2013.09.28 - The Mister Rogers` Neighborhood Archive

Share
Blog
Interviews
0
More
Ask Me Anything!
Next Blog»
Pinterest
[email protected]
Dashboard
Spotify
S atu rd ay , S e p te mb e r 28, 2013
The Jeremy Show Interviews: Mister Rogers
Archivist Tim Lybarger
1. Speeding Cars
Imogen Heap
***Post holiday d…
The Jeremy Show Blog Arc hive
▼ 2013 (13)
▼ September (3)
The Jeremy Show Interviews: Mister
Rogers Archivis...
Porch
Deleted Scenes
► July (3)
► June (3)
► May (2)
► January (2)
► 2012 (1)
Tim Lyba rge r visiting X The Owl in The Ne ighborhood of Ma ke Be lie ve .
It wa s a nnou nce d thi s we e k tha t a fi lm a bou t F r e d R oge r s (ba se d on a book by
Ti m M a di ga n's me moi r I'm P r ou d of You ) i s i n the e a r ly sta ge s of
de ve lopme nt. I sa t down wi th the Inte r ne t's a u thor i ty on M i ste r R oge r s Ti m
L yba r ge r , the cr e a tor of The N e i ghbor hood Ar chi ve : A Colle cti on of All
Thi ngs M i ste r R oge r s. R e a d wha t we ta lk e d a bou t a s we took a nosta lgi c wa lk
thr ou gh The N e i ghbor hood of M a k e Be li e ve .
So, wha t a r e you r thou ghts on the movi e comi ng ou t?
I'm a ctua lly pretty surprised. There wa s a lot of ta lk a few months a go a bout this but it wa s
a ll so va gue tha t it didn't seem a nything would rea lly come of it. Looks like tha t ma y not be
the ca se. I'm thrilled for Tim Ma diga n -- his book is wonderful a nd he's such a grea t
person!
► 2008 (5)
► 2007 (23)
► 2006 (101)
► 2005 (100)
► 2004 (41)
► 2002 (1)
Popular Posts
The Jeremy Show Interviews: Gay Porn
Star Blue Bailey
The Jeremy Show Interviews: Mister
Rogers Archivist Tim Lybarger
And who do you thi nk shou ld pla y M i ste r
R oge r s?
Tha t's a tough ca ll to ma ke. I'm not sure tha t the a ctor
ha ve to be a spitting ima ge of him, but thinking tha t
wa y, Jim Pa rsons would be grea t!
Deleted Scenes
Jim Pa rsons
I wa s a bi g M i ste r R oge r s fa n. M y M om sa i d
tha t she thou ght Se sa me Str e e t wa s too fa st a nd
lou d for me . I di dn't r e a lly ge t i nto i t. D o you fi nd thr ou gh you r a r chi va l wor k
not even that hot
The Jeremy Show Interviews: Artist Matt
Irie
Porch
naked parties
Sign Out
wi th M i ste r R oge r s tha t the i r a r e M i ste r R oge r s pe ople a nd Se sa me Str e e t
pe ople ? Is the r e a nythi ng spe ci fi c you 've noti ce d a bou t a M i ste r R oge r s fa n?
Not to sa y tha t there a ren't kids who enjoyed both progra ms, but there a re definitely
Mister Rogers kids a nd Sesa me Street kids. These two progra ms were groundbrea king in
very different wa ys. Likewise, they were a pplica ble to children in very different wa ys.
While one wa s fa st-pa ced a nd empha sized the ABCs a nd 123s, the other kept a slow tempo
a nd ta ught kids tha t it's oka y to ha ve feelings. Is there a nything specific I've noticed a bout
Mister Rogers fa ns? Absolutely. Among the ma ny tha t I've hea rd from through the
Neighborhood Archive, they a re a very kind, ca ring, a nd pa tient group of people. Whether
this is fully a ttributed to their a pprecia tion of Mister Rogers' Neighborhood or not is up in
the a ir...but I certa inly think it's no coincidence.
You ha ve si x di ffe r e nt we bsi te s/ blogs whi ch a r e a ll a ma zi ng. O n the ma i n
por ta l to you r si te Ti mL yba r ge r .com you r i ntr o li ne i s "a r chi vi ng the
i nsi gni fi ca nt." Te ll me a bou t tha t sta te me nt.
