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He had a difficult childhood
He fought racism on-air
Despite the show’s calm atmosphere, Rogers didn’t shy away from controversial issues. During his first season in 1968, he produced a special to help kids cope after Robert F. Kennedy’s assassination. The next year he tackled racial tensions when he invited black costar François Clemmons, as the neighborhood police officer, to join him in a kiddie pool and helped dry Clemmons’s feet with a towel. “At that time in the nation, white people in urban settings were putting acid in swimming pools to keep black people out of the pools,” recalls Clemmons. “He was very much aware of what was happening in America. He didn’t put his head in the sand. I’ve had countless people over the years tell me how deeply, deeply meaningful it was.”
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The Land of Make Believe occasionally followed him home
No, he wasn’t a Navy SEAL
With the rise of the Internet, outlandish urban legends emerged—including that Rogers had secretly been a Navy SEAL or wore long sleeves to cover tattoos. “People have an idea of what they want him to be, so they create a legend,” says Clemmons of the rumors—including those questioning his sexuality. “Fred was nurturing, loving, gentle and very much heterosexual,” says Clemmons, who came out as gay himself decades later and says Rogers became a surrogate father to him.
He’s missed more than ever
Joanne says that her husband’s lasting legacy is his clarity about what he stood for—kindness, goodness and neighborliness. “He did in his life what he said was so important, which is to give the gift of his honest self,” she says. Adds Tallo: “It’s sad to know that there aren’t very many people as nice as Fred anymore. No matter what, he could make you say to yourself, ‘It’s okay.’ ”
Won’t You Be My Neighbor?is now playing in select theaters.
source: people.com
