© 2026 ABC News

\"He had a very unique childhood,\" Neville said. \"He grew up an only child. He grew up rather sickly, overweight ... and in a bedroom by himself. So, that was very informative. What he did was entertain himself by coming up with voices and puppets.\"

In fact, the director feels like what he created in that room growing up is similar to what he created years later for kids on his show.

4 - He was radical for his time

One of the cast featured in the film is François Clemmons, who played the beloved police officer on the show for many years.

But Rogers' show also took place during key years in the Civil Rights movement.

One subtle way Rogers was able to tell the world that he thought all people were created equal was to invite Officer Clemmons to take a load off and soak his feet with him in a small pool.

While people of color were being told to leave \"white\" swimming pools, Rogers snubbed his nose at the notion of segregation or inequality.

\"PHOTO:
Gene J. Puskar/ AP Photo, FILE
PHOTO: Fred Rogers, star of his PBS show "Mister Rogers' Neighborhood" rehearses during a taping in Pittsburgh, Pa., June 28, 1989.
>

\"He seems radical mostly because of this devotion to a core moral sense he had,\" Neville says in the film. \"He did it quietly and he did it slowly.\"

5 - He wasn't perfect

While he was accepting of all races, genders and more, he was consistently learning throughout his life.

One aspect of the documentary focused on a time when Clemmons was seen at a gay bar. Rogers actually told him that he can't go there anymore because he's a representative of the show.

\"There were many times where he had to check his beliefs for the sake of the show,\" Neville said. \"He wanted the show to be as neutral as possible. Even though he was a Presbyterian minister, he never mentioned God on the show. And even though he was supportive of gay rights, he couldn't talk about that on the show.\"

Because of the pressures of the time, Clemmons eventually married a woman, but that relationship failed when he came to terms with his homosexuality.

Years later Clemmons realized that Rogers did accept him for who he was.

In the end, Clemmons said Rogers was more of a father figure to him than anyone else in his life, including his real father.