It ta kes a certa in kind of person to ha ve a ny kind of interest in wha t I do. Either you get it
or you don't. My brother ha s a pretty solid music collection a nd I remember him jokingly
sa ying once tha t he wa s "a rchiving for future genera tions." I, too, a m a rchiving for future
genera tions. I'm just a rchiving stuff tha t only myself a nd a very sma ll niche of other
people a re interested in. To most people it's insignifica nt.
I thi nk we a r e a ll li br a r i a ns of pop cu ltu r e i n some wa y. We a ll ha ve ou r
li br a r i e s of D VD 's a nd book s a nd toys fr om ou r chi ldhood. Wha t i s the focu s
of you r colle cti on? How mu ch do you ha ve ? And how doe s you r wi fe fe e l a bou t
i t?
I guess the focus of my collection would be things tha t remind me of my own childhood. I've
often sa id tha t I ha d a wonderful childhood a nd given the opportunity, I would relive a ges
2-17 over a nd over a ga in. So I often find myself picking up items a t flea ma rkets a nd
ga ra ge sa les tha t I owned a s a kid -- books, ga mes, toys. Likewise, I love wa tching
television shows tha t I enjoyed when I wa s young. I'll ta ke the A-Tea m or a hea lthy dose of
Sa turda y morning ca rtoons over America 's Got Ta lent a ny da y. As for my wife...she's
doesn't get it. I don't mea n tha t in a nega tive wa y either. She's the type of person who is
content to ta ke a picture of something a nd throw it a wa y while I love being a ble to
physica lly see something to bring ba ck memories. She does a good job of tolera ting my
collection a nd humoring me when I sta rt telling her a bout the la test thing I've found.
M y fa vor i te M i ste r R oge r s song, or the one I r e me mbe r the most i s "I L i k e to
Be Told." Be tte M i dle r sa ng i t i n a conce r t I sa w a nd I cr i e d. Tha t song ha s so
mu ch me a ni ng. The i de a i s ma i nly- chi ldr e n (a nd a du lts) li k e to be told the
tr u th. And wi th tr u th come s tr u st. The mor e I thi nk a bou t i t the mor e I ca n se e
i t a ppli e s fa r be yond chi ldr e n a nd i nto the a du lt wor ld- wor k , r e la ti onshi ps,
gove r nme nt. Wha t M r . R oge r s song r e sona te s for you ?
This is exa ctly wha t got me into a rchiving the ca reer of Fred Rogers. I ha d grown up
wa tching the Neighborhood progra m a nd a s a n a dult, pa rent, a nd educa tor, I bega n to
recognize tha t his messa ge wa s one tha t wa sn't just for kids. I Like To Ta ke My Time ca n
be a pplied to rush hour tra ffic a nd Let's Think of Something to Do While We're Wa iting
ca n help during a lengthy stop in a ny wa iting room. I ca n't sa y tha t I rea lly ha ve one
specific Mister Rogers song tha t resona tes with me a ny more tha n others, but I often think
a bout his overa ll messa ge of pa tience, love, a nd compa ssion for others -- our neighbors -in this world.
O K te ll me e ve r ythi ng you k now a bou t L a dy
Ela i ne . She i s my fa vor i te . Wha t's he r de a l?
She's a feisty one, tha t La dy Ela ine. Fred often ta lked
a bout how he expressed his va rious feelings through
the puppets in Ma ke-Believe. No doubt a ny mischief
Angry lesbians next d oor who d on't say
hello
The Best Of David Spad e!?!
"I am out of meth and need to buy some
from your d ownstairs neighbor."
