Excerpt from Behind the Scenes in Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood
By Keith Varnum

The masterful way Fred Rogers used his puppets and the scope of his understanding of human nature were never more evident than when the puppets would counsel the technical crew of his television show, Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood. The crew-mostly cameramen, grips and technicians-rarely talked directly to Mr. Rogers off the set. They did, however, mercilessly make fun of him behind his back for the emotional and expressive way he communicated on the show and in public. Fred was an easy target for the crew because he was such an open and, to them, vulnerable man who wore his heart on his sleeve.

Amazingly though, while Mr. Rogers was rehearsing the movements of his puppets before each show, these same macho, blue-collar detractors would surreptitiously sneak into the television studio and ask his puppets for personal advice! Speaking through the voices and personalities of Wise Owl, the King, Squirrel and other puppets, Mr. Rogers would dispense guidance to the crew members about extremely personal issues, such as being impotent or having serious marital or health problems.

Fred assigned me the task of keeping everyone else off the set until he, or rather the puppets, finished counseling a worker. From a discreet distance, I observed these “tough” men cry and tell the puppets their most secret fears and weaknesses. The men knew on some level, of course, that inside the puppet was the hand of Fred Rogers. The same men who would not talk to Mr. Rogers to his face would bare their souls to his puppet-covered hands! The genuine concern and compassion Fred expressed through his puppets to these workers was very moving to witness.

Later, in public, the same crew members he had counseled continued to ignore Mr. Rogers, as if the puppet encounters had never occurred. And Fred played along with their detached behavior, not giving any sign of personal connection with the workers other than as ordinary members of his crew. However, I did notice that, over time, the men who got the most counseling from the puppets participated less and less in the mocking of their boss behind his back.

Read the rest of this short story here. OR check out this awesome vintage Mr. Rogers’ BBoy clip.

Tags: Mr. Rogers', puppets, vulnerablilty

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