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  Al Worden on Mister Rogers' Neighborhood

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Author Topic:   Al Worden on Mister Rogers' Neighborhood
divemaster
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Posts: 1376
From: ridgefield, ct
Registered: May 2002

posted 10-11-2011 12:34 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for divemaster   Click Here to Email divemaster     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
I'm pleased to announce an addition to Al Worden's Falling to Earth on his website. If you go to pages 151 and 152, Al talks about doing a guest appearance on "Mister Rogers' Neighborhood". After three months of contact with the Fred Rogers Company, they agreed to let us post four small video clips that correlate to the book from the episodes "Mister Rogers Meets an Astronaut". These can now be reached on a new page on AlWorden.com.

Just to let you know (and for those of you who aren't old enough to remember him), Fred Rogers' image and show is a closely held copyright - and they guard his image like crazy (as they should). The Fred Rogers Company has yet to secure the rights to the release of the entire special with Al Worden, but was able to grant us these four small clips from 40 years ago.

So, jump on the Neighborhood Trolley and take a stroll down memory lane and see Al and Fred back in 1971 and 1972 both pre- and post-flight. Al is very proud of his appearance on Mister Rogers Neighborhood and we're all thrilled that we could bring everyone this small taste of what that special was like.

Your feedback is appreciated, especially, if it helps them to release the entire episode on DVD. Feel free to e-mail me at webmaster@alworden.com or post your comments here.

golddog
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Posts: 210
From: australia
Registered: Feb 2008

posted 10-11-2011 04:24 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for golddog     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Is that Joe Schmitt in the suit shots?

Mr. Rogers didn't realise that once he was in the helmet Al couldn't hear him!!

KSCartist
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Posts: 2896
From: Titusville, FL USA
Registered: Feb 2005

posted 10-11-2011 07:20 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for KSCartist   Click Here to Email KSCartist     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Was that a training suit? It looked to me that the crew patch was lower than I remember.

divemaster
Member

Posts: 1376
From: ridgefield, ct
Registered: May 2002

posted 10-11-2011 01:35 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for divemaster   Click Here to Email divemaster     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
I would assume that's a training suit. Somehow, I think the mission suit would have been locked up three weeks before the launch. I just get a kick on how he banged on the bubble helmet to get it to lock.

I'll ask Al if that was Joe Schmitt in the video and get back to you.

I have to admit, though, when I received these clips, I realized how children's TV has lost its innocence in 40 years. While I was too old for the Fred Rogers programs, I remember watching kids who were old enough and being amused by the whole thing. Now, compare anything on the Disney channel to Mister Rogers Neighborhood and you'll see what I mean. Personally, I like the old stuff a lot better.

divemaster
Member

Posts: 1376
From: ridgefield, ct
Registered: May 2002

posted 10-11-2011 01:59 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for divemaster   Click Here to Email divemaster     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Al has confirmed that this IS Joe Schimitt.

p51
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Posts: 1642
From: Olympia, WA
Registered: Sep 2011

posted 10-11-2011 09:41 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for p51   Click Here to Email p51     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
I just finished watching these. SO cool, thanks for posting them, I had forgotten how nice that show was. I doubt I saw this when it first aired, but it looks so familiar with them talking about the food, I'm sure I saw it later on in re-runs at some point.
As a kid, meeting Fred Rogers earned some serious "cool" points with the kids at school. Now, meeting Al earned me the same points with my co-workers, as I just met Al on Saturday in Seattle. It was so strange watching this, knowing this was him. Al will always be a real class act, then and now.

golddog
Member

Posts: 210
From: australia
Registered: Feb 2008

posted 10-12-2011 01:44 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for golddog     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Thanks Tracy (divemaster), and thanks to Mr. Worden. It was a great privilege to meet him at KSC a few years ago.

divemaster
Member

Posts: 1376
From: ridgefield, ct
Registered: May 2002

posted 10-12-2011 02:02 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for divemaster   Click Here to Email divemaster     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
If you take a look at the Fred Rogers website, he says something to the affect of "a kid can catch a phoney a mile away". That was the beauty of his show. Very low key, very low tech, totally directed at kids and not product placement.

If you have the time, drop the Fred Rogers Company an e-mail to thank them for letting us get into their vaults a bit. Once they saw what we were doing, they went out of their way to help. However, we had to prove ourselves worthy, first. A lot of work for just a few minutes of video - but worth all of that hard work just to bring us back in time a bit. I can imagine the astronaut office taking a nice chunk out of Al for doing this, too.

golddog
Member

Posts: 210
From: australia
Registered: Feb 2008

posted 10-12-2011 02:15 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for golddog     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Well I reckon he should be praised for it. It was great. Mr. Worden was kind enough when we met him to spend 20 minutes or so talking to us. A nicer more down to Earth bloke would be hard to meet.

BA002
Member

Posts: 175
From: Utrecht,NL
Registered: Feb 2007

posted 10-12-2011 02:58 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for BA002   Click Here to Email BA002     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Thanks a lot for posting these clips. I thought they were great and I would definitely like to see more!

Glint
Member

Posts: 1040
From: New Windsor, Maryland USA
Registered: Jan 2004

posted 10-12-2011 02:59 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for Glint   Click Here to Email Glint     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Is that a POW bracelet on Mr. Worden's right wrist? It's most visible in the segment on space food.

KSCartist
Member

Posts: 2896
From: Titusville, FL USA
Registered: Feb 2005

posted 10-12-2011 06:29 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for KSCartist   Click Here to Email KSCartist     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
It sure looks like the one I wore one in high school. I'll ask him in November.

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