When you hear the name “Mister Rogers” up pops an image of a really nice adult that talks to children. His show “Mister Rogers Neighborhood” ran for 33years on public television.
It’s theme of music, stories, guests, and characters all designed to deliver a message to both adults and children was his gift to many. His message was one of universal. What can his birth order tell us about the man, Fred Rogers.
Mister Rogers
Childhood
Fred was born March 20, 1928 in Latrobe Pennsylvania to James and Nancy Rodgers. James was an accountant- banker and Nancy a stay at home mom. He was their firstborn and Only child until they adopted a daughter 11 years later. Her name was Elaine Crozier and he loved her dearly.
Fred recounts that he was a sickly child and spent a lot of time at home. His maternal grandfather also lived with the family and like his mother, played the piano. They taught Fred to play the piano at an early age. While recuperating from his many illnesses, Fred found entertainment in music and the use of puppets to make up stories. Only children can be their own best friend.
The Only Child
All firstborns are Only children until the next sibling arrives. The Only child grows up in an adult world. Adults are his peers. He tends to follow in the footsteps of adults not his own generation. In Fred’s case it was his grandfather that had an enormous influence on his life.
Retired from the railroad but living in the same house he became Fred’s friend and teacher. Parents of Only children are very protective. As an adult his mother made all of his cardigan sweaters that he wore on the show. Only children are also an amalgam of their parent’s birth orders and that is why no two Only children are alike.
In the movie “Willy Wonka: The Chocolate Factory,” we saw two types of Only children. One, very adult like and responsible and the others spoiled children. Fred was the responsible type who felt no fear of being dethroned by his younger sibling. His adult role as a father figure to millions fits right in with his birth order.
The Only/One Birth Order
Raised as an Only child for 11 years before the family adopted his sister makes Fred an Only/One Double birth order. He is more an Only child than a Firstborn as the eleven years makes a difference. He never felt threatened by his younger sister and instead was supportive of her, more like a parent.
With such a secure position in the family he could be gentle and caring and not feel threatened. In real life, it is said, he was the same person that the kids saw on screen.
Education/Career
After high school Fred got his Bachelor’s degree in music composition from Rollins College in 1951 and a divinity degree from the Pittsburgh theological Seminary in 1962. His special mission was to keep doing what he was doing on television to reach as many children as possible with his message of tolerance and love.
His show premiered on February 19, 1968 and ran until August 31, 2001. He had been displeased at the way television addressed children and wanted to make a change. This was his calling as a Presbyterian minister. He was a progressive pacifist all his life and it showed.
Married
Fred and Joanne Byrd married in 1952. They met at college where she was a music major and became a professional pianist. They had two sons James and John and three grandsons. They were married 50 years until his death in 2003.
Controversy
There have been only a few times that Mr. Rogers had to speak up about his image. In 1985 Burger King used an actor to impersonate Mister Rogers calling him Mister Rodney. Fred contacted the Senior Vice President and he pulled the ad. Johnny Carson did a parody skit called, “Mister Rambo’s Neighborhood.”
Fred complained and Johnny publicly apologized. He had no trouble with the parody done by Eddie Murphy on Saturday Night Live “Mister Robinson’s Neighborhood”. He found it funny and affectionate. The fact that it was aired around midnight when his viewers would be in bed was another reason he ok’d it.
In 1998 he filled suit against a Texas store using his likeness on T-shirts which contained a handgun and the slogan Welcome to my “hood”. He got the Tee Shirts removed and destroyed. He is also credited with saving the VCR in his testimony for the Supreme Court that he thought it beneficial that children could tape his program. Last, the rumor that he was a Navy Seal or Marine sniper is false. He never served in the military.
His Legacy
Fred died of stomach cancer February 27, 2003. He leaves behind several generations of children that learned so much from his program. He was truly the parental figure that portrayed the best in parenting. We will all remember that, “It’s a Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood” and “You made this a special day just by being Yourself.”