Officer Clemmons' intimate memoir beautifully captures the historic journey of François Clemmons, the first African American actor on Mister Rogers' Neighborhood, revealing his inspiring life story, spiritual friendship with Fred Rogers, and the impact of his music and performance on audiences worldwide.

I'm so sorry, but this was a DNF for me. While I use to finish all books I start, I found it would be a great disservice to the author and her time spent on this book if I forced myself to finish knowing it wouldn't be a review that would encourage readers to pick it up.

DNF! As much as I love the story behind Mr. Rogers and his neighborhood, I was not able to get through this. Maybe because I’m not really into reading biographies. I wanted to give it a chance. I personally think it was only on me for the reason behind me not being able to read it

This was such a lovely book. Francois is such a talented story-teller. I loved learning about his life before and after meeting Fred Rogers..

I thoroughly enjoyed this book... I think it’s a must read for those who grew up watching Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood, and probably would be an engaging read for others as well. Well written and nicely paced. I recommend this book.

I really loved reading the biography, ‘Officer Clemmons.’ Dr. François Clemmons has lead an amazing life and his magnanimous personality really comes through in his writing. I listened to the audiobook, which was an absolute treat. He has such a wonderful speaking and singing voice. I could feel his heartbreak and elation at different points. Clemmons is most known for portraying Officer Clemmons, but that was only one part of his career in music. I felt lucky to hear his life story and the path that his life took. Clemmons was a sensitive, extroverted child that came from very humble beginnings and suffered abuse at the hands of his stepfather and often indifference from his mother. Through his hard work and finding and embracing supportive influences outside his family, he was able to change the trajectory of his life and pursue college and a musical career. One of his biggest struggles was contending with his sexuality. He struggled as a closeted gay man in the late 1960s and beyond. It was heartbreaking to hear how he secretly suffered for so many years. I enjoyed hearing about his friendship with Fred Rogers and it’s clear he was a huge influence on his life. I was left wanting more. It seemed like there were more stories he could tell and I would love to listen to them. Dr. François Clemmons seems like such an earnest, kind, and affable man.

Thank you NetGalley and Catapult for providing this ARC.

Clemmons gives a really heartwarming and frank account of growing up in Ohio in the 1950s and landing a job on Mr Rogers' TV show. Clemmons tells about the blunt conversations with Mr Rogers and how he accepted him for being gay but he had to stay in the closet to remain on the show.

While interesting, this book was quite repetitive. Perhaps if it had been further edited down, it would have been a more enjoyable read.

If I had read this book at a different time, I would have enjoyed it, but as I sit surrounded in a country of Black Lives Matter protesters, it took on a whole different meaning. Clemmons clearly showed how systemic racism impacted his career and how it took the interest of whites and their knowing someone who could help him got Clemmons recognized, and yet even then he discovered it wasn’t enough to get him a lead role in a Metropolitan Opera production. I picked the book up because of the Mr. Rogers connection, but what I learned went beyond Mr. Rogers neighborhood.

Great peek into Dr Clemmons experiences not only on the Mister Roger's Neighborhood show but living as a gay, Black man in America. It was interesting on so many levels.

Officer Clemmons is a memoir by Francois Clemmons detailing his early life, education, and time as Officer Clemmons, the character he played on Mr. Rogers' Neigborhood on PBS. Released 5th May 2020 by Catapult Books, it's 288 pages and available in hardcover, audio, and ebook formats.

I grew up near Pittsburgh, PA and though I was slightly too old to really be a part of Mr. Rogers' target audience (I was more a Sesame St. and Electric Co. kid), I always loved watching Mr. Rogers (since it was aired on our PBS station just before my shows). The genuine warmth and respect he showed to everyone made a deep impression on me, and he has been a role model to several generations of kids.

I always enjoyed the different characters who appeared on his show and liked that there was a continuity and dependability to the show's format and actors. It's incredible to think about how long lived the characters and the actors who brought them to life were associated with the show and I've often thought about how the show and the people associated with it provided some much needed stability and positive reinforcement to a lot of vulnerable kids.

Anyhow, this is a respectful, well written memoir mostly about Francois Clemmons' early life and upbringing, his education, and his years working with Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood. There's a directness and honesty to his writing that is effective and moving. I found myself so touched and sad and angry at the casual violence and racism that were a part of his early life. He talks openly about his family history, the loss of family members to violence/murder, the casual systemic racism of the southern USA in the 1950s, and on top of all of that, his growing awareness of his sexual orientation in a society which was openly hostile to non-binary people. He made a lot of difficult decisions to sacrifice emotional parts of his life in order to work in children's programming and specifically with Fred Rogers.

I did enjoy the book, and the behind-the-scenes reminiscences, despite much of it being sad and poignant. Four stars.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.

I was not able to finish this book. Lost interest. It started out good and I was interested in the idea and the premise. But as I went on I decided it was not worth finishing.

