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Mr. Rogers BFF Writes Book

September 19, 2006

After an assignment led journalist Tim Madigan to Mister Rogers, the friendship that ensued with the beloved children's TV icon greatly influenced Madigan's life.

Or so he says in his new book, ''I'm Proud of You: My Friendship With Fred Rogers.” In the new tome, Madigan recounts a bond the two men developed that helped him deal with a crisis in his marriage, his battle with depression and his brother's diagnosis of incurable lung cancer.

Sounds like “Tuesdays With Morrie.”

Their friendship began with a phone interview for an article about violence on television and continued until Rogers' death of stomach cancer in February 2003.

Last summer, Madigan decided it was time to write about what Rogers had meant to him.

''It just kind of poured out of me,'' said Madigan, who has been a reporter at the Star-Telegram for 22 years and has written two other books. ''It was one of the easiest writing jobs I've ever had.''

The book, which came out in August, gives readers a glimpse of Rogers in an adult context, showing the inherent goodness of the man whose public television show, ''Mister Rogers' Neighborhood,'' entertained and educated children for more than 30 years.

''The world is full of the examples of evil, but he was an example of the power of goodness,'' said Madigan, 48.

Tim Madigan's Web site: www.timmadigan.com