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Mister Rogers' crew once pranked him during his opening song. His reaction was so very him.

He really was such a delightful human.

80sThen80sNow/YouTube

Mr. Rogers went to put on his shoes and found they didn't fit.

Fred Rogers was truly one of humanity's greats, in every sense that counts most. He wasn't a titan of industry or a builder of empires. He wasn't a man of great means or a wielder of political power. He was humble, gentle, and kind. He was a teacher, a learner, and a leader in his own way.

For generations of children, he was a consistent voice of compassion, curiosity, and caring. He was a calm haven in our television set, a safe space where we always knew we were loved just the way we are.

And yet he was strong, too, just not in the way we often think of strength. He was a fierce defender of children and a champion of justice. His testimony before Congress about public television totally turned around the sentiments of a judge who was extremely skeptical before Rogers started speaking. He wasn't forceful and he didn't yell or cry; he just shared his feelings, indicated his trust in the judge's conscience, and explained the value of quality children's television programming in a way that was impossible to disregard.

Watch:

- YouTubewww.youtube.com

No one could deny the wholesome awesomeness of Rogers. He was the real thing, tried and true, through and through and the world misses him greatly.

It's quite well known that Rogers was the same man off-screen as he was on his show, and a video of his cast and crew pranking him once during his opening song offers a bit of delightful proof.

Check this out:

- YouTubeyoutu.be

Seriously, he was the most delightful human. His laugh when he sticks his foot in the second shoe—priceless. His "Thanks ever so much"—epic.

People have responded to the video on Reddit with gushing praise.

"Mr. Rogers thanking that man for a delightful practical joke just changed something in me for the better," wrote one commenter. "Off to go thank my husband for some stuff."

"What a magical person that just a clip of him having a laugh is making me well up," wrote another.

"My childhood was a scary place but when I turned on Mr. Roger’s, it all disappeared for awhile," shared another. "Thank you for being a light to so many children. May you Rest In Peace."

"An amazing human being and an utterly sweet person," wrote another. "We should all aspire to be the person Mr. Rogers knew we could be."

Indeed, we should.

Fred Rogers' response to the prank was not only a look into his kind and gentle character, but his consistency as well. In a 1998 episode of the prank show, Candid Camera, host Peter Funt played a prank on Rogers and he responded just as kindly and wholesomely as he did before. Rogers is staying in a hotel while attending a PBS conference where he will be the keynote speaker. Hoping to frustrate him, Funt (as a bellhop) relays to Rogers that his room has no TV (that's the gag!). Instead of respond with annoyance, however, Rogers surprises Funt and viewers by kindly saying he "doesn't use the television anyway" and has "enough TV in [his] life."

The interaction is as sweet and kind as Fred Rogers always was. Watch:

- YouTubeyoutu.be

The shoe prank outtake can be found on the Mister Rogers Neighborhood website, which also houses tons of content about the show, the neighbors, the puppets, and Fred Rogers himself. They also upload five full, new episodes every other Monday for fans to enjoy. The first Monday of the month features episodes from the early years (1968-1975), and the third Monday of the month features episodes from the "Theme Weeks" (1979-2001). Fans can also watch Mister Rogers Neighborhood on PBS Kids, PLUTOTV, and Prime Video.

There may be many wonderful people who walk this earth, but there will never be another Fred Rogers. What a precious gift that we have so many hours of him on film to enjoy and share with generations to come.

This article originally appeared three years ago. It has been updated.

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Mr. Rogers described meeting Eddie Murphy in 1982 and it showcases his kind confidence

Letterman asked what he thought of Eddie Murphy parodying him on SNL's "Mister Robinson's Neighborhood."

Letterman/YouTube

Mr. Rogers shared his thoughts on Eddie Murphy with David Letterman.

Few people have earned the amount of genuine, wholesome love that Fred Rogers did. Mr. Rogers made an indelible mark on countless children's childhoods with his goodness, and he even managed to maintain his reputation for being genuinely kind and caring until the end of his life and beyond.

It's a rare feat these days, to live a life in the spotlight and not be outed for some kind of scandal. But Mr. Rogers did and we love him all the more for it.

There are countless qualities that made Mr. Rogers who he was, but one clip from a 1982 David Letterman interview showcases his unique combination of kindness and self-assuredness.

In the clip, Letterman chatted with Rogers for a few minutes about his career, then pointed out that there was a performer in the building who had done imitations of Rogers.

"I just met him a little bit ago," Rogers responded, pulling out a Polaroid photo of himself smiling next to comedian Eddie Murphy.

Murphy was a regular cast member on Saturday Night Live from 1980 to 1984 and one of his most popular skits was a parody of "Mister Rogers' Neighborhood" called "Mister Robinson's Neighborhood." 

