Was fred rogers gay
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Was Fred Rogers secretly gay? Or bisexual?
The sexual orientation of the beloved children&#;s TV star has long been a topic of curiosity, established Rogers&#; biographer Michael Distant who wrote in a essay that, yes, the soft-spoken creator of &#;Mr. Rogers Neighborhood&#; wasn&#;t acknowledged for his machismo.
&#;(Rogers) talked softly and carried no stick; his spirit was gentle and tender, patient and trustworthy, and receptive and loving,&#; Long wrote.
The acclaimed documentary on Rogers&#; life and career, &#;Won&#;t You Be My Neighbor?&#; addressed the question of his sexuality head-on but came to no conclusions. The film played a clip of talk present host Tom Snyder asking Rogers if he was straight. The film doesn&#;t show Rogers&#; answer, but it shares an interview with Francois Clemmons, the gay actor who played Officer Clemmons on &#;Mister Rogers&#; Neighborhood&#; for 25 years.
&#;First of all, no, he’s not gay,&#; said Clemmons. &#;I tell everyone who asks me, &#;No, he’s not gay.&#; But I s
'Won't You Be My Neighbor?': 5 things you never knew about Fred Rogers
Oscar-winner Morgan Neville re-introduces the world to Fred Rogers on Friday with his highly-touted documentary "Won't You Be My Neighbor?"
The movie, now out in theaters, takes fans of "Mister Rogers' Neighborhood," and those who are not familiar with the iconic, relatable TV host, on a tour of how an ordained minister became a sensation and a major influence to multiple generations.
Rogers is known for his calming voice, gentle character and of course his classic sweater. But Neville, who spoke to ABC News in advance of the film's debut, looks at how radical the man was for his time and how committed he was to helping children. The world disoriented Rogers to stomach cancer in
Here are five things you probably never knew about the guy who taught a generation about love and respect:
1 - He was never afraid to tackle tough topics
Sure, he sang a sweet song at the top of every exhibit and put that sweater on to make kids feel like they were right at home, but Rogers felt like chil
posted by Jason Kottke · offering link
Fred Rogers Was Attracted to Both Men and Women
Like many people my age, Mister Rogers had a massive influence on me in terms of how to behave as a male. As Maxwell King wrote in The Good Neighbor: The Life and Perform of Fred Rogers, he was not perceived at the time to be traditionally masculine:
Rogers himself was often labeled &#;a sissy,&#; or gay, in a derogatory sense. But as his longtime associate Eliot Daley put it: &#;Fred is one of the strongest people I have ever met in my life. So if they are saying he&#;s gay because&#; that&#;s a surrogate for saying he&#;s weak, that&#;s not right, because he&#;s incredibly strong.&#; He adds: &#;He wasn&#;t a very masculine person, he wasn&#;t a very feminine person; he was androgynous.&#;
In a interview for the Novel York Times, Rogers noted drolly: &#;I&#;m not John Wayne, so consequently, for some people I&#;m not the model for the gentleman in the house.&#;
When I was small, Mister Rogers was the man of the house. My dad worked a lot and I sometimes only saw him for a few hours on weeken
"Wasn'thegay?" That's what people often request me when they learn that I'm working on a manual about Fred Rogers -- the beloved creator, writer, and host of Mister Rogers' Neighborhood. I've come to believe that the question, however intended, reveals just as much about the questioners as it does about Rogers.
Sure, the question makes conclude sense if a lack of machismo means that a gentleman is gay. After all, Fred Rogers was the opposite of macho. He showed no hint of physical brawn; his chin was weak, his muscles underdeveloped, and his face smooth. Nor was he aggressive. He talked softly and carried no stick; his spirit was gentle and tender, patient and trustworthy, and receptive and loving. A model of male softness and sensitivity, Rogers cut a striking figure on and off television.
But wait a second: Lots of gay men are tough guys -- muscular, aggressive, and downright rough. So the mere truth that Rogers was the reverse of macho really proves nothing about his sexual orientation.
The interrogate is also reasonable if queer men prefer that their friends and social groups be