Tuned In: Friends of Fred Rogers share memories for oral history

Friday, April 13, 2007

By Rob Owen, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Anyone who spent time with the late Fred Rogers knows there's more to him and "Mister Rogers' Neighborhood" than the sayings and characters that continue to pingpong through the pop culture atmosphere.

	The late Fred Rogers is the subject of interiews about his contributions.

"Won't you be my neighbor?" may be forever associated with the children's TV host -- it's one of several sayings on the new In Your Pocket Mister Rogers talking keychain that's in stores -- but such quotes don't begin to do justice to the thought and creativity Rogers put into making one of the most acclaimed children's TV shows in the medium's history.

To ensure his methods and contributions will not be forgotten, the Fred Rogers Center for Early Learning and Children's Media at Saint Vincent College in Latrobe has embarked on interviewing Rogers' friends and professional colleagues. The Buhl Foundation awarded the center a $229,000 grant for the Fred Rogers Oral History Project.

Bill Isler, executive director of the Rogers Center and president of Rogers' Family Communications Inc., said many of those who worked with Rogers have not been interviewed extensively.

Among a list of 50 subjects, 14 interviews have already taken place. The Narrative Trust, based in New York, is conducting the interviews, which are expected to continue through August 2008.

Unlike journalism, where the story (i.e. house fire, car crash, etc.) is generally understood before a writer sets about reporting and interviewing, in an oral history, you don't know the story, said Melanie Shorin, who is partners in The Narrative Trust with Jessica Wiederhorn. "You are there to listen and open up a conversation."

Wiederhorn said their mission is to document Rogers' creative process through the personal stories of people who worked with him. Themes they intend to explore include his childhood and how that influenced his approach to work and his collaborations, and how societal changes may have influenced the "Neighborhood."

Brother David Kelly, the Rogers Center archivist who is coordinating the project, said the interview subjects represent a cross-section of people who knew Rogers at various points in his life, including the Rev. Bill Barker, who was part of Rogers' years when he attended Pittsburgh Theological Seminary.

"Kirk Browning was one with whom Fred worked on 'Amahl and the Night Visitors' for the NBC Opera," Kelly said. "It's quite interesting because he goes back to Fred's earliest experiences with television.

"One of the things [Browning] says is that Fred had such an instinct for how to use a television camera that Kirk Browning didn't have anything to teach him about that," Kelly recalled. "That's the kind of thing you only get by having someone tell their story of meeting Fred Rogers. That's what oral history brings to this."

While the project is largely a biographical oral history of Rogers, Wiederhorn and Shorin said it's also an institutional oral history about FCI.

"Institutions do oral histories for a number of different reasons," Wiederhorn said, "but mostly it's to retain the institutional memory and keep the life and values of the founders of the organization alive, to make the staff aware of them."

Of the interviews conducted to date -- each running about two hours -- subjects have included child development expert Dr. Nancy Curry and several long-time FCI staffers, including administrative secretary Elaine Lynch and David Newell, who played Mr. McFeely on the "Neighborhood."

Wiederhorn characterized oral histories as primary source documents, similar to a journal or letter from the 15th century, that could be used by scholars in ways that can't be predicted.

"For all we know, someone interested in the history of puppetry might come to this archive, or someone interested in early television in Pittsburgh," she said.

The Rogers Center at Saint Vincent is under construction and expected to be complete in May 2008. Kelly said excerpts from the interviews are expected to play on a loop in an exhibit at the Center. The full-length interviews will be archived there for scholars who want to do research on Rogers' approach to media and child development.

"There hasn't been a whole lot of concentrated research into its distinct applications and how [Fred] himself developed it," Kelly said. "There is history to this. It didn't just happen, and it wasn't a construct. One way to get at it is to listen to people who knew him."

Bell project on hold

A proposed TV series starring tween star Drake Bell that was supposed to begin filming in Pittsburgh early this year is on hold. Phil Isaly, president of Pittsburgh-based PEI Production Group, said Bell is currently filming a movie in New Orleans. He said he hopes Bell's schedule will clear up later in the year, allowing him time to shoot in Pittsburgh.

Thomas E. van Dell, Bell's manager, did not respond to e-mail seeking an update on his client's proposed Pittsburgh-set series.

New Ion lineup

Ion Television, the successor to Pax TV, unveiled a new lineup last week that includes "Moral Court" (6 p.m. weeknights), "Amen" (7 p.m. weeknights), "Alice" (7:30 p.m. weeknights), "The Wonder Years" (10 and 10:30 p.m. weeknights) and the original 1970s "Battlestar Galactica" (6 and 7 p.m. Sunday).

Ion is available locally on cable.

Larry King celebrates

CNN will celebrate mainstay Larry King's 50 years in broadcasting all next week, including a prime-time special at 9 p.m. Wednesday that will feature appearances by Walter Cronkite, Merv Griffin, Star Jones, Ted Turner, Barbara Walters, Dolly Parton and President George H.W. Bush.

In addition, Warner Home Video will release "Larry King Live: The Greatest Interviews" ($34.98) on Tuesday.

'The Shield' on demand (again)

The "Shield" prequel episode that was seemingly impossible to find on Comcast's On Demand service last week has been found by one sleuthing customer who shared his discovery.

Go to "Searchlight," then "Entertainment," then "TV Exclusives."

This only goes to show that Comcast is allowing technological advances to get in the way of logic and ease-of-use for customers. Why wouldn't FX have its own folder under "TV Entertainment" as most of the other networks do?

'Lost' rebounds

For former fans who gave up on "Lost" in impatience, you're missing out on an excellent drama.

Recent episodes have reunited the castaways, dispatched a couple of new, disliked characters and even offered some answers about the Others' motivations.

Channel surfing

Mark your calendars: "Heartland," the next Pittsburgh-set series from native David Hollander, premieres on TNT June 18 after the third season premiere of hit "The Closer." ... FX will air a marathon of the first five episodes of "The Riches" beginning tonight at 9 p.m. ... A marathon of the entire third season of Sci Fi Channel's "Battlestar Galactica" will air 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. May 16 and 17 and 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. May 18. ... The latest TV on DVD without any extras: "Silver Spoons: The Complete First Season" (Sony Pictures Home Entertainment, $29.95), which is due in stores June 19. "Flipper: Season One" ($39.98, MGM), with just a trivia game, arrives April 24. ... Court TV has canceled "Catherine Crier Live." ... Shia LaBeouf hosts "Saturday Night Live" this weekend with musical guest Avril Lavigne. Scarlett Johansson hosts April 21 with musical guest Bjork.

Tuned In Journal

If you're not reading Tuned In Journal at post-gazette.com/tv, you're missing out on TV news and views. This week's posts have included a look at TV Guide Channel's "Square Off," NBC's "Friday Night Lights," Lifetime's "Blood Ties" and National Geographic Channel's "A Man Among Wolves." Next week Tuned In Journal chats up the executive producer of Fox's "Drive," does the "Hustle" with AMC and gets on the couch with the new Starz comedy "Head Case."

TV Q&A

This week's TV Q&A responds to questions about "The Wedding Bells," "Studio 60" and local news in high definition. Read it online at post-gazette.com/tv.

---

(TV editor Rob Owen can be reached at rowen@post-gazette.com or 412-263-2582. )