Life as Mr. McFeely always rewarding, actor says

Vic Ryckaert | The Indianapolis Star

Show Caption Hide Caption Mr. McFeely, David Newell, remembers "Mister Rogers' Neighborhood" David Newell, 74, helped teach generations of children life lessons in his role as Speedy Delivery man Mr. McFeely on “Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood.”

%27Mister Rogers%27 Neighborhood%27 ran 1968-2001 on PBS

Newell started as Fred Rogers%27 props person

Remembers Rogers%27 honesty%2C hidden sense of humor

David Newell helped teach generations of children life lessons in his role as Speedy Delivery man Mr. McFeely on Mister Rogers' Neighborhood.

The show has been out of production since 2001, but Newell, 74, still will don the familiar cap, glasses and jacket when he greets fans and signs autographs during special appearances.

Newell stopped by The Indianapolis Star this week to talk about life, the iconic television show and his close friend, the late Fred Rogers.

Question: Tell me about life as Mr. McFeely.

Answer: It is different every day. I started out in charge of props. When Fred Rogers needed a prop, I was assigned to get it. Now I do a lot of traveling to the public television stations and a lot of charity work. It's just very rewarding. Generations of fans know McFeely.

Q: What's it like being part of a show that has deeply impacted three generations of children?

A: The impact grew over the years. They didn't know who we were immediately. Now, when I came into your office here at the paper, half of the staff grew up with it. It's very rewarding because I feel, as David Newell, that I've been a part of a larger picture.

Q: The show often carried lessons of friendship or sharing, but you also took on some heavier issues like divorce. Please talk about that.

A: A lot of people think Mister Rogers is fun and games all the time but it's not. Fred dealt with some very heavy topics. Our most requested topic through fan mail and letters was divorce, but it took him five years before he wrote it... The one point Fred got across to children was if something happens, like divorce in your family, it's not your fault.

Q: You became close friends with Fred Rogers over the years. Tell us about the Mr. Rogers you knew, the one we didn't see on TV.

A: You know, what you see is what you got with Fred. The one thing you didn't see on television was his wonderful sense of humor. It comes out sometimes in the puppet, especially King Friday. King Friday had a sense of humor.

Q: I grew up watching the show and as a kid thought Trolly was the coolest thing ever. How did Trolly develop as a character in the show?

A: Fred grew up in a small town east of Pittsburgh, they had trollies. Mister Rogers' Neighborhood, the layout of it, and the doctor and the baker and the dentist were all in this small town of Latroube, Pa., along with the trollies. He was using it as a symbol to tell stories, a touchstone. That's how the trollies became part of the neighborhood and how Trolly became a character.

Q: You were Mr. Rogers' postman, what kind of magazines did he subscribe to?

A: (Laughs) He subscribed to the Pittsburgh Post Gazette. He read books, mainly; he was a voracious reader. Every time we would go somewhere he would go to the bookstore. For magazines, he read National Geographic... He loved reading.

Q: What do you think about the U.S. Post Office's proposal to end Saturday delivery?

A: I would be disappointed. I love getting mail, even the junk mail. I get a big kick out of the sweepstakes. I would be disappointed. But I think it's going to come to that eventually. It comes down to dollars and cents.