I grew up watching Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood as a young girl and have always admired Fred Rogers’ quiet strength. But Rogers didn’t make his children’s television show alone. Other trusted companions, such as Officer Clemmons, helped make each episode special.

Dr. François Clemmons is an African-American man who began life in the south at a time when racism was fierce. He learned to cope with disappointment and fear by singing and had the voice of an angel. It would help mold him into the man who would later portray Officer Clemmons, a singing policeman in Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood. François Clemmons was quite religious/spiritual, and also gay. He went into how this affected his relationships with friends, family, and Fred Rogers.

Clemmons writes with depth, feeling, and honesty. If you are expecting this book to be about Mister Rogers, you may be disappointed. If you are looking for a memoir that you can learn from and at the same time, relate to, this may be the one for you. It is an intimate portrait of an amazing man. At times I was uncomfortable with what I read because it was such a different life from my own, but that is also one of the things I appreciated about the book. It wasn’t an easy read, but one that enlarged my world.

Singers will especially appreciate this book, as will people interested in LGBTQ issues. Officer Clemmons is available now.

Thank you to NetGalley and Catapult for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

As a little girl growing up in the sixties, my favorite show was Mister Rogers Neighborhood. Recently, I saw that a documentary was airing on HBO Family all about Mister Rogers. It was entitled, "Won't You Be My Neighbor?". Well, I watched it in rapt attention and had the best cry I've had in a long time. I gifted my older brother a DVD of this program, and he watched it immediately. He told me it was a good thing he was alone when he watched it, because he bawled his eyes out. It was so very nostalgic and incredibly touching. One of the narrators in this documentary was Dr. Francois Clemmons, the gentleman who played "Officer Clemmons" for many years on the show. Although I had been a faithful watcher of the show growing up, I only had a vague memory of this cast member. Perhaps he wasn't on the show as much as some of the other characters, because of his main career as a tenor vocalist. However, I must say that I loved his contributions to this documentary. He was very forthright and emotional about the beautiful, meaningful relationship he had with Fred Rogers. I really liked Francois, and I wanted to hear more.

The book cover consists of a photo of Francois in character as Officer Clemmons along with Fred Rogers in a scene from Mister Rogers Neighborhood. In fact, he talks about this particular scene in the documentary. They are sitting together with their pant legs rolled up, their feet submerged together in a little pool. I admit, I was really gunning for reading about his experiences with Mister Rogers, but that part of the book didn't commence until the 60% mark. You see, this is the story of Dr. Francois Clemmons' entire life, not just his experiences on Mister Rogers Neighborhood.

Francois had a tragic and stressful upbringing marked by a very disfunctional and often violent family. In addition to those life challenges, he was a black American and gay. Francois recounts multiple incidents of racist behavior towards him, and also his long and complicated journey coming to terms with his sexuality. Life was certainly not easy for him, but he was blessed with an amazing voice and with friends that took him in and kept him safe. He wound up clinching a scholarship to Oberlin college to advance his voice studies. Then he met Joanne Rogers (wife of Fred Rogers) while singing in a church. This eventually led to Francois singing on Mister Rogers Neighborhood and playing the role of police Officer Clemmons. He accepted that role with much trepidation, since as a black man he witnessed and knew of unpleasant experiences with law enforcement.

Fred Rogers had a huge impact on Francois, something you would probably hear from a lot of people who were close to him. Francois was lucky enough to have met Martin Luther King while in college, but he had just been assassinated. There were riots in Pittsburgh where Fred Rogers lived and filmed the show. Fred took Francois in for safety during the riots and lovingly embraced the sobbing Francois. Over the years they worked together, Fred made it clear that he would serve as Francois' father, mentor and friend. He was always there for Francois with love, support and friendship. There was one time that Fred had to have a really serious talk with Francois when he heard that he had been whooping it up at a nearby gay bar. Unfortunately, that behavior wasn't accepted during that era and in order to stay on the children's show Francois would have to keep that part of his life undercover. In fact, several people had suggested he marry a childhood girl friend he had taken to the prom, and he did just that. Of course, the marriage was a disaster.

I loved hearing about Francois' reaction when he first walked onto the Mister Rogers Neighborhood set. It really made him feel good inside. He talked about the various characters such as King Friday, Henrietta Pussycat, X the Owl and Lady Aberlin, who he thought was probably the prettiest girl he'd ever seen (I thought so too back then). This was a remarkable story of a very talented man who triumphed over adversity with his own inner strength and a little help from his friends.

