Directing Mister Rogers in the field

One of the great fortunes of my life was getting the opportunity to work with Fred Rogers. In the last few years of production, I had the privilege of directing his remote visits outside of the studio. I have 4 children, and I like to think that I can relate easily to young children. But it was always humbling to see how Fred could see things through a child’s eyes. He would point out concerns with shots and script points that I would never have considered, but once pointed out, seemed self-evident.


Shooting with Fred was a bit like reverting to the 1950’s in terms of production. He preferred to shooting things as they happened—no shooting out of order to make it easier for lighting setups. He was concerned that the emotion of the process would not be right. The takes were long and continuous, no quick cutting. The pace was slow and relaxed. It often made the shooting process more difficult, but it was directly connected to Fred’s approach to children. The style created a feeling of authenticity, trust, and relaxation for his younger viewers.


Margy Whitmer was the Producer of the shows on which I worked. She did all of the worrying about details and logistics for Fred—that’s what a Producer does. After a scene, Fred would often stop to chat with onlookers, and a crowd would soon build around him. Margy was incredibly diplomatic in trying to break Fred away, and move him to the next shot location, to keep the crew on schedule. Can you imagine trying to make Fred hurry, or keeping him from talking to children? It was a tough job and she did it sweetly.


One of Fred’s mentors was Margaret McFarland, a child development specialist at the Arsenal Family and Children Center. I met her at her home once, as part of a research interview for the film “Spirit of Pittsburgh”, about the city's transformation in the last 50 years. She spent as much time asking about me and my family, as I did about her, and she made some profound observations. She is one of the few people I have met who seemed to embody the concept of a “self-actualized person”.


I often ran into Fred in the hallways of WQED, where I worked in the 80’s in national production. Family Communications, www.fci.org, his production company, leased office space and studio facilities for his production there. When I had my first child, I asked Fred what is the most important thing you can do to raise a healthy child? His response: “Love your spouse”.


People often asked Fred to have a picture taken with him. He might agree to that, but he much preferred taking a picture himself of the families or person requesting a photo. The photo by Fred would show up a few weeks later with a personal note from him. Two of the best photos of my family were taken by Fred.