Mister Rogers receives his Lifetime Achievement Award - 1997

submitted by swampgirl
1 decade 7 years 11 months ago
This gentleman was one of the most graceful, kind-hearted and wise individuals that has ever lived. Watch now how he humbles an audience of television stars with a touching message instead of self congratulating himself as most people do when receiving an award.

23 Comments

swampgirlsays...

Mister Rogers' Neighborhood won four Emmy awards, including one for lifetime achievement.

During the 1997 Daytime Emmys, the Lifetime Achievement Award was presented to Rogers. The following is an excerpt from Esquire Magazine's coverage of the gala, written by Tom Junod:

...Mister Rogers went onstage to accept the award -- and there, in front of all the soap opera stars and talk show sinceratrons, in front of all the jutting man-tanned jaws and jutting saltwater bosoms, he made his small bow and said into the microphone, "All of us have special ones who have loved us into being. Would you just take, along with me, one minute to think of the people who have helped you become who you are. One minute of silence."

And then he lifted his wrist, looked at the audience, looked at his watch, and said, 'I'll watch the time.' There was, at first, a small whoop from the crowd, a giddy, strangled hiccup of laughter, as people realized that he wasn't kidding, that Mister Rogers was not some convenient eunuch, but rather a man, an authority figure who actually expected them to do what he asked. And so they did. One second, two seconds, three seconds -- and now the jaws clenched, and the bosoms heaved, and the mascara ran, and the tears fell upon the beglittered gathering like rain leaking down a crystal chandelier. And Mister Rogers finally looked up from his watch and said softly, "May God be with you," to all his vanquished children.

Rogers is quoted as saying, "I got into television because I hated it so. And I thought there was some way of using this fabulous instrument to be of nurture to those who would watch and listen."
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Silvercord, thanks for giving me the embed for this.

djsunkidsays...

Wow... I have always had contempt for mister rogers, even as a very small child- I think he creeped me out. But this clip definitely gives me pause. What an amazing acceptance speech, and I guess a remarkable man. I guess his problem was always that he was too nice.

djsunkidsays...

Aaaaaand... I just found out that Mister Dressup was his understudy.

It's.. interesting the relationships we have with the television that we watched as children.

Whereas Mr Rogers was the mostly boring but slightly creepy uncle that you didn't really want to hang out with.. Mr Dressup was... well, he was my grandpa. My real grandpa lives on the other coast, and I almost never got to see him, but Mr. Dressup looked a bit like him, and I got to see him every day.

It was really only fairly recently that I realised/remembered how much I loved Mr Dressup, and put together the pieces of my emotional childhood to figure out that he really did play the role of grandfather in my early childhood.

I find it quite unnerrving to hear that studied under Fred Rogers. There is something just not right about that.

Halon50says...

What a wonderful flashback, and I'm glad this is the one that hopped out of the queue! My childhood has many memories of watching his show and exploring his imaginary wonderland.

My background as a child was growing up with other children at a local Buddhist Temple, just because it was the only place where (so my parents thought) I could meet and be friends with nice Japanese children around my age. However, I stood to learn far more from Mr. Rogers than any teachings of the Buddha or Sangha, and indeed saw that put to the test as my last visit to a gathering at the temple culminated with two of the adults essentially telling me I wasn't welcome there.

Thank you Mr. Rogers for teaching me acceptance in all people -- with few exception -- and giving such hope to everyone else around you!

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