Robert Troll - Characters - Regular Puppets

Regular Puppets

Most of the main puppet characters were played by Fred Rogers. The regular puppet characters include:

• King Friday XIII (voiced by Fred Rogers) - The imperious monarch of the neighborhood. He is relatively egocentric, irrational, resistant to change, and temperamental, although open-minded enough to listen when told he is wrong. He has a fondness for giving long-winded speeches and using big words. Despite these qualities, he's basically a good regent, capable of summarizing the lesson he has learned after something has gone wrong. King Friday's trademark greeting: "(Name of visitor), I presume?", to which the visitor responds, "Correct as usual/always, Your Majesty/King Friday". Lady Aberlin, however, would say "Uncle Friday" instead, as she is his niece. King Friday has two pets, wooden birds on sticks, that he dotes on, and often makes others do the same. They are named Troglodytes aedon and Mimus polyglottos (the scientific names, in genus and species, of the house wren and the mockingbird, respectively). Mimus appeared first in Episode #20 from 1968. Troglodytes aedon was introduced in Show #1285 from 1973. King Friday also uses big words for certain songs like "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" and "Row, Row, Row Your Boat", which he refers to as "Royal versions". He plays the bass violin occasionally, his favorite color is purple, and he was the second puppet to appear on Children's Corner. His name is a pun on Friday the 13th.

• Queen Sara Saturday (voiced by Fred Rogers) - She is King Friday's wife. She was first introduced as a commoner from Westwood in the seventh week (episode 32) of the series. King Friday fell in love with her and they were married in the second season (episode 1015), upon which she became the Queen. In the third season (episode 1117) they had a son, Prince Tuesday. Queen Sara is more rational and level-headed than her husband. One of her main duties as Queen is overseeing a group called Food for the World. Queen Sara was named for Fred Rogers' wife, Sara Joanne Rogers.

• Prince Tuesday (voiced by Adair Roth (pre '79 series), Fred Michael (1979–1980), Charles Altman (1981–1986), briefly Carole Switala, Lenny Meledandri (1987–2001)) - The young son of King Friday and Queen Sara. Born in the third season (episode 1117) and named for the day of the week when he was born, Prince Tuesday is one of only two characters to age during the course of the series (he starts as a baby, then a toddler; from 1979 onward, he is elementary school age (grows during week 1461-1465). He is curious and enthusiastic. Much like his father, Tuesday occasionally exhibits stubbornness, particularly when he believes that his father is wrong about something. He was surprised to learn that his Grandfather Thursday (King Friday's father) cried once when he had to leave for work. As a boy, Prince Tuesday attends the school in Someplace-Else.

• X the Owl (voiced by Fred Rogers) - X is an owl that lives in an old oak tree. He is eager and cheerful and has a strong desire to learn new things. Many of X's stories involve assignments from the Owl Correspondence School, and he idolizes Benjamin Franklin. He briefly works as a salesman for Cornflake S. Pecially, but causes problems by offering to sell things that the company doesn't make. This is one example of X's tendencies to be flaky and dense, but like King Friday, he is quick to apologize when told he is wrong. He also has trouble making decisions. One of his redeeming qualities, however, is his friendliness. In one week of episodes, he is the first one to figure out that something is bothering his neighbor. This character's voice (more than any other heard, except perhaps Donkey Hodie's) is similar to Fred Rogers's own voice, although X speaks in a Southern drawl and often uses his catch-phrase of nifty-galifty if excited. His favorite color is blue and he can not whistle. He was the third original Children's Corner puppet.

• Henrietta Pussycat (voiced by Fred Rogers) - Henrietta is a cat who is X's neighbor and lives in a small yellow and orange school house (questioned whether it is also supposed to be a hen house, due to her nickname Hen) supported by a strong limb on the tree. Early episodes established her as the governess of several (possibly 9, but the number is unverified) nice mice, thus the schoolhouse. In later years the mice are not mentioned. She has a habit of randomly inserting "meow" into her words and sentences, although her vocabulary expanded considerably during the series. When she was first introduced, she could only say "beautiful", "telephone", and "Mister Rogers" in addition to "meow" and she was almost completely black. Her shade considerably lightened during the series, making her somewhat grey-brown. She is anxious, preoccupied with beauty and prone to jealousy. She's also extremely fond of children. She also was the flower girl at Betty and James' wedding. She is the fourth original Children's Corner puppet.

• Lady Elaine Fairchilde (voiced by Fred Rogers) - The outspoken, cranky schemer who took over the Museum-Go-Round after the Froggs moved; often known to say "Okay, toots". She is generally the antagonist when a storyline calls for one, but her neighbors are quick to forgive her because they understand her so well. One of her prized possessions is her Boomerang-Toomerang-Zoomerang, with which she can literally turn the neighborhood and the people in it upside-down; but usually, when she is caught, she uses the same, to put things back to normal. It is discerned during the series that she has low self-esteem and is extremely self-conscious, and because of this, her neighbors are extremely patient with her until she finally learns her lesson. Despite her own faults, she consistently shows King Friday when he is wrong about something and frequently goes to extremes (such as physically moving her museum or modifying a comet) to do so. She has a strong affection for Roosters, all things astronomical, and like Fred Rogers, is a vegetarian. In one series of episodes, she flew to outer space and encountered Planet Purple, where everybody was exactly the same. She was one of Betty's brides-maids, along with Lady Aberlin, at Betty and James' wedding. Her favorite color is red. She is afraid of vacuum cleaners and regards them as weapons. In one episode she attempts to destroy all vacuum cleaners that are not in her possession. At the end of the program Mr. Rogers says to the audience "I'm glad you're old enough to talk about your problems and not just wipe things out like Lady Elaine". She plays the accordion occasionally and is also an unofficial "auntie" to Prince Tuesday. She first appeared in episode 5 of Mister Rogers' Neighborhood, and is named after Fred's adopted sister.