By Eddie Murphy standards, the skits were fairly clean, but they referenced some hefty topics such as poverty, racism and gentrification while also playing up certain racial and socioeconomic stereotypes. And they weren't always very kid-friendly (as is the case with many SNL skits).

"How do you react to that?" Letterman asked Rogers. "We talked to Andy Rooney about someone doing an impression of him and he didn't seem too keen on it."

Rogers' response was honest but totally classy.

"Well, some of them aren't very funny," he said. Then he seemed to choose his words thoughtfully: "But I think that a lot of them are done with real kindness in their hearts."

Watch:

People in the comments praised Rogers for being exactly who he was during the interview.

"I love that he seems unfazed that some of the audience are not exactly laughing with him... or that Dave would ask him some baiting questions. The man is so comfortable in his own skin that he cares not what others think or say. One of the many reasons he was such a wonderful role model for us kids. A truly wonderful human being." – @OldSaltyBear

"After watching this interview, I just realized what you see on Mr. Roger's Neighborhood is basically him, he wasn't acting or trying to be someone else just for the show, that was him. Fred Rogers was Fred Rogers on and off the show. Such genuineness, it definitely, and exponentially, multiplies the kindness he shows on the show." – @arisketch9247

"Mr Rogers was truly the odd man out. Just a wonderful human being. I was never a fan of Letterman but I think he wanted this interview to go different. I’m not sure the exact intent but Mr Rodgers was just a convicted, sincere and genuine person to want kids to be kids. Even the bad, he wanted them to be true to their feelings and have a safe place to express it. He was the best." – @MurphySullivan

Others shared how much Mr. Rogers meant to them personally:

"I will always appreciate Mr. Rogers because my childhood was one of abuse and violence. Watching an adult talk to me like I mattered and in a calm way was a refuge for me. It may sound corny and dramatic, but it was my reality back in the 80's. He was a blessing and a genuine person." – @jameswhittenburg5299

"That man saved me from my childhood. Abuse surrounded me. There were no good or trustworthy adults I could rely on, but I had Mr. Rogers. I loved him when I was really young, & he taught me things I desperately needed to hear. What a wonderful, wonderful man." – @dshepherd107

"I don't think people realized that Mr. Rogers was actually a foster parent to every child that watched this show. He's still fostering children posthumously. He just had that big of a heart and good spirit. Such a good man. RIP" – @randomsteve7808

It's truly impossible to overstate the impact Fred Rogers had on generations of kids during his lifetime, and thanks to the miracle of television, his legacy continues to inspire and comfort to this day.

(And if you haven't seen "Mister Robinson's Neighborhood," here's a taste:)

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Old episodes of 'Mister Rogers' Neighborhood' are streaming. This is not a drill.

In a world gone mad, when war is endless and politics are chaos ... there's only one man who can reassure our troubled souls.

Photo via Everett Collection.

Unfortunately, he's no longer with us (RIP).

Fortunately, we've got a lot of Mister Rogers on tape — and for the next two weeks, you can binge him 24 hours a day.

Twitch, the online video streaming service, is currently marathoning all 866 episodes of "Mister Rogers Neighborhood" in chronological order.

Photo via Everett Collection.

That means you have until June 3 to relive the most soothing, gray sweaterful moments of your childhood.

It's an opportunity every American should be pretty grateful to seize right about now — and it's for a good cause.

The marathon is an effort to raise money for local PBS stations, many of which have trouble keeping their funding levels up.

As of this writing, over $14,000 has been donated.

Periodically, PBS has to fight to survive in the face of apathy and political calls to cut its funding. Now is one of those times.

Photo via HBO.

A budget proposed by the Trump administration in March 2017 would have eliminated funding for the network.

The initial version of the budget did not pass, and PBS remains in on the air for now, but the threat is real for the kind of enriching children's programming that Fred Rogers spent his life making and advocating for.

A 2015 study found that shows like "Mister Rogers Neighborhood" and "Sesame Street" — available to anyone with a TV set for decades — made low-income children who watched regularly 14% less likely to fall behind in school.

"These findings raise the exciting possibility that TV and electronic media more generally can be leveraged to address income and racial gaps in children's school readiness," study co-author Melissa Kearney said in a statement.

48 years ago, Rogers appeared before the Senate Subcommittee on Communications to convince skeptical elected officials to allocate $20 million for public television.

His heart-wrenching, six-minute testimony was key to convincing the lawmakers to provide the funding.

Though Rogers may no longer be with us, this two-week fundraising marathon allows his message of kindness and empathy — broadcast for over 30 years to millions of American children from all walks of life — to speak for itself.

You should check it out — and prepare yourself for a nostalgia-and-classic moment tsunami. In a just world, that would be enough to secure PBS the funding it needs.

Here's hoping.

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