Mr Rogers was too nice to interview

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Mr Rogers was arguably one of the nicest men to have ever lived and many who met him were often surprised to learn that his kindly demeanour wasn’t just an act he affected for his TV shows. This, along with being fucking adorable, made him a pain in the ass to interview because he never really talked about himself. 

According to those lucky enough to have met him during his lifetime, Mr Rogers was exactly as nice as he appeared to be on TV, much to the shock of many who’d assumed that his TV personality had to be an act. Which is fair, Mr Rogers was an omnibenevolent paragon of moral fortitude with a sweater that emanated nuclear levels of what lesser mortals like to call “the swag”.

It’s noted that many who met Mr Rogers would become almost immediately disarmed by his genuine desire to get to know them, something that earned him a reputation as one of television’s toughest interviews. Journalists found it near-impossible to ever get Rogers to answer their questions because he’d be too busy asking how they were and making an earnest attempt to become their friend. Rogers would also constantly interrupt interviewers to take photos, why? To make a scrapbook of their time together that he’d present to them after the interview was over along with a hand-written note of thanks talking about how much he enjoyed meeting them. A sentence so cute it makes French bulldogs obsolete.

His name is Gizmo and he’s perfect.

People who knew Rogers report that he would keep tabs on virtually everyone he met, for however brief a period he knew them, calling them years later on their birthday just to say hi or shoot the breeze. As if that wasn’t unbelievable enough, Mr Rogers also read and responded to literally every piece of fan mail he ever received, usually setting aside a couple of hours every morning specifically to read and answer letters from fans. By hand.

If you’re currently thinking “that’s a lie because nobody could have found the time and mustered the effort to give such a colossal shit about people they barely knew!” there’s only really one response to that.

Yes, this image is real and no, we’re not going to tell you where it’s from.