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Imagination Movers

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The Imagination Movers are an American children's band formed in New Orleans , Louisiana , in 2003.

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120-460: The line-up includes drummer and multi-instrumentalist Rich Collins, keyboardist and banjo/mandolin player Scott K Durbin, bassist Dave Poche, and guitarist Scott "Smitty" Smith. Members of the group were longtime friends and neighbors. They started with the four members seeing a need to encourage creativity in children, provide positive male role models, and create music and content that "spoke to them, not down to them." Durbin worked in combination with

240-648: A Cub Scout den Akela as well as a coach for his children's T-ball, basketball, and soccer teams. While he has no formal theatrical or musical training, Poche did fiddle with the bass briefly in college and has a colorful performance background that includes a stint as a stand-up comic. Like his fellow Movers, he is inspired by 1980s and '90s rock, pop and alternative music and by his front-lines experience dealing with issues his children experienced. Originally from Baton Rouge, Poche received his degree from Louisiana State University and moved to his wife's hometown of New Orleans. Despite losing their home to Hurricane Katrina,

360-499: A Good Feeling" at the end of each episode. Prior to 1973, the original version of "It's Such a Good Feeling" was used as part of Mister Rogers' general repertoire of songs. When "It's Such a Good Feeling" became the closing theme for Mister Rogers' Neighborhood in 1973, it used a rewrite of "The Weekend Song" at the end, using only the first four lines: "And I'll be back when the day is new, and I'll have more ideas for you. And you'll have things you'll want to talk about; I will too". This

480-608: A WGA Award for Children's Episodic & Specials, the winner being the season 2 episode “Happy Ha-Ha Holidays”, written by that season's staff writers: Michael G. Stern, Randi Barnes, Rick Gitelson (who also developed the series), and Scott Gray. According to Pollstar, the Movers ranked No. 79 on the Top 100 tours North American tours of 2011. Due to their success as live performers, the Imagination Movers were also featured on

600-459: A brief introduction by Mr. Rogers. Additionally, a play, Josephine The Short-Necked Giraffe , first aired in 1989 as a tribute to the late John Reardