How sad it is that we give up on people who are just like us.
Fred Rogers
Growing up in Canada when I did, I watched and loved the Mr. Dressup show. I’ve come to learn that Mr. Dressup was kind of a Canadian Mr. Rogers. As far a I can recall I never saw Mr. Rogers as a child.
It was Eddie Murphy on SNL during the 1980s who, by introducing me to “Mr. Robinson’s Neighborhood,” indirectly introduced me to Fred Rogers. But I was a teen and Eddie Murphy was funny, so I imagined Fred Rodgers to be a mockable host of a kids show.
It was the 2018 documentary “Won’t You Be My Neighbor?” directed by Morgan Neville, and the 2019 drama “It’s a Beautiful day in the Neighborhood” starring Tom Hanks and directed by Marielle Heller that gave me a better understanding of Mr. Rogers. If you have never seen the 1967 footage of Fred Rogers testifying before a Senate Subcommittee about the need to fund public education for children, I highly commend it.
But the two clips that I have posted in here open my heart everytime I watch them. Both video’s feature Fred Rogers and Jeff Erlanger. They first met on the set of Fred’s show and didn’t meet again until Mr. Rogers was inducted into the TV Hall of Fame. Enjoy.
Peace, dwight