","canonicalUrl":"https://abcnews.com/GMA/Culture/wont-neighbor-things-knew-fred-rogers/story?id=55729213","legacySlug":"/culture/story/wont-neighbor-things-knew-fred-rogers-55729213","noIndexNoFollow":false},"publishTime":"18:29","publishDate":"06-08-2018","updatedTime":"18:52","updatedDate":"06-08-2018","socialImage":{"alt":"Portrait of American educator and television personality Fred Rogers (1928 - 2003) of the television series 'Mister Rogers' Neighborhood,' circa 1980s.","credit":"Fotos International/Courtesy of Getty Images, FILE","ratio":"16x9","url":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/Entertainment/mr-rogers-gty-mem-180607_hpMain_16x9_1600.jpg","width":992,"height":558},"datePublished":"6/8/2018 18:29:00 GMT","video":{"live":false,"id":55729213,"headline":"5 things you never knew about Mister Rogers","mediaAssetTitle":"rothman_rogers_5things_180607","description":"A look at the new film 'Won't You Be My Neighbor?'","duration":"8:24","posterImg":{"url":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/default-img-undefined.png","width":608,"height":342},"video":{"feed":"https://service-pkgabcnews.akamaized.net/opp/hls/abcnews/2018/06/180613_ntl_rogers_fix_,500,800,1200,1800,2500,3200,4500,.mp4.csmil/playlist.m3u8"},"playlist":["134611251","134403231","133741861"]},"relatedItems":[{"contentType":"video","date":"July 9, 2026","headline":"Family speaks out after man died in ICE shooting in Texas","section":"News","slug":"/video/134611251","id":"134611251","image":{"alt":"VIDEO: Family speaks out after man died in ICE shooting in Texas","credit":"ABCNews.com","ratio":"1x1","url":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260709_gma_quinones_ice1_hpMain_1x1_608.jpg","width":384,"height":384},"images":{"alt":"VIDEO: Family speaks out after man died in ICE shooting in Texas","credit":"ABCNews.com","crops":[{"16x9":{"small":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260709_gma_quinones_ice1_hpMain_16x9_608.jpg","medium":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260709_gma_quinones_ice1_hpMain_16x9_992.jpg","large":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260709_gma_quinones_ice1_hpMain_16x9_1600.jpg"}},{"9x16":{"small":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260709_gma_quinones_ice1_hpMain_9x16_608.jpg","medium":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260709_gma_quinones_ice1_hpMain_9x16_992.jpg","large":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260709_gma_quinones_ice1_hpMain_16x9_1600.jpg"}},{"1x1":{"small":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260709_gma_quinones_ice1_hpMain_1x1_608.jpg","medium":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260709_gma_quinones_ice1_hpMain_1x1_992.jpg","large":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260709_gma_quinones_ice1_hpMain_1x1_1600.jpg"}}]}},{"contentType":"video","date":"July 2, 2026","headline":"Track and timing of the life-threatening heat wave","section":"News","slug":"/video/134403231","id":"134403231","image":{"alt":"VIDEO: Track and timing of the life-threatening heat wave","credit":"ABCNews.com","ratio":"1x1","url":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260702_gma_champion_heat1_hpMain_1x1_608.jpg","width":384,"height":384},"images":{"alt":"VIDEO: Track and timing of the life-threatening heat wave","credit":"ABCNews.com","crops":[{"16x9":{"small":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260702_gma_champion_heat1_hpMain_16x9_608.jpg","medium":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260702_gma_champion_heat1_hpMain_16x9_992.jpg","large":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260702_gma_champion_heat1_hpMain_16x9_1600.jpg"}},{"9x16":{"small":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260702_gma_champion_heat1_hpMain_9x16_608.jpg","medium":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260702_gma_champion_heat1_hpMain_9x16_992.jpg","large":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260702_gma_champion_heat1_hpMain_16x9_1600.jpg"}},{"1x1":{"small":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260702_gma_champion_heat1_hpMain_1x1_608.jpg","medium":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260702_gma_champion_heat1_hpMain_1x1_992.jpg","large":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260702_gma_champion_heat1_hpMain_1x1_1600.jpg"}}]}},{"contentType":"video","date":"June 10, 2026","headline":"NASA unveils Artemis III crew","section":"News","slug":"/video/133741861","id":"133741861","image":{"alt":"VIDEO: NASA unveils Artemis III crew","credit":"ABCNews.com","ratio":"1x1","url":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260610_gma_benitez_artemis_715_hpMain_1x1_608.jpg","width":384,"height":384},"images":{"alt":"VIDEO: NASA unveils Artemis III crew","credit":"ABCNews.com","crops":[{"16x9":{"small":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260610_gma_benitez_artemis_715_hpMain_16x9_608.jpg","medium":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260610_gma_benitez_artemis_715_hpMain_16x9_992.jpg","large":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260610_gma_benitez_artemis_715_hpMain_16x9_1600.jpg"}},{"9x16":{"small":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260610_gma_benitez_artemis_715_hpMain_9x16_608.jpg","medium":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260610_gma_benitez_artemis_715_hpMain_9x16_992.jpg","large":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260610_gma_benitez_artemis_715_hpMain_16x9_1600.jpg"}},{"1x1":{"small":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260610_gma_benitez_artemis_715_hpMain_1x1_608.jpg","medium":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260610_gma_benitez_artemis_715_hpMain_1x1_992.jpg","large":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260610_gma_benitez_artemis_715_hpMain_1x1_1600.jpg"}}]}}],"relatedContentSection":"news","schemaContent":{"name":"5 things you never knew about Mister Rogers","description":"A look at the new film 'Won't You Be My Neighbor?'","duration":"8:24","uploadDate":"06-08-2018","publication":"06-08-2018","images":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/default-img-undefined.png","url":"https://service-pkgabcnews.akamaized.net/opp/hls/abcnews/2018/06/180613_ntl_rogers_fix_,500,800,1200,1800,2500,3200,4500,.mp4.csmil/playlist.m3u8","contentUrl":"https://service-pkgabcnews.akamaized.net/opp/hls/abcnews/2018/06/180613_ntl_rogers_fix_,500,800,1200,1800,2500,3200,4500,.mp4.csmil/playlist.m3u8","link":"https://www.goodmorningamerica.com/culture/story/wont-neighbor-things-knew-fred-rogers-55729213"}},"playlist":[{"id":"134761751","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"134787741","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"134782596","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"134741027","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"134751717","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"134708317","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"134548164","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"134542058","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"134416060","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"134443994","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"134406623","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"134358132","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"134353508","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"134335187","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"134334942","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"134302445","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"134246001","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"134202757","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"134211156","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"134179882","contentType":"story","section":"news"}],"kvps":{"pgtyp":"article","lang":"en","sp":"goodmorningamerica","programmatic":"true","bundleId":"com.abcnews"}},"analytics":{"accountID":"wdgnewwdgnewgmaweb","ns":"gma","pageName":"gma:culture:video","pageType":"video","globalSpecVersion":"v1.08","siteDifferentiator":"gma:site","tagID":"g_page01","userABCookie":"0","section":"culture","title":"5 things you never knew about Mister Rogers","pubTime":"14:29","pubDate":"06-08-2018","modTime":"14:52","modDate":"06-08-2018","taxonomyTags":"none","id":55729213,"editorialOtherSubjects":"","wordCount":"none","columns":"none","authors":"","authorsUnit":"none","authorsBureau":"none","subBrand":"Good Morning America","provider":"Good Morning America","videoName":"5 things you never knew about Mister Rogers","mediaAssetTitle":"rothman_rogers_5things_180607","videoId":55729213,"mediaOnPage":"video","legacySlug":"/culture/story/wont-neighbor-things-knew-fred-rogers-55729213"},"taboola":{}},"request":{"headers":{},"httpVersion":"1.1","method":"GET","url":"/video/55729213","vary":{"host":"www.goodmorningamerica.com","cached":true,"path":"/video/55729213","forwarded-proto":"https","device":"desktop","userab":"0"}},"viewport":{"width":1260,"height":0},"user":{}};