![]() ![]() He goes on to explain that his large drum kit (complete with bass drum reading “Smokey”) was a recent addition to the show, thanks to Motown legend Smokey Robinson leaving his van unlocked behind the Apollo Theater. Calling them his “glitter shoes,” Robinson assures the kids that it’s music day in the neighborhood, walking over to what he terms the “ Soul Train scramble board,” on which are stuck letters spelling, “SCUMI.” 2, 1982 for an episode hosted by Louis Gossett Jr.Įntering to the well-primed applause of an eager crowd, Murphy’s Robinson sings his own version of the welcoming Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood theme song, substituting tales of breaking and entering and swindling a rich women of her money, and donning a pair of golden platform shoes. ![]() So, Murphy inevitably returned to the character the weekend after Rogers’ visit, suiting up in the yellow cardigan on Oct. ![]() The joke was as much about the struggles of being poor and Black in America as about the actual Rogers himself, and that was enough to sustain what could have been seen as an especially unflattering portrayal of the TV legend – as well as a racial stereotype. Mister Robinson’s Neighborhood quickly became a hit with audiences, if not Fred Rogers himself. (On the other hand, an otherwise-amiable Rogers would later pursue legal action against Ice Cube and against the KKK.) Rogers was never pleased with Murphy’s disreputable impression, as revealed in the documentary Won’t You Be My Neighbor, but in this instance he was willing to let the matter drop. Murphy was actually a fan of the real-life Mister Rogers, and greeted the stern but understanding Rogers with a worshipful hug and a delighted “The real Mister Rogers!” They eventually posed for a smiling photo. Rogers ended up visiting 30 Rockefeller Center to complain. Rogers was as soft-spoken and gentle in real life as he was on the long-running Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood, but eventually took umbrage at Murphy’s characterization of Mister Robinson as an opportunistic sneak-thief and all-around grinning scoundrel – complete with cuss words, no less. He got there by dipping back into the reruns of his youth for characters like the now-grown and basically incomprehensible Buckwheat from the Little Rascals, his Yiddish-accented approximation of rubbery claymation staple Gumby and the title figure from Mister Robinson’s Neighborhood, a decidedly more streetwise and unscrupulous inner-city version of beloved children’s-show legend Fred Rogers. ![]()
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