siefken Heads Up Fred Rogers Company, Keeping Mister Rogers' Message Relevant For Next Generation |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/robinseatonjefferson/2017/03/23/siefken-heads-up-the-fred-rogers-company-keeping-mister-rogers-message-relevant-for-next-generation/#7ef935881e9b |access-date=April 25, 2019 |work=Forbes |date=March 23, 2017 |archive-date=January 7, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220107040858/https://www.forbes.com/sites/robinseatonjefferson/2017/03/23/siefken-heads-up-the-fred-rogers-company-keeping-mister-rogers-message-relevant-for-next-generation/#7ef935881e9b |url-status=live }}</ref>

In 1975, Rogers stopped producing ''Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood'' to focus on adult programming. Reruns of the ''Neighborhood'' continued to air on PBS.<ref>King, pp. 230–231.</ref> King reports that the decision caught many of his coworkers and supporters "off guard".<ref>King, p. 231.</ref> Rogers continued to confer with McFarland about child development and early childhood education, however.<ref>King, p. 240.</ref> In 1979, after an almost five-year hiatus, Rogers returned to producing the ''Neighborhood''; King calls the new version "stronger and more sophisticated than ever".<ref>King, p. 243.</ref> King writes that by the program's second run in the 1980s, it was "such a cultural touchstone that it had inspired numerous parodies",<ref name="king-266"/> most notably [[Eddie Murphy]]'s parody on ''[[Saturday Night Live]]'' in the early 1980s.<ref name="king-266"/>

Rogers retired from producing the ''Neighborhood'' in 2001 at age 73, although reruns continued to air. He and FCI had been making about two or three weeks of new programs per year for many years, "filling the rest of his time slots from a library of about 300 shows made since 1979".<ref name="finalday"/> The final original episode of ''Mister Rogers' Neighborhood'' aired on August 31, 2001.<ref>King, p. 338.</ref>

===Other work and appearances===
[[File:Fred Rogers testifies before the Senate Subcommittee on Communications, 1969.ogv|thumb|left|Rogers testified before the [[Senate Subcommittee on Communications]], chaired by [[John Pastore]], on May 1, 1969. As part of his testimony, he recites the lyrics to "[[What Do You Do with the Mad that You Feel?]]"]]
In 1969, Rogers testified before the [[U.S. Senate]] Subcommittee on Communications, which was chaired by Democratic Senator [[John Pastore]] of Rhode Island. U.S. President [[Lyndon Johnson]] had proposed a $20 million bill for the creation of PBS before he left office, but his successor, [[Richard Nixon]], wanted to cut the funding to $10 million.<ref name="frankmsnbc">{{cite news |last=Frank |first=Steve |title=Mr. Rogers offers timeless defense of PBS funding…in 1969 |url=http://www.msnbc.com/the-ed-show/mr |access-date=November 13, 2019 |work=MSNBC.com |date=September 6, 2013 |archive-date=November 13, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191113183811/http://www.msnbc.com/the-ed-show/mr |url-status=live }}</ref> Even though Rogers was not yet nationally known, he was chosen to testify because of his ability to make persuasive arguments and to connect emotionally with his audience. The clip of Rogers' testimony, which was televised and has since been viewed by millions of people on the internet, helped to secure funding for PBS for many years afterward.<ref>King, pp. 170–171.</ref><ref>King, p. 176.</ref> According to King, Rogers' testimony was "considered one of the most powerful pieces of testimony ever offered before Congress, and one of the most powerful pieces of video presentation ever filmed".<ref name="king-172">King, p. 172.</ref> It brought Pastore to tears and also, according to King, has been studied by public relations experts and academics.<ref name="king-172"/> Congressional funding for PBS increased from $9 million to $22 million.<ref name="frankmsnbc"/> In 1970, Nixon appointed Rogers as chair of the [[White House Conference on Children and Youth]].<ref>King, p. 175.</ref>

[[File:Fred Rogers and Willie Stargell.jpg|thumb|upright|Rogers and [[Willie Stargell]] in 1980]]
In 1978, while on hiatus from ''Mister Rogers' Neighborhood'', Rogers wrote, produced, and hosted a 30-minute interview program for adults on PBS called ''[[Old Friends ... New Friends|Old Friends{{nbsp}}... New Friends]]''.<ref name="newneighborhood">{{cite news |last=Neuhaus |first=Cable |title=Fred Rogers Moves into a New Neighborhood—and So Does His Rebellious Son |url=https://people.com/archive/fred-rogers-moves-into-a-new-neighborhood-and-so-does-his-rebellious-son-vol-9-no-19/ |access-date=May 25, 2019 |work=People |date=May 15, 1978 |archive-date=January 5, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220105162501/https://people.com/archive/fred-rogers-moves-into-a-new-neighborhood-and-so-does-his-rebellious-son-vol-9-no-19/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>King, p. 230.</ref> It lasted 20 episodes. Rogers' guests included [[Hoagy Carmichael]], [[Helen Hayes]], [[Milton Berle]], [[Lorin Hollander]], poet [[Robert Frost]]'s daughter Lesley, and [[Willie Stargell]].<ref name="newneighborhood"/><ref>King, p. 233.</ref>

