What did Mr. Rogers do for a job? - Mister Rogers' Neighborhood (1968) Discussion

[–] 20 years ago

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[–] Chromium_5 20 years ago

OK, I get that, but as a kid I always took it literally. I didn't think it was his "television visitation house", I thought it WAS his house. You have to admit that when he takes off the suit and changes shoes, it looks like he is coming home to relax after a day on the job (just like my parents did). And I bet I'm not the only kid that thought that.

This is only temporary, unless it works.

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[–] 20 years ago

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[–] chemguy 20 years ago

That is what I used to think, as a kid myself. He was coming home from work.

Though, oddly enough, it never occurred to me to question what exactly he did for a job.

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[–] AWERTH 20 years ago

I was just thinking that last monday as
I had my day off of work-- as I was
watching Mr Rogers at 11:30, I was
wondering if he had ever missed catching
his shoe with his hand throughout the series---

He would probably be embarrased or
think nothing of it, and
they would do a retake!!!!

Oh yes-- his job was a
Presbyterian Minister, aside
from his show..

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[–] 20 years ago

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[–] 20 years ago

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[–] annayack 19 years ago

In real life he had his show, was a minister, and did alot of great stuff for Pittsburgh. What his job on the show was, wel I guess thats open for each kid to decide. I used to imagine he worked at a bank because thats what my uncle did and he kind of looked like Mister Rodgers.

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[–] 19 years ago

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[–] wolfmiester007 18 years ago

Now that I think of it...maybe his 'TV job' was at a bank or something? But here's another question....
When the show is over...where is he going? Cause he puts his suit coat back on and his nice shoes on. Is he going back to work?

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[–] 18 years ago

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[–] 18 years ago

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[–] joshwinkler87 18 years ago

Oh my god, I just laughed at what you just said billybass!

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[–] ColonelDEH 18 years ago

I think annayack got it right. I just read an article on Rogers that said he thought of doing the whole coat and shoes thing because that is what dads do when they get off of work and come home to relax with their family. It was a way to let kids know that this time was just for them. I think it was left up to the kids to decide what Rogers did at work so that they could relate to him better.

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[–] 18 years ago

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[–] 18 years ago

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[–] cecilieT 17 years ago

I miss him.
http://www.cnn.com/2003/SHOWBIZ/TV/02/27/rogers.obit/index.html

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[–] cecilieT 18 years ago

I agree with annayack and helmsde. My kids always compared Mr. Rodgers with their grandfather, because he looked like him; therefore, they thought that he was also an engineer.
Mr. Rodgers was a fine character! Such a marvelous show!

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[–] moss_ryder-1 18 years ago

Actually he was a presbyterian minister and advocate for federal funding for childrens' educational programing. Who you saw WAS Fred M. Rogers, not a character.

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[–] mactach 18 years ago

Who said he wasn't a real person.

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[–] rooseveltfranklin1982 18 years ago

That actually wasn't Mr. Rogers real house. I heard him mention it on the show before. I specifically remember hearing him talk about "his own house" a few times. Besides, I don't think that house he did the show in had any bedrooms, or even a bathroom for that matter. LOL

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[–] mamu2 17 years ago

I always thought from what he said on the show that the TV house wasn't his real house. When he left it after singing "Tomorrow, Tomorrow" I just figured he was going home to eat dinner.

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[–] sdeyerle 17 years ago

It was not a real house. It was a set piece that, along with all the pieces of make believe, the porch, and other bits and pieces were set up on a large soundstage at the Pittsburgh PBS studio on filming days. (I visited there less than a year before the show ended, and saw all the set pieces, which at the time were off to the side / in hallways because the show was not currently filming and other folks use the soundstage as well.)
Of course, he did visit real places (outside of the studio) regularly.

The point of the sweater / shoe changing was not to show he was coming home, but rather to show that he was coming to spend some special time together just with the viewer. He was coming in the door, clearly as a responsible adult (since it has only been in recent years that suit and tie for work have gone out of fashion), but one that intentionally made himself accessible. As others mentioned, the changing was a familiar way of introducing that.
He never referred to the set as home, and did on some occassions talk about his house and his family.
The sweater changing, by the way, was inspired in part I believe by the actual sweaters. They were all knitted for him by his mother.

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[–] heathercsa-1 15 years ago

I never really thought about what his job was supposed to be on the show. I watched him when he was at an age where he could've been retired, so maybe he had been in town doing errands & stopped by his house to take a break, then went back into town to do more errands.

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[–] pioneergrrrl 15 years ago

I figured he was a teacher or something when I was little. Preshchool can be half a day--explaining his schedule.

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[–] heathercsa-1 15 years ago

That's a good theory. I hadn't considered that one before.

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[–] TheFonz79 10 years ago

I remember when I was a child asking my parents this same question. My dad said he thought he was a mortician and my mother said he was a jail warden.

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