Fred McFeely Rogers (March 20, 1928 – February 27, 2003)

Fred Rogers was an educator, Presbyterian minister, songwriter, author,
and television host. Rogers was most famous for creating and hosting 
Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood on PBS (1968–2001),

Small Fry Club (also known as Movies for Small Fry) is one of the earliest TV 
series made for children. It aired on the DuMont Television Network from
March 11, 1947 to June 15, 1951 and afterwards was produced and aired in 
Boston on WBZ-TV until 1968. It was hosted by "Big Brother Bob Emery".
 

Bob Emery (Clair Robert Emery)

Buffalo Bob Smith with Howdy

Howdy Doody is an children’s television program, created and
produced by E. Roger Muir and telecast on NBC from 1947 until
1960. It was one of the first television series produced at NBC in
Rockefeller Center, in Studio 3A, it was also a pioneer in early
color production as NBC (at the time owned by TV maker RCA)
used the show in part to sell color television sets in the 1950s.

The character Howdy Doody first came to life from the creative
mind of Bob Smith during his days as a radio announcer on
WNBC (AM).

April Fools Day, April 1, 1952

Released on November 21, 1941

Clip from “Look Who’s Laughing”

 
Jerry Nelson with puppet Count Von Count

Jerry Nelson

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Jerry Nelson, the puppeteer behind a delightful menagerie
of characters including Count von Count on "Sesame Street" and Gobo Fraggle on "Fraggle Rock," has died.

Nelson, who suffered from emphysema, died Thursday night in his Massachusetts
home on Cape Cod, the Sesame Workshop said Friday.