1. In the late 1930’s, dancer Dorothy Toy debuted on Broadway with her partner Paul Wing. "He was the first one to say 'I love you.' He played the recurring role of Officer Clemmons. Composer: Fred M. Rogers He came to StoryCorps to discuss how he got the role, and his … Originally aired March 11, 2016, on NPR’s Morning Edition. StoryCorps: In the Neighborhood. And you know how at the end of the program he takes his sneakers off, hangs up his sweater and he says, “You make every day a special day just by being you, and I like you just the way you are?” I was looking at him when he was saying that, and he walks over to where I was standing. For 25 years, Clemmons performed the role of Officer Clemmons, a friendly neighborhood policeman, in the "Neighborhood of Make-Believe" on the children's television show Mister Rogers' Neighborhood. For 25 years François appeared on the show while maintaining a separate career as a professional singer. Clemmons told the story of how he became "Officer Clemmons" on StoryCorps A white man offering to help clean the feet of a black Police Officer. François Clemmons (FC) and Karl Lindholm (KL) FC: Fred came to me and said, “I have this idea…you could be a police officer.” That kind of stopped me in my tracks. Bought by WVBI-LP , WEZU , KIDE Hoopa Tribal Radio 91.3fm , and Blue Mountain Radio Remember Officer Clemmons, the policeman from "Mister Rogers' Neighborhood?" Fred Rogers met François in 1968 after hearing him sing in a Pittsburgh-area church they both attended. In a February 2018 interview with StoryCorps, he recalled that Rogers' suggestion he become Officer Clemmons "stopped me in my tracks." Clemmons, an African-American graduate student, met Fred Rogers, a white Methodist minister, in 1968. The two had a close relationship, even though Clemmons was apprehensive at first about the prospect of playing a police officer on the show. Download Episode Clemmons, a highly accomplished opera and spiritual singer with a Grammy to his credit, is most famous for his recurring role on Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood as the friendly, singing Officer Clemmons. Read unlimited* books and audiobooks on the web, iPad, iPhone and Android. Since he registered on Twitter he posted an impressive number of 10.249 Tweets. Officer Clemmons and Mister Rogers, reprising their 1969 foot bath more than two decades later, during their final scene together in 1993. Fifty years ago today, “Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood” made its debut on televisions nationwide. Policeman were sicking police dogs and … Heard on Francois Clemmons: From Mozart to Mister Rogers. Noam Galai for NPR at Nantucket Film Festival He was one of the first African Americans to have a recurring role on a kids' TV series, and his presentation – as both a beloved neighbor to Mister Rogers and as a respe… Clemmons told the story of how he became "Officer Clemmons" on StoryCorps. StoryCorps 462: In the Neighborhood from StoryCorps on Podchaser, aired Friday, 16th February 2018. FC: The icon Fred Rogers, not only was showing my brown skin in the tub with his white skin as two friends, but as I was getting out of that tub he was helping me dry my feet. ", Having a father figure like Rogers meant a lot to Clemmons, as a young, gay black man. In 1973, his performance with the Cleveland Orchestra earned him a Grammy Award and his love of spiritual music later led him to found the Harlem Spiritual Ensemble. ", In addition to his tenure on Mister Rogers' Neighborhood, Clemmons sang professional opera. My father did not say it, my stepfather didn't say it, and there were members of my family that said, 'You cannot be gay.' FC: I think he was making a very strong statement. ", "Children feel anger. François Clemmons, who played Officer Clemmons — making him the first African American actor to have a recurring role on a children's TV show — remembered his extraordinary friendship with Fred Rogers. "I was the first black American to have a recurring role on all of children's television," Clemmons told Ophira Eisenberg, host of NPR's Ask Me Another, at a taping at the Nantucket Film Festival. And I really had a hard time putting myself in that role. [François singing “There are many ways to say I love you…”]. ... Fred asked François to join the cast of his new television show as singing policeman Officer Clemmons. Noam Galai for NPR at Nantucket Film Festival, Walking The Beat In Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood, Where A New Day Began Together, Such A Good Feeling: The Affectionate Documentary 'Won't You Be My Neighbor? Carmencristina Moreno and her sister, Rosemary Selzer, remember their father, songwriter Luis M. Moreno, and the bittersweet legacy he left behind. ", "Fred had this way of doing these things without causing a big explosion. FC: Fred came to me and said, “I have this idea…you could be a police officer.” That kind of stopped me in my tracks. I did not have a positive opinion of police officers. In a February 2018 interview with StoryCorps, he recalled that Rogers’ suggestion he become Officer Clemmons “stopped me in my tracks.” After meeting, Fred Rogers invited Clemmons to participate on his television program which was marketed toward … In 1971 George Ju was working as a chef and running a Miami restaurant. hide caption. And, as it happens, it was Clemmons' voice that Fred Rogers noticed, too, when he heard Clemmons singing in church. Episode 462 Francois Clemmons on Mister Rogers I was hoping for more of the actual Mister Rogers episode and interview with Francois Clemmons. Do you have time to give a song to my friend and me? <
