{"id":2011,"date":"2013-02-27T11:01:00","date_gmt":"2013-02-27T11:01:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/?p=2011"},"modified":"2014-12-24T14:09:12","modified_gmt":"2014-12-24T14:09:12","slug":"fred-rogers-and-his-puppet-detente","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/2013\/02\/27\/fred-rogers-and-his-puppet-detente\/","title":{"rendered":"Fred Rogers and his puppet detente"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\" <\/a> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Newspaper <\/a>
Newspaper clipping: Vedeneeva and Rogers, 1987 <\/div> <\/div>
\""Mister <\/a>
“Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood” celebrates 25 years <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Mr.Rogers <\/a>
Mr.Rogers from one of the Mr Rogers neighborhood shows, 2003 <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Mr.Rogers <\/a>
Mr.Rogers speaks with children, circa 1990s <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Fred <\/a>
Fred Rogers and his young fans, Jan. 8, 1998 (AP) <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Mister <\/a>
Mister Rogers learns safety tips on roller skates, 1995 <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>\n

Once known as \u201cthe nicest person on television,\u201d Mr. Rogers touched millions of lives. His own life was one for service, as he himself liked to say, \u201cThose of us in broadcasting are servants of those who watch and listen.\u201d For 33 years he wrote and starred in PBS\u2019s\u00a0 \u201cMr. Rogers\u2019 Neighborhood.\u201d<\/p>\n

Today marks 10 years since Mr. Rogers died of cancer and here are some photographs from the Post-Gazette\u2019s archive, which describe different stages of Mr. Rogers\u2019 career, capture his personality and even tell stories that are not so widely known.<\/p>\n

In November 1984, amidst the Cold War, Mr. Rogers was part of what was dubbed \u201cpuppet detente.\u201d Tatiana Vedeneeva, host of the Soviet children\u2019s show “Good Night, Little Ones”<\/a> arrived at the door of Mr. Rogers\u2019 make-believe home in Oakland with an interpreter, gifts of Matryoshka dolls \u2014 shiny, painted figures which nest inside each other \u2014 and a videotape of how the dolls are made. Tatiana Vedeneeva wore a white blouse and a cream-colored sweater, at which Mr. Rogers later marveled, \u201cIsn\u2019t it nice that she wore a sweater?\u201d<\/p>\n

Vedeneeva\u2019s \u201cGood Night, Little Ones\u201d ushered millions of the Soviet children to bed each evening, including yours sincerely, and was as popular among the children of the Soviet Union as \u201cMr.Rogers\u2019 Neighborhood\u201d was among the American kids.<\/p>\n

On the day Vedeneeva visited the WQED studio, she and Mr. Rogers taped a segment together. The program was scheduled to air on Dec. 7, when President of the Soviet Union Mikhail Gorbachev was due in America to meet with President Reagan.<\/p>\n

Vedeneeva\u2019s appearance marked the first time a non-English-speaking person and an interpreter appeared on the show. \u201cThat in itself is interesting for children \u2014 and that people can understand one another even in different tongues,\u201d Mr. Rogers concluded during a break in taping.<\/p>\n

While the Soviet TV host was at Mr. Rogers\u2019 studio, a message board outside read, in English and Russian, \u201cOn the bridge of trust and the rainbow of love, Mr. Rogers\u2019 Neighborhood welcomes Tatiana Vedeneeva.\u201d<\/p>\n

Echoing themes Rogers covered daily on his show, the Soviet TV star said, \u201cSmall children will be looking at this show, and they\u2019re going to understand that children around the world are really similar\u2026We all want to get along with one another, we all want friendships, we all want to be cared for.\u201d<\/p>\n

Earlier that year, Mr. Rogers visited a studio of \u201cGood Night, Little Ones\u201d in Moscow. He didn\u2019t go there alone. On that trip, he brought a puppet of his own, Daniel Striped Tiger. American viewers saw that clip on March 8, 1985.<\/p>\n

The moral of the story, to put it in Mr. Rogers\u2019 words: \u201cPeace means far more than just the opposite of war.\u201d Mr. Rogers\u2019 caring and wisdom transcended every barrier.\u00a0 As cellist and virtuoso Yo-Yo Ma said in his tribute to Mr. Rogers, \u201cHis advocacy for children was truly an advocacy for the human race.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Once known as \u201cthe nicest person on television,\u201d Mr. Rogers touched millions of lives.<\/p>\n

Look at the picturesFred Rogers and his puppet detente<\/span><\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2012,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"gallery","meta":{"jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true},"categories":[1066],"tags":[964,980,1035,1044],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/02\/tumblr_miuxobJxYM1rr5swxo4_1280.jpg?fit=1280%2C986&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":6849,"url":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/2016\/06\/13\/mister-rogers-wears-bronze\/","url_meta":{"origin":2011,"position":0},"title":"Mister Rogers wears bronze","date":"June 13, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"Mister Rogers\u2019 Neighborhood brought laughter to many as it ran its course from 1968 until 2001. 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