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Where Did Mr. Rogers Get His Sweaters?

The popular children's television series Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood always began with its host, Fred Rogers, entering his home, removing his jacket and putting on a cardigan sweater. Those famous cardigans were all hand-knit by Mr. Rogers' mother. One of Mr. Rogers' red cardigans now resides at the Smithsonian Museum in Washington, D.C. Interestingly, Mr. Rogers was color blind and could not distinguish red from green.

More about Mr. Rogers:

  • Fred Rogers was a Presbyterian minister, and he held a degree from Pittsburgh Theological Seminary. He did not serve as a pastor of a church, however, and his denomination supported his continued work with children's television.

  • Mr. Rogers began his television career in 1951, working on music production for several programs. He then began to work as a puppeteer on a children's show in 1954.

  • Mr. Rogers was a vegetarian and did not use alcohol or tobacco. He died of stomach cancer in 2003 at the age of 74.

Discussion Comments

By anon300063 — On Oct 28, 2012

Eating healthy is no promise of a longer life without cancer. However, doing the wrong things is almost certainly a promise of a shorter, more painful one.

By anon299913 — On Oct 27, 2012

It's sad that he died of stomach cancer, even though he was doing what might be considered healthy, like eating vegetarian, no alcohol and tobacco. This will probably, reassure others to relax about alcohol and tobacco and meat. What a sweet man, though. Ir's nice to hear about his Mom knitting for him and that he wore her sweaters.

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