• Daniel Stripèd Tiger (voiced by Fred Rogers) - The first puppet ever to appear on Children's Corner and Mister Rogers' Neighborhood. Daniel is a shy, tame tiger who lives in a non-functioning grandmother clock with no hands (because in make-believe it is what ever time you imagine.) Despite his shyness, Daniel exhibits phenomenal wisdom and intelligence when he does speak (he discerns the root of Lady Elaine's bad behavior on several occasions). He is the only child among the puppets whose parents are never seen, nor spoken of. He has a close friendship with Lady Aberlin, with whom she often nuzzles his nose and says "Ugga Mugga". His favorite toy is a small dumptruck, and he wears a watch on one arm because "when you live in a clock you really should know what time it is". Daniel mentions that he doesn't have grandparents, but would like some, and thus gets some pretend ones in the opera A Granddad for Daniel. He was the ring bearer for Betty and James' wedding. He was named after Dorthy Daniel, who gave Fred the original puppet. In July 2011, PBS announced that Daniel's son (also named Daniel) would be the star of his own show Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood.

• Cornflake "Corny" S. Pecially (voiced by Fred Rogers) - An anthropomorphic beaver-like character, he is the ingenious, quirky proprietor of a factory specializing in rocking chairs. His original factory burned down in a story during the first season, but his neighbors pitched in to help him build a new one. Corny has also been known to produce dolls, pretzels, model trolleys, and other goods, but stopped when he became overwhelmed and decided only to produce what he was able to distribute easily. He also apparently runs something of a hardware store out of the factory (X goes there to buy shovels and buckets in one episode). He debuted on Misterogers, the precursor of Mister Rogers' Neighborhood. S. Pecially is a pun on "especially".

• Grandpere Tiger (voiced by Fred Rogers) - Daniel Striped Tiger's Father. A French tiger and bon-vivant who lives to the left of the castle in the Eiffel Tower. He has a very kind heart and often donates the use of the tower to his neighbors whenever they ask. Of all the regular puppets on the show, Grandpere appeared the least frequently. He is the last of the five puppets to debut on Children's Corner. His name is French for Grandfather.

• The Platypus Family - Introduced in the second season, they are duck-billed platypuses who live in a platypus mound. The family consists of Dr. Bill Platypus (voiced by Bill Barker), who speaks with a Scottish accent, his wife Elsie Jean Platypus (voiced by Bill Barker) & their daughter Ornithorhynchus Anatinus (the Latin scientific name for a platypus) or Ana Platypus (voiced by Carole Muller Switala) as she is commonly known. Along with Prince Tuesday, she is one of only two puppet characters to age during the series. Ana has four grandparents: Grandma Nell Platypus & Grandpa Tom Platypus (from Elsie Jean's side) & Nana Platypus & Dada Platypus (from Dr. Bill's side). Dr. Bill works at the Eiffel Tower where Granpere lives and plays the bagpipes. Usually says "bill" instead of "very".

• Harriet Elizabeth Cow (voiced by Bob Trow) - The school teacher and Donkey Hodie's co-worker in Someplace Else. She played the organ for Betty and James' wedding. Named after Fred Rogers' aunt.

• Edgar Cooke (voiced by Fred Rogers) - The castle chef who sings everything he says. This is because King Friday wanted a "singing chef" on his staff.

• H.J. Elephant III (voiced by Chuck Aber) - One of Prince Tuesday's friends. His relationship to the other characters is a bit inconsistent. In many episodes he interacts normally with the other characters in Make-Believe, but on one occasion, Chuck Aber demonstrated to the other characters that H.J. was only a puppet that he controlled. He has trouble reading, but has a remarkable understanding of sign language (as demonstrated in a series of 1996 episodes).

• Betty Okonak Templeton-Jones (voiced by Michael Horton) - The chatterbox (and longtime friend of Lady Elaine) who occasionally comes to visit from Southwood. She was a widow until marrying James Michael Jones. Betty speaks in a Southern accent.

• James Michael Jones (voiced by Michael Horton) - Betty Okonak Templeton-Jones's second husband (whom he had met before). Originally a resident of Glassland, where he did "Exactly Like Me" portraits (which are really mirrors). Once called the Neighborhood Trolley "Sir Trolley" for it looked like nobility to him. James speaks with a slight English accent.

• Carrie Dell Okonak Templeton-Jones - Known as "Carrie Dell" for short, she is the adopted daughter of James Michael Jones and Betty Okonak Templeton-Jones.

• Old Goat (voiced by Tom Megalis in the first storyline, Michael Horton in the second storyline) - A resident of Northwood. He debuted in the "A Granddad for Daniel" opera and later appeared to harvest the Neighborhood's vegetables when there weren't any in Northwood. He later returned with New Goat to help the Neighborhood of Make-Believe when they were in a garbage crisis. Old Goat only speaks in typical goat sounds.

• New Goat (voiced by Sara Lockard) - A resident of Northwood. She often translates for Old Goat.

• Hilda Dingleborder (voiced by Barbara Russell) - A worker at Cornflake S. Pecially's Factory. She was interested in setting up a day care center there. She has a baby daughter named Daphne Dingleborder whom Lady Aberlin and Princess Zelda looked after one time.

• Donkey Hodie (voiced by Fred Rogers) - A soporific but fun donkey who lives in Someplace Else with Harriet Elizabeth Cow and operates a Washer Dryer Sorter Dumper there. Originally came to the Neighborhood of Make-Believe to build a windmill, but King Friday didn't like having it so close to the castle. Donkey relocated to Someplace Else. While Donkey made several appearances in the original series, he only made very few appearances in the modern series. His name is a pun on Don Quixote.