That is not true, and among the urban legends about Mr. Rogers. He wore long-sleeved shirts and sweaters with a tie because that was standard for teachers at the time and he thought it was important that his appearance have that kind of authority for children. With the regularity of scandals and revelations nowadays that show celebrities to be flawed if not downright awful, it's sometimes hard to believe that someone's public image of kindness and decency could actually be true. But that seems to be just the case with Fred Rogers. From people who worked with him for decades to people who met him once, you will not find one who even hints at phoniness or hypocrisy, much less any impropriety. A genuinely decent gentleman whom I respect very much. Justin
^As I implied, I kind of figured it wasn't true, but it was an enjoyable myth. Thanks for shattering it, jerk. Seriously, though...your assessment of his character is very much in tune with how I've always felt about him, however, I hope that everything you wrote about kindness and decency and scandals wasn't a response to my post. I wasn't implying anything negative about Roger's character by repeating the tattoo myth. I don't associate tattoos with negative character traits.
^I agree, what little I've seen of Mister Rogers doesn't seem creepy at all. But, sorry to disappoint you, the tats are apparently just a rumor. Oops, never mind, someone beat me to it.
No not at all, that was more a general comment. I just think people's skepticism about public figures may explain some of the far-out rumors about Rogers (he was a child molester, he killed a lot of people in the war, he had a lot of tattoos). Justin