>. And I said, “Fred were you talking to me?” And he said, “Yes, I have been talking to you for years. He is perhaps best known for his appearances as "Officer Clemmons" on the PBS television series Mister Rogers' Neighborhood from 1968 to 1993. It turns out that Clemmons was the first black actor to have a recurring role on an children’s television series. They feel fear. Decades later, her daughter Dorlie came to StoryCorps to remember her mother’s legacy. '. It features Fred and Officer Clemmons, a black police officer played by actor François Clemmons. FC: And so that scene touched me in a way that I was not prepared. It made a huge impact on me that [Fred] loved me in spite of those things. Sometimes just a minute like this, will really make a difference. Nearly 50 years later they came to StoryCorps to talk about falling in love and staying in love. FC: Yeah, I discovered a friend for life. ", Support StoryCorps and help preserve the stories of our time in America, “She wasn’t like the mothers of my friends...she lived and breathed dancing.”, “How do you feel when you hear dad's songs being played on the radio nowadays?”, “In the kitchen, we’re like poetry in motion.”, Road to Resilience: Memories that Move Us Forward. But as Clemmons recalls, it was a foot bath that offered a memorable lesson. “Fred came to me,” Clemmons recounts in a recent StoryCorps interview, “and said, ‘I have this idea…you could be a police officer.’ That kind of stopped me in my tracks. "Other people made it seem like such a difficult damn thing to do, but he didn't. But as Clemmons recalls, it was a foot bath that offered a memorable lesson. But as Clemmons recalls, it was a foot bath that offered a memorable lesson. I grew up in the ghetto. In February 1968, the children’s television program “Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood” debuted nationally. 50 years ago, in 1968, François Clemmons was cast as Officer Clemmons on "Mister Rogers' Neighborhood." KL: You were on Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood for a long time…. François Clemmons was cast in the “real” world as Officer Clemmons. He said, when he was a kid, he "had to deal with black men being killed by white policemen." I did not have a positive opinion of police officers. In the neighborhood itself, Clemmons ran a singing and dance studio located in the building diagonally across the street from Mister Rogers' house. ”There Are Many Ways to Say I Love You” One fateful night he met Angela Rivas, and in less than two weeks they were married. 50 years ago, in 1968, François Clemmons was cast as Officer Clemmons on "Mister Rogers' Neighborhood." François Clemmons - Wikipedia TOHP also began partnering with StoryCorps , the largest oral history project in North America, to record and preserve stories. François Clemmons is as big of a Fred Rogers fan as anyone — maybe bigger. Clemmons, now 75, has also spoken openly about what it was like to portray a cop as a black man — and how the pool scenes actually comforted him. I have never even dreamed of a more unifying image and it happened in real life 13 years before I was born during one of the most difficult times in American History. See the best tweets from StoryCorps, on Twitter known as storycorps. FC: And he invited me to come over and to rest my feet in the water with him. Hi, Officer Clemmons. "I can remember how much I wanted to see another black person." From: StoryCorps Series: StoryCorps As combat roles open to women, we present conversations from those who served when their roles and expectations were defined by gender. I’m so proud of you, Francois. He would go on to play the role for 25 years, becoming the first African American actor to have a recurring part on a children’s TV show. That was one of the most meaningful experiences I’d ever had. Clemmons played the role of Officer Clemmons on the program, Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood. François Clemmons played Officer Clemmons on “Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood.” He came to StoryCorps to discuss the role and his life. He came to StoryCorps to discuss how he got the role, and his relationship with Fred Rogers. Publisher: Fred M. Rogers, François Clemmons (FC) and Karl Lindholm (KL). Clemmons says he didn't like the idea much at first. It was one of those giant leaps for mankind moments that passes itself off as a homey, fairly unremarkable step, though as Clemmons told his friend Karl Lindholm in a StoryCorps interview, Rogers understood the powerful message this gesture would send.. François and his friend, Karl Lindholm, came to StoryCorps to discuss how he became the friendly singing Officer Clemmons, and his relationship with the man known to children as Mister Rogers. Actor Francois Clemmons was initially reluctant to take the role. Oh, thank you, Fred. That was his way. When Rogers asked him to play a police officer, Clemmons expressed initial hesitation, but Rogers "convinced me to try and change the image of policemen, so they were helpers instead of villains. François Clemmons' role as Officer Clemmons on " Mister Rogers' Neighborhood " impacted him as much as it impacted the audience. Policeman were sicking police dogs and water hoses on people. Oh, there’s Officer Clemmons. François Clemmons, who played series regular Officer Clemmons, recently sat down with friend Karl Lindholm to record an interview for StoryCorps. François came to StoryCorps with his friend, Karl Lindholm (pictured together above), to discuss how he became the friendly singing Officer Clemmons, and his relationship with the man known to children as Mister Rogers. François