Labels
moods (50) television (50)
music (30) celebrity (28) relationships
(20) childhood (18) dreams (17)
madonna (17) food (16) work (15)
movies (14) poetry (14) favorite (12)
characters (9) fear (9) men (9) politics (9)
holid ays (8) interviews (8) women (8) art (7)
fantasies (7) health and beauty (7) bette
mid ler (6) books (6) martha stewart (6)
aud io creations (5) photography (5)
smoking (5) stories (5) youtube (5) be ing ga y
(4) de le te d sce ne s (4) the a tre (4) fa mily (3)
me dica l (3) opra h (3) vide o cre a tions (3) a rt i
ma de (2) disne y (2) hollywood (2) mone y (2) npr
(2) publishe d work (2) advice (1) anxiety (1)
architecture (1) chicago (1) contes t (1) mental illnes s
(1) moving (1) quotes (1) s eas ons (1) s hopping (1)
s pace (1) weight (1)
buy me a c oke. $2.98
wa s expressed a t the Museum-Go-Round! (Most)
everything I know a bout La dy Ela ine ca n be found on
her pa ge of the Archive site -
La dy Ela ine Fa irchild
http://www.neighborhooda rchive.com/mrn/cha ra cters/la dy_ela ine/index.html
Te ll me a bou t the e volu ti on of you r a ma zi ngly thor ou gh a nd be a u ti fu l
a r chi ve . Whe r e di d i t sta r t? Wha t a r e you r fu tu r e pla ns or de ve lopme nts do
you ha ve comi ng for the N e i ghbor hood?
My brother a nd I ha d a Mister Rogers record when we were kids a nd one da y I wa s looking
for some deta ils a bout it online. I figured surely there wa s some ca tch-a ll site deta iling
every nook a nd cra nny a bout the long a nd influentia l ca reer of Fred Rogers. Much to my
surprise, there wa s nothing of the sort. Ha ving spent severa l yea rs deta iling the ca reer of
consta ntly-touring folk singer Todd Snider on EighteenMinutes.com, I figured there wa s
only one thing I could do. From there, the site just ca ught on like wildfire a s other fa ns of
Fred a nd his work picked up on my efforts. As the site continues to grown, I'm consta ntly
a ma zed by the response I regula rly receive from Mister Rogers fa ns a round the world.
D i d you e ve r ge t to me e t M i ste r R oge r s or othe r ca st me mbe r s? Te ll me a bou t
tha t.
Although I never ha d the cha nce to meet Fred in person, I did invite him to my college
gra dua tion (sort of). Finishing my undergra dua te degree, I wa s sending a nnouncements to
fa mily a nd friends a nd ha d a few left over. Not expecting a ny sort of response, I sent one
of the extra s to Mister Rogers with a note tha nking him for the messa ge he instilled in me
a nd countless other children a round the world through our childhood visits to his
Neighborhood. Much to my surprise, within a ma tter of just a few da ys, I received a
persona l response in the ma il from Fred. It wa s a t this point tha t I knew this ma n wa s so
much more tha n just the host of some show I wa tched when I wa s a kid. As for others, I've
ha d the cha nce to meet Da vid Newell (Mr. McFeely) a few times a nd very briefly met Betsy
Sea ma ns (Mrs. McFeely) once. I've ha d a few phone conversa tions with Audrey Roth (Miss
Pa ulifica te) a nd Burt Lloyd (Mr. Allmine). Betty Aberlin (La dy Aberlin) a nd I ha ve
corresponded off a nd on through ema il a nd Twitter over the pa st few yea rs a nd I've
recently been in conta ct with Fra ncois Clemmons (Officer Clemmons). In every one of
these ca ses, I ca n sa y tha t ea ch a nd every one of these people ha ve been wonderfully kind
a nd generous a s they a re very clea rly not fa r removed from the cha ra cters they portra yed
on the Neighborhood progra m.
As for the N e i ghbor hood of M a k e Be li e ve i tse lf- i t se e ms to be a tr i ppy mi r r or
i ma ge of wha t's goi ng on i n M i ste r R oge r s "te le vi si on home ." Wha t's the
psychologi ca l r e a soni ng for a ll of thi s a s you se e i t? Why i s the show se t u p i n
thi s wa y?
The shows were scripted from sta rt to finish a nd no deta il wa s left una ccounted for, so the
simila rities between the "rea l" neighborhood a nd the Neighborhood of Ma ke-Believe were
certa inly intentiona l. I've a lwa ys felt tha t the show spoke to children on va rious levels in
different wa ys. While some where a ble to ta ke a wa y Fred's messa ge from his "rea l"
neighborhood segments, others were more comforta ble with the ma ke-believe portions. To
me, this provided children a t va rious sta ges in their lives with the opportunity to pick up
the sa me importa nt messa ge being sha red on a ny pa rticula r Neighborhood episode.