In September 1987, Rogers visited Moscow to appear as the first guest on the long-running Soviet children's TV show ''[[Good Night, Little Ones!]]'' with host [[Tatyana Vedeneyeva]].<ref>{{cite news |last=Mesce |first=Deborah |title=Beautiful Day For Mr. Rogers And Soviet Counterpart |url=https://apnews.com/2fd550e6546cf0745419821966f207f2 |access-date=June 10, 2020 |work=Associated Press |date=November 20, 1987 |archive-date=January 5, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220105163828/https://apnews.com/2fd550e6546cf0745419821966f207f2 |url-status=live }}</ref> The appearance was broadcast in the Soviet Union on December 7, coinciding with the [[Washington Summit (1987)|Washington Summit]] meeting between Soviet leader [[Mikhail Gorbachev]] and U.S. President [[Ronald Reagan]] in Washington, D.C.<ref>{{cite news |last=Ogintz |first=Eileen |title=Neighborhood Hero |url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-1988-03-06-8804050228-story.html |access-date=May 25, 2019 |work=Chicago Tribune |date=March 6, 1988 |archive-date=January 5, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220105162501/https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-1988-03-06-8804050228-story.html |url-status=live }}</ref> Vedeneyeva visited the set of ''Mister Rogers' Neighborhood'' in November. Her visit was taped and later aired in March 1988 as part of Rogers' program.<ref>{{cite news |last=Brennan |first=Patricia |title='Neighborhood' Detente |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/tv/1988/03/06/neighborhood-detente/7d383212-b74d-4d0b-bc38-2dee4689ea11/ |access-date=June 10, 2020 |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=March 6, 1988 |archive-date=June 11, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200611003138/https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/tv/1988/03/06/neighborhood-detente/7d383212-b74d-4d0b-bc38-2dee4689ea11/ |url-status=live }}</ref> In 1994, Rogers wrote, produced, and hosted a special for PBS called ''Fred Rogers' Heroes'', which featured interviews and portraits of four people from across the country who were having a positive impact on children and education.<ref>King, p. 232.</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Williams |first=Scott |title='Mr. Rogers' Heroes' Looks at Who's Helping America's Children |url=https://apnews.com/97b26c623a7b246ce802492b7be046dd |access-date=May 25, 2019 |work=AP News |agency=Associated Press |date=September 2, 1994 |archive-date=January 5, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220105163807/https://apnews.com/97b26c623a7b246ce802492b7be046dd |url-status=live }}</ref> The first time Rogers appeared on television as an actor, and not himself, was in a 1996 episode of ''[[Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman]]'', playing a preacher.<ref name="DeFranceso"/>

Rogers gave "scores of interviews".<ref name="king-326">King, p. 326.</ref> Though reluctant to appear on television talk shows, he would usually "charm the host with his quick wit and ability to ad-lib on a moment's notice".<ref>King (2018), p. 308.</ref> Rogers was "one of the country's most sought-after commencement speakers",<ref name="ntyobit"/> making over 150 speeches.<ref name="king-326"/> His friend and colleague David Newell reported that Rogers would "agonize over a speech",<ref>King (2018), p. 326.</ref> and King reported that Rogers was at his least guarded during his speeches, which were about children, television, education, his view of the world, how to make the world a better place, and his quest for self-knowledge. His tone was quiet and informal but "commanded attention".<ref name="king-326"/> In many speeches, including the ones he made accepting a [[24th Daytime Emmy Awards|Lifetime Achievement Emmy]] in 1997,<ref name="tomjunod"/> for his induction into the Television Hall of Fame in 1999,<ref name="ntyobit"/> and his final commencement speech at Dartmouth College in 2002, he instructed his audiences to remain silent and think for a moment about someone who had a good influence on them.<ref>{{cite web |title=About Fred Rogers |url=https://www.misterrogers.org/about-fred-rogers/ |website=Mister Rogers.org |publisher=The Fred Rogers Company |access-date=July 30, 2019 |archive-date=January 5, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220105162448/https://www.misterrogers.org/about-fred-rogers/ |url-status=live }}</ref>