told StoryCorps that Fred approached him about the … At the moment he is followed by 70.325 Followers and follows himself 6.856 Twitter users. The first African American on a kid’s tv show. Copyright © 2003-2021 StoryCorps, Inc. All rights reserved. Actor and singer Francois Clemmons reflects on his role as Officer Clemmons on Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood on Ask Me Another during the Nantucket Film Festival in Nantucket, Massachusetts. I still was not convinced that Officer Clemmons could have a positive influence in the neighborhood and in the real world neighborhood, but I think I was proven wrong. For 25 years, Francois Clemmons played Fred Rogers' neighborhood police officer, often lending a hand and a soothing voice. In the documentary Won't You Be My Neighbor?, Clemmons, who spent 25 years portraying Officer Clemmons on Mister Rogers' Neighborhood, is featured as someone who was close to Rogers, and a trailblazer in his own right. This first one got me in the gut, as I bet it will anyone who grew up watching Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood.NPR’s StoryCorps interviewed Francois Clemmons this week, who played the role of friendly Officer Clemmons on the series for over 25 years. At the time, François was a graduate student working on getting his singing career going and was reluctant to accept Fred’s offer. Soon after hearing him, Rogers invited Clemmons to appear in the Neighborhood—as a police officer. There was one particular scene that Fred and I did, where he had his feet resting in this plastic pool on a hot day. For 25 years, Francois Clemmons played Fred Rogers' neighborhood police officer, often lending a hand and a soothing voice. He just invited me on the program, to sing and to be a part of his neighborhood... when I was with Fred, I felt black could be good! I sure do. A recent StoryCorps recording featured a conversation with François Clemmons. When Rogers asked him to play a police officer, Clemmons expressed initial … It capped years of hard work on the Vaudeville circuit and launched them to stardom. He also spent 16 years as an artist-in-residence at Middlebury College in Vermont until his retirement in 2013. "Fred came to me and said, 'I have this idea: You could be a police officer,' " recalls Clemmons, speaking with his friend Karl Lindholm during a visit with StoryCorps. But you heard me today.” It was like telling me I’m OK as a human being. Besides its eponymous creator, the show also featured a cast of characters from Mister Rogers’ make-believe world (King Friday XIII, Daniel Striped Tiger, and Bob Dog), and his “real” world (Mr. and Mrs. McFeely, Lady Aberlin, and Handyman Negri). I could be myself!". Currently, he is writing his autobiography entitled DivaMan: My Life in Song, a children's story entitled ButterCup and the Majic Cane, and a volume of poetry entitled A Place Of My Own. "I was not excited about being Officer Clemmons at all. "It seemed easy for him sometimes to do the right thing," said Clemmons. They have to deal with death, separation, divorce. I’ll never forget one day I was watching him film a session. So I was not excited about being Officer Clemmons at all. It features Fred and Officer Clemmons, a black police officer played by actor François Clemmons. ", Clemmons said he grew up poor, openly gay, and "on the wrong side of the tracks," but was taken in by Rogers, professionally and emotionally. Read StoryCorps 462: In the Neighborhood by with a free trial. Actor and singer Francois Clemmons reflects on his role as Officer Clemmons on Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood on Ask Me Another during the Nantucket Film Festival in Nantucket, Massachusetts. Clemmons told the story of how he became "Officer Clemmons" on StoryCorps. Hi, Mister Rogers, how are you? François Scarborough Clemmons (born April 23, 1945)[1] is an American singer, actor, playwright and university lecturer. I grew up in the ghetto. For Clemmons' Ask Me Another game, Eisenberg challenges him to figure out famous operas based on nothing but half-baked piano covers by guest musician Julian Velard — but first, he serenaded the crowd with a rousing a Cappella rendition of "He's Got the Whole World In His Hands. Clemmons actively writes across genres for a variety of age groups. Fred Rogers’ friendship and kindness stood in contrast to other scenes involving swimming pools in the 1960s. In 1968, François Clemmons was cast as Officer Clemmons on "Mister Rogers' Neighborhood." And kids too need someone that they can talk to about those things. He was so impressed with his voice that he asked him to join the show. Come in. Ten years after the start of the Syrian civil war, father and daughter, Walid and Magda Sakaan, remember their lives in Syria. He won the Metropolitan Opera Auditions in 1968, and was awarded a Grammy for his participation on a recording of Porgy and Bess in 1976. It was Rogers who spotted Clemmons during a choral performance and asked him to be on the show. For 25 years, Francois Clemmons played Fred Rogers' neighborhood police officer, often lending a hand and a soothing voice. In 1968, François Clemmons was cast as Officer Clemmons on “Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood.” He came to StoryCorps to discuss how he got … But after realizing he would get paid to appear on the show—enabling him to afford his rent—François accepted, becoming the first African American actor to have a recurring role on a children’s television series. "He adopted me, in the purest sense of the word, as a spiritual son," Clemmons said. 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