Who i s you r fa vor i te N e i ghbor hood of M a k e
Be li e ve r e si de nt a nd N e i ghbor hood r e si de nt?
In the Neighborhood of Ma ke-Believe, if I ha d to pick a
fa vorite, I'd sa y it'd proba bly be X the Owl a s I a pprecia te
his light-hea rted outlook on life. Tha t being sa id, I ha ve a
somewha t weird obsession with the a lien cha ra cter -- Yo Yo
La Belle -- tha t only a ppea red in a few episodes. In the
"rea l" Neighborhood, it's ha rd to pinpoint a fa vorite. If I
ha d to chose, proba bly Mr. McFeely simply beca use of the
regula rity of his a ppea ra nce a nd his fun intera ctions with
Mister Rogers throughout the run of the show.
Y o Y o La Be lle
D o you k now wha t ha ppe ne d to the se t a nd pr ops of the show?
Up until recently, most of the Neighborhood of Ma ke-Believe set wa s on displa y
throughout the building which housed the office spa ce for the Fred Rogers Compa ny.
Ea rlier this summer, the FRC reloca ted to new spa ce in Pittsburgh a nd I'm not sure if these
pieces went with them or went into stora ge. The Neighborhood of Ma ke-Believe models
were on displa y in the FRC offices a t their previous loca tion a nd I ca n only a ssume tha t
they a re on displa y in their new spa ce a s well. I've a lso been told tha t the street displa y
seen in the opening a nd closing of the progra m is on displa y in the new office loca tion, too.
As for the set of Mister Rogers' television house, the la st I knew is tha t those pieces were in
stora ge.
Why wa sn't the r e mu ch me r cha ndi si ng for the show?- i t se e ms li k e Se sa me
Str e e t wa s a ll ove r the pla ce . I wou ld ha ve k i lle d to ge t my ha nds on tha t
pla yse t.
Yea h. The pla yset. Tell me a bout it. I'd
do a nything to get my ha nds on one of
those. I've tried a sking everyone from
the Fred Rogers Compa ny to the
individua ls who designed tha t piece
a nd ha ve come up with nothing. The
best I ca n put together is tha t a
prototype wa s crea ted but never
ma rketed on a ma ss sca le. I think the
fa ct tha t there wa sn't a huge ma rket for
Mister Rogers mercha ndise ca n be
a ttributed to Fred's na ture of
simplicity. I think his one a nd only focus wa s rea ching out to children on a persona l a nd
individua l level. He could ha ve ta ken the Neighborhood to a ma ss ma rket a nd ca pita lized
in a ma jor wa y through mercha ndising opportunities. Instea d, he chose to keep the focus
on the messa ge ra ther tha n the ma rket. Typica l Fred, from wha t I understa nd.
Wi th you r own k i ds, do you se e
a nythi ng e lse on chi ldr e n's
te le vi si on tha t ge ts close to
M i ste r R oge r s' style ?
Nothing. There's Da niel Tigers'
Neighborhood which is the "next
genera tion" of Mister Rogers'
Neighborhood, but there's nothing
out there tha t comes close to a da ily
visit to the Neighborhood.
Everything on TV for kids is either
fa st, fla shy, commercia lized, or a ll
of the a bove. I've yet to find a
children's progra m tha t ha s rea ched
the ma sses tha t Fred rea ched in
such a simple yet unbelieva bly
influentia l wa y. For the record, my
kids LOVE Da niel Tiger's
Neighborhood a nd I could not be ha ppier to see Fred's messa ge ca rried on in such a
positive a nd popula r progra m. The response to Da niel Tiger ha s been phenomena l!
Wha t i s k nown a bou t M i ste r R oge r s pr i va te li fe ? Is the r e a nythi ng tha t ha s
su r pr i se d you or tha t you fou nd i nte r e sti ng i n you r r e se a r ch? Ha s the r e be e n
a ny good bi ogr a phi e s you ca n r e comme nd?
