Black Actor Achieves Breakthrough Role on 'Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood'

A 2016 episode on NPR's "StoryCorps" interviewed Francois Clemmons, who played the role of friendly Officer Clemmons on Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood for over 25 years. Clemmons was the first black actor to have a recurring role on a children's television series. Surprisingly, Fred Rogers was clearly going out on a limb to cast Clemmons as a police officer. Clemmons knew this and expressed his reservations: "I grew up in the ghetto. I did not have ...