OrangeCoat

Mr. Rogers Interview

I stumbled upon this 1999 interview with the late Mr. Rogers. It's a lengthy 28 minute retrospective, but I had to watch the entire thing----religious messages and all. Though he died about four years after the taping, he appears amazingly spry as he explains that his trademark sweaters came from his mother's knitting talents and that Mr. McFeely (neighborhood mail man) was named after his grandfather.

His overwhelming niceness was balanced by his quirky weirdness. About a third into the interview he unexpectedly brings out the red-nosed belligerent and probably alcoholic Lady Elaine Fairchild puppet and then whines out her shrill voice. And, of course, it wouldn't be Mr. Rogers if he didn't sing a little tune (his high school alma mater) at the end. Don't ask me to recite my high school song today let alone when I'm over 70 years old.

I guess it's a little late for posthumous Mr. Rogers lamentations, but I'll dedicate my next toast to Mr. Rogers and the Helena Rubinstein Foundation for funding the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.

P.S. does anyone else think the interviewer looks like Prince Herbert (1, 2) from Monty Python crossed with a young Bill Gates? Watch the video and let me know.

P.P.S. I just found this wonderful clip of Mr. Rogers break dancing.