Pop Culture Flashback: Mister Rogers Left the Neighborhood (August 31)

After 35 years of inspiring and encouraging children, Mister Rogers pack up his bags and moved out of the neighborhood he helped create in 2001. He continues to be missed.

2001 – Mister Rogers Doesn’t Live Here Anymore

Fred Rogers on the set of Mister Rogers Neighborhood with two puppet friends — Fred Rogers on the set of *Mister Rogers Neighborhood* along with Henrietta Pussycat and X the Owl. Fred also voiced the owl. *(Wikimedia Commons)*

Rev. Fred Rogers got his start on TV beginning in 1953 as a puppeteer for the show, The Children’s Corner which aired on the Pittsburgh public station, WQED. It is there that he learned that wearing sneakers on the set was much quieter than his regular dress shoes.

In 1963, Rogers moved to Toronto, Ontario to work on the CBC show, Misterogers, where he appeared in front of the camera, and he acquired familiar set pieces such as a trolley and a castle.

In 1966, Fred Rogers moved back to WQED to create the regional show, Mister Rogers Neighborhood. The show was a hit but was cancelled in 1967 due to a lack of funds. However, The Sears Roebuck Foundation came through with funding that allowed the program to be seen nationwide. The show continued until 1976. Then the crew started up the show once again to run from 1979 to this day in 2001.

On September 8, 1996, Blues Clues debuted on Nickelodeon. The show’s co-creator, Angela Santomero has said that the show was directly inspired by Mister Rogers Neighborhood in both concept and execution. Not only did Steve (Steve Burns) speak in a manner similar to Rogers, but he also spoke directly to the camera and would often transition into a make-believe world.

In 2019, Tom Hanks played Fred Rogers for the biopic movie, A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood.

OTHER EVENTS THAT HAPPENED ON THIS DAY:

1943 – First Navy Ship to be Named After an African American

The USS Harmon in 1943 *(Wikimedia Commons)*

On November 13, 1942, during World War II, the USS San Francisco was attacked by Japanese gunfire where nearly every officer on the bridge was killed. Mess Attendant Leonard Roy Harmon, who had been trained in damage control, rushed to help evacuate the wounded officers. He was assigned to assist Pharmacist’s Mate Lyndford Bondsteel in caring for these officers.

While helping Bondsteel bring the wounded to a dressing station, he protected Bondsteel by standing between him and the gunfire which resulted in his death. In addition to the posthumous award of the Navy Cross, Buckley-class destroyer was named the USS Harmon in his honor on this day in 1943. A poster announcing the title called it “A fighting ship named for a fighting man.”

2022 – The World’s Largest Food Fight

A young woman throws a rotten tomato at the camera during La_Tomatina in Spain — Stand back! An attack during La Tomatina in Spain in 2010. *(Flydime/Wikimedia Commons)*

Every year, thousands of people start throwing tomatoes at each other for an hour and then go about their separate ways. Known as Tomatina, the street fight “celebrated” its 75^th anniversary in 2022 after being scuttled due to the Coronavirus pandemic. Up to 20,000 people participated in the pelting of overripe tomatoes on the streets of Buñol, Spain (which is pretty something since the town has a population of just 9,000 residents).

The very first fight took place in 1945 when during a parade featuring “Giants” and “Big-Heads” figures, a group of teens jumped in to be a part of the parade. As a result, one of the Big-Heads fell off one of the participants. He got really mad and went swinging. Soon, a brawl started that crashed into a fruit and vegetable stand. People began throwing tomatoes at each other and the local police broke up the fight.

Here is where it gets interesting: The following year, a group of teens pre-planned their own battle bringing with them their own tomatoes. That fight was also stopped, but the Tomatina tradition was born.

2021- Murders Started Happening in the Building

Selena Gomez, Martin Short and Steve Martin arguing in an elevator on "Only Murders in the Building", — Mabel (Selena Gomez), Oliver (Martin Short) and Charles (Steve Martin) in *Only Murders in the Building (Patrick Harbron/Hulu)*

The doorman opened the door on the goofy murder mystery comedy series, Only Murders in the Building on this day in 2021. The Hulu series was created by Steve Martin (who also stars in the show), Dan Fogelman and John Hoffman. Filled with witty dialogue and madcap adventures, Martin, Selena Gomez and Martin Short make up an unlikely crime solving trio who investigate murders that happen within the four walls of an Upper West Side apartment building. If that wasn’t enough, they report their findings on their own true-crime podcast.

Season 1 of Only Murders in the Building got a perfect 100% rating on Rotten Tomatoes when it debuted and continues to be very popular despite with critics and viewers alike (although it dipped down to 89% during the show’s 5th season.) The series has received 61 Emmy nominations but has only earned seven wins.

Just about everybody has appeared on the series in one form or another including Meryl Streep, Shirley MacLaine, Paul Rudd, Tina Fey, Nathan Lane, Amy Ryan, Zach Galifianakis, Eugene Levy, Eva Longoria, Andrea Martin, Jane Lynch, Molly Shannon, Kumail Nanjiani, Tea Leoni, Diane Wiest, Keegan-Michael Key, Christoph Waltz, Sting, Renee Zellweger, Jimmy Fallon, Amy Schumer, Mark Consuelos, Matthew Broderick, Mel Brooks, Ron Howard, etc.