Biography

In an interview, Fred said the hardest time on his television show was when he had to go straight from his father's funeral to the studio and have to sing "It's a Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood", while trying not to cry on-camera.

The iconic cardigan sweaters he wore were hand knit by his mother.

According to one story, Rogers invited his limo driver, Billy, to a dinner hosted by a network executive, so that he wouldn't have to sit and wait for two hours. Afterwards, he rode in the limo's front seat to talk to Billy, and when he learned that they'd be passing Billy's family's house along the way to the hotel, Rogers asked if they could stop over so he could meet them. The affair became an impromptu party. Neighbors brought treats and Rogers entertained them by playing jazz piano. A few years later, when Rogers learned that Billy was dying of AIDS, he took time to call him in the hospital.

His wife Sara Joanne Byrd was his college sweetheart.

He received his Bachelor's degree in Music Composition, and wrote most of the music performed on his show.

I think people who produce and perform on programs for children should have as a prerequisite some sort of course to understand their audience. You wouldn't put a newsman on the air who didn't know how to pronounce Vietnam. But we give millions of dollars to these people who are producing cartoons and they have no earthly idea of what they're doing to a kid.

I got 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.

We have to remember to whom the airwaves belong, and we must put as great an emphasis on the nurturing of the human personality as we can. I believe that those of us who are the producers and purveyors of television -- or video games or newspapers or any mass media -- I believe that we are the servants of this nation.

You know you don't have to be an actor when you read a book to a child. All you need is to simply love what you're reading. Even just enjoying the pictures together is a great start. When you share a book with a child, you're saying to them that books are important. That's a gift that can nurture them all through their lives.

Parents are like shuttles on a loom. They join the threads of the past with threads of the future and leave their own bright patterns as they go.