When it comes to Fred's persona l life, everyone ha s this pa rt of them tha t hopes there's
some dirt somewhere...some sort of secret life tha t could ta rnish the seemingly perfect
persona seen on television. While I ha te to disa ppoint, everything I ha ve ga thered over
severa l yea rs of resea rching his life a nd ca reer ha s pointed to one thing -- he wa s the
sa me kind a nd ca ring person in rea l life tha t you sa w on TV. There a re two different
biogra phies tha t I would recommend for a nyone interested in a quick look a t Fred a nd his
ca reer -- both in video forma t. The first is Fred Rogers: America 's Fa vorite Neighbor. This
one is a fa nta stic look a t Fred's life a nd ca reer sca ttered with ma ny clips from the show a s
well a s lengthy interviews with Fred himself. The other is Mister Rogers & Me (a va ila ble
on Netflix Prime) -- a documenta ry fea turing va rious individua ls touched by the messa ge
of Fred Rogers.
Wha t do you di scu ss on you r podca st?
The podca st sta rted out with conversa tions with a few other fa ns of the Neighborhood a nd
ha s evolved a bit into mostly interviews with people who ha ve been involved with or
hea vily influenced by the Neighborhood progra m in some wa y. I've spoken with a ha ndful
of Neighborhood ca st members such a s Audrey Roth (Miss Pa ulifica te) a nd Bert Lloyd (Mr.
Allmine) a s well a s others who were involved behind the scenes (Eliot Da ly). I ha ve to
a dmit tha t the podca st is one a spect of the Neighborhood Archive tha t I tend to neglect. For
some rea son it a lwa ys seems to go to the ba ck burner a s you ca n see by the fa ct tha t there
a re only a bout 20 episodes.
Cle a r ly, you we r e a chi ld of the e i ghti e s- wha t i s i t a bou t the e i ghti e s? Wha t
do you r e me mbe r a s the vi be of tha t de ca de for you ?
It might just be tha t I wa s a kid a nd things a re simple when you're young, but I feel like the
80s were a much simpler time tha n we live in now. We didn't ha ve the fla shy movies a nd
video ga mes we ha ve toda y...but we didn't know a ny better. We were content to drop a
qua rter in a ma chine for a few minutes of Pa c-Ma n or to hea r a song we liked pla yed from
a jukebox. I'm sure tha t the 80s were no less complex for a dults tha n toda y is for people my
own a ge, but the feelings of comfort a nd simplicity tha t come ba ck to me with memories of
my childhood in the 80s ca nnot be ma tched.
Whe n pe ople a r e pa ssi ona te a bou t some thi ng (for me i t wou ld be M a donna ,
M a r tha Ste wa r t) I fi nd i t i nte r e sti ng, no ma tte r wha t i t i s. M y boyfr i e nd i s a
BIG D i sne y fa n. I mi ght be wr ong bu t I do fe e l li k e you ca n follow the tr a i l of
ou r de e p pa ssi ons (li k e e ve r ythi ng e lse ) ba ck to ou r chi ldhood. How do you
fe e l a bou t tha t? D o you thi nk tha t you a r e tr yi ng to ge t ba ck some thi ng fr om
you r chi ldhood? O r doe s you r pa ssi on for pop cu ltu r e r e la te to some thi ng
e lse ?
I think you've hit the na il on the hea d. Ma ny people -- myself included -- find comfort in
remembering simpler times. Being a ble to thumb through my ba seba ll ca rd collection
from when I wa s a kid immedia tely ta kes me ba ck to summer a fternoons of ba ckya rd
ba seba ll a nd trips to the drug store to buy wa x pa cks of the current ca rds. Listening to
certa in songs will immedia tely put me ba ck in my bedroom on a wa rm summer evening
with the windows open while I listened to the loca l pop music request show. I've often sa id
tha t I ca n't tell you much tha t I lea rned in college, but I ca n ea sily come up with a ny deta il
from my childhood tha t you'd ca re to request. While some people ma y sa y I'm stuck in the
pa st, I look a t it a s a recognition of the wonderful childhood tha t I wa s blessed enough to
experience.
Vi si t Ti m a t The N e i ghbor hood Ar chi ve a nd follow hi m on Twi tte r !
Poste d by Je re my a t 8:25 AM
Recommend this on Google
No comments:
Post a Comment
Enter your comment...
Comment as:
Publish
TL (Google)
Sign out
Preview
Notify me
Home
Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)
Old er Post
Simple template. Powered by Blogger.