‘Officer Clemmons’ shares memories of Mister Rogers

NORFOLK —  It truly was a beautiful day in the neighborhood when François Clemmons gave a talk at the Norfolk Library on Sunday, Feb. 3.

For 25 years, from 1968 to 1993, Clemmons portrayed “Officer Clemmons,” a police officer on “Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood.”

“Won’t You Be My Neighbor,” a documentary about the classic PBS children’s show, was released last year.

Clemmons was born in Birmingham, Ala., and was raised in Youngstown, Ohio. 

He lives in Middlebury, Vt.,  and recently retired after 15 years as Middlebury College’s artist in residence and director of its Martin Luther King Spiritual Choir. 

At his talk, Clemmons spoke about his friendship with host Fred Rogers and his experiences on the show.

“The people who have been primarily coming to see the documentary are adults who want to remember a beautiful time when they were growing up,” Clemmons said in an interview before his appearance. “They want to share this beautiful time with their children or grandchildren.”

As for Rogers, Clemmons called him a “very brilliant and insightful man” who was a friend but also a “guru and teacher.”

“There was something very holy about him that you seldom run into,” Clemmons said. “There was an awe quality about Fred and that’s what people have trouble articulating. To me, the love Fred gave me, my job is to pass it on because he was so generous to me and to others.”

During his talk, which was attended by about 50 people, Clemmons spoke about the positive messages Rogers gave on his show.

“Sometimes he would end the show with, ‘You know, I like you just the way you are,’” Clemmons said. “‘You make every day a special day just by being you.’ I swear to you, he was looking right into my eyes when he said that. After he finished taping one show I asked him ‘Fred, were you talking to me?’ And he said ‘Yes.’ This man told me that he loved me for who I am. It was the most powerful quality.”

Clemmons said that, at first, he was reluctant to play the role of a police officer.

“I told Fred that policemen are the enemy in the ghetto,” Clemmons said. “Fred told me that with Officer Clemmons he was thinking about the helpers in society. He told me that we could change the image of a police officer if I portrayed one on the show. He said that children would learn about how police officers are adults they can turn to if they have a problem.”

Clemmons said that, at the time the show aired, he did not know how influential “Officer Clemmons” would be on children.

“I have people who write to me to say that they became a policeman because of the show,” he said. “When I get an email or letter, it is still mind-boggling to me. When he gave me the role, Fred Rogers saw something that I did not.”