This is the story of Francois Clemmons and his life before, during and after Mr. Rogers. It shows the wonderful relationship he had with the show. He grew up in Alabama and went to Oberlin College as a music major. He met Fred Rogers by accident but the meeting changed his life as he became the first black man to have a re-occurring role on a children's television show. He tells of his life of travel with the his choir and how he came to teach at his college. A life of sacrifice and courage and a look at one of the beloved characters on Mr. Roger's Neighborhood. I received a copy of this ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Officer Clemons, a ‘Mister Rogers Neighborhood’ favorite was a groundbreaking role in television. The author graciously shares his life in this heartwarming read.
This is a book of bonds. Of family, friends and female influences. Of struggles, being a black man witnessing racism and conflict within the black community and the obstacles of being a gay man. Of salvation, The arts, music, opera singer, choral director, actor and faith, regardless of the church dictating what was/is acceptable.
In meeting Fred Rogers while pursuing graduate studies at Carnegie Mellon, Clemmons recalls his sincerity, warmth and his gentle blue eyes” and a commitment and a mentorship was formed on that day.
Dr. Francoise Clemmons is a man of multiple talents. He is a man of great strength. It would be an honor for any man, woman or child to call him ‘neighbor’.

As a huge Mr. Rogers fan from childhood, I was ecstatic to receive an ARC of this book. Knowing how influential and groundbreaking Dr. François S. Clemmon’s role in the show was, I couldn’t wait to read what this biography had in store. I certainly wasn’t disappointed. It covered not only iconic moments, but also the heart and soul behind them. The entire book was a genuine and loving reflection on Dr. Clemmon’s role. I would recommend to every biography reader.

It took me a few chapters to get into the rhythm of Dr. Clemmons’ story. His greatest recognition may have come from his role as Officer Clermmons on Mr Rogers Neighborhood, but telling his own story required a broader view for us to truly understand and recognize the man.

I received a free advanced copy of this book from Netgalley and am voluntarily providing my honest review. I was very impressed by the intense life circumstances the author dealt with and the depth of his own abilities to manage and occasionally overcome his circumstances. He was certainly blessed with friends who helped him on his way, and Mr. Rogers was extremely significant in helping Dr. Clemmons, but there was a tenacity and deep introspection that kept his life from spiraling out of control. This is a good autobiography and very interesting in view of our current cultural and political times.

memoir, prejudice, family-dynamics, abuse, LGBTQ, music, actors*****

This is a deeply affecting personal memoir by a person of astounding accomplishments and a deeply rooted negative sense of self worth. Life was nice until he was four, then it kept escalating in family violence and abuse until his mentors in high school helped him to escape and move to Oberlin college to major in fine arts. Prejudice and segregation were still present but often less overt with relationship to color in the 1960s Ohio but there was also his problem with religiosity to the non gender conforming and the guilt that had been forced upon him. His burgeoning career as a professional tenor and the people who truly cared about him saved his sanity. To clue in on his tastes and abilities: gospel, Leontyne Price, Mahalia Jackson. Politically it was a time of turmoil and unease, but after attaining a BFA at Oberlin he earned full graduate fellowship to Carnegie Mellon in Pittsburgh for the MFA with emphasis on opera.
It was while doing a performance at a Presbyterian Church that he first met Fred Rogers and their friendship began. In his own quiet way Rogers implemented François' public exposure and also, in time, the concept of Officer Clemmons was developed and implemented. But it was in his personal and professional life that Rogers was most influential, and that was a very great thing.
What a wonderful book!
I requested and received a free ebook copy from Catapult, Counterpoint Press, and Soft Skull Press via NetGalley. Thank you!

Thanks to NetGalley and Catapult for an ARC of this book.

I came to this book as someone who grew up with Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood and has consumed all of the recent media revisiting the show (the _Won't You Be My Neighbor_ documentary, Maxwell King's fantastic [book:The Good Neighbor: The Life and Work of Fred Rogers|38656999], and even _A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood_, which uses Tom Junod's profile of Rogers as a launching point for a different sort of story). This added some additional dimension, but was also very much its own thing.

The first half of the book is very much Francois' story: growing up in both the south and Ohio as an LGBTQ person, finding escape in surrogate family and music, and finding a way out of poverty through his talents as a singer. His retelling of his life through college at Oberlin is a detailed and fascinating portrait of both his internal and external life.

Once he heads to Pittsburgh, starts grad school at Carnegie Tech, and meets Fred Rogers through his work with a local church, the book hits 1.5x speed and loses the laser focus it initially had. We still ping-pong through time (and get a great portrait of Francois and Fred's relationship of the course of both of their lives), but I wish the second half of the book went into as much depth as the first part did. Clemmons has live a fascinating life (meeting MLK Jr! touring nationally as a singer! Forming a vocal group and deep-diving into the history of the American Spiritual with said group!), and it feels like this was pushed out while the iron is hot for this sort of thing rather than going fully in-depth like the first half of this did. I actually wondered if my galley was missing a section when I hit the end of this - it seemed to abruptly stop instead of wrap itself up.

Part of this book is a fascinating life history of someone we know as a character on TV. Part of this book is a "What I Learned From Fred Rogers" story. The book can't decide which it wants to be and so neither of these is successfully presented. I wanted more from this than I got.