![]() ![]() Early on, some criticized Rogers’ inclusion of jazz, saying it was too sophisticated for a children’s show. What Costa, who died of anemia in 1996 at age 74, brought to the show was a sense of improvisatory sophistication that exposed millions of kids to a complex music form they might not otherwise have heard, save perhaps for Vince Guaraldi’s work on A Charlie Brown Christmas. Deeply interwoven within Rogers’ kindly and compassionate approach to instructing youngsters-and addressing such weighty topics as divorce, overcoming fear or feeling angry-was some of the most colorful and creative jazz ever aired on national TV. ![]() But for most of the program’s 31-season run, the melodies Rogers wrote would be given a distinctive character by musical director and Pittsburgh jazz-piano great Johnny Costa. 19, 1968, its creator and host, Fred Rogers, already knew that music would play an important role in the show he was, after all, a pianist and composer himself. When Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood made its public-television debut on Feb. ![]()
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