Mister Rogers' Neighborhood
Characters on the series include:
Mr. McFeely (David Newell) the delivery man, named for Fred Rogers' maternal grandfather,
Neighbor Aber (Chuck Aber)
Lady Aberlin (Betty Aberlin)
Marilyn Barnett
Chef Brockett (Don Brockett)
Tony Chiroldes
Jose Cisneros
Officer Clemmons (François Clemmons)
Keith David
Emily the Poetry Lady (Emily Jacobson) (in early episodes)
Mrs. McFeely (Betsy Nadas)
Handyman Negri (Joe Negri)
Sergio Pinto
John Reardon
Audrey Roth
Maggie Stewart
Bob Trow
Other regular puppeteers included
Michael Horton
Lenny Meledandri (1980–2001)
Carole Switala
Music directors for the series:
Johnny Costa (1968–1996)
Michael Moricz, who took over as music director after Costa's death and served until the end of the series in 2001
Musicians who played the background music along with Johnny Costa for Mr Roger's Neighborhood included
Carl McVicker Jr., bass
Bobby Rawsthorne, drums & percussion
The human characters who appeared in the Neighborhood of Make-Believe were mostly imaginary versions of people who lived in Mr. Rogers' "real" neighborhood. For example, Joe "Handyman" Negri, a respected Pittsburgh jazz guitarist, was a music shop proprietor on Rogers' street. The non-make-believe version of Betty Aberlin was an actress. Audrey Roth operated a janitorial service in the real neighborhood, but was royal phone operator "Miss Paulifficate" in Make-Believe. Only Mr. McFeely, Mrs. McFeely, and Chef Brockett appeared substantially the same way in both Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood and the Neighborhood of Make-Believe.
Neighborhood of Make-Believe
list of the puppet and costumed characters appearing in the "Neighborhood of Make-Believe" segment:
Anna Platypus (Carole Switala)
Betty Okonak Templeton-Jones (Michael Horton)
Bob Dog (Bob Trow)
Collette (Fred Rogers)
Cornflake S. Pecially (Fred Rogers)
Cousin Mary Owl (Mary Rawson)
Cousin Steven Owl (Stephen Lee)
Daniel Striped Tiger (Fred Rogers)
Donkey Hodie (Fred Rogers)
Dr. Duckbill Platypus (Bill Barker)
Edgar Cooke (Fred Rogers)
Elsie Jean Platypus (Bill Barker)
Grandpere (Fred Rogers)
Harriett Elizabeth Cow (Robert Trow)
Henrietta Pussycat (Fred Rogers)
H.J. Elephant III (Charles R. Aber)
Hula Mouse (Tony Chiroldes)
Ino A. Horse (Fred Rogers)
James Michael Jones (Michael Horton)
King Friday XIII (Fred Rogers)
Lady Elaine Fairchilde (Fred Rogers)
Mrs. Frogg (Fred Rogers and later Hedda Sharapan)
Prince Tuesday (Fred Michael, Charles Altman, Carole Switala, and Lenny Meledandri)
Princess Margeret H. Lizard (Fred Rogers)
Purple Panda (David Nohling and Matt Meko)
Queen Sara Saturday (Fred Rogers)
Robert Troll (Bob Trow)
Tadpole Frogg (voiced by Fred Rogers)
X the Owl (Fred Rogers)
Operas
Thirteen in-series "operas" took place during the course of the series within the Make-Believe segments. Many of them feature American baritone John Reardon as a main character. These operas, and the year of their first airing are:
Babysitter Opera (1968)
Campsite Opera (1968)
Teddy Bear/Whaling Ship Opera (1969)
"Pineapples and Tomatoes" (1970)
"Monkey's Uncle" (1971)
"Snow People and Warm Pussycat" (1972)
"Potato Bugs and Cows" (1973)
"All in the Laundry" (1974)
"Key to Otherland" (1975)
"Windstorm in Bubbleland" (1980)
"Spoon Mountain" (1982)
"A Granddad for Daniel" (1984)
"A Star for Kitty" (1986)
Of those 13 operas, only the last 4 still air; the others had their last airings during the 1970s, 1980s, or 1990s. Additionally, a play, Josephine The Short-Necked Giraffe, first aired in 1989 as a tribute to the late John Reardon, and still airs today.
Pittsburgh-area native Michael Keaton received his first major acting break as a "Neighborhood of Make-Believe" character in 1975. Keaton played an acrobat in a troupe called The Flying Zookeenies that performed for King Friday's birthday. He was also in charge of running the Trolley.
Guests
Guests on the series ranged from cellist Yo-Yo Ma to actor and bodybuilder Lou Ferrigno of TV's The Incredible Hulk. (In a 2001 piece where celebrities were asked about their heroes, Rogers cited Ma as one of his heroes. A 1968 visit by electronic music pioneer Bruce Haack resurfaced in the 2004 documentary Haack: King of Techno.
Guests on Mister Rogers' Neighborhood were often surprised to find that although Rogers was just as gentle and patient in life as on television, he was nevertheless a perfectionist who did not allow "shoddy" ad-libbing; he believed that children were thoughtful people who deserved programming as good as anything produced for adults on television.
Rogers appeared as a guest on some other series. On the children's animated cartoon series Arthur, for example, Rogers plays himself as an aardvark like Arthur. Later on, Arthur appears as a guest in hand-puppet form in a 1999 episode of Mister Rogers' Neighborhood in the Neighborhood of Make-Believe. Bill Nye, host of a science-themed program, and Rogers also exchanged appearances on each other's series, as did Rogers and Captain Kangaroo. Rogers additionally appeared in an episode of Sesame Street, where he explains to Big Bird that even if one loses a running race such as the one Big Bird had run against his friend "Snuffy", no hard feelings threaten to break the two of them apart. Big Bird himself also appeared in one episode of Mister Rogers' Neighborhood in the Neighborhood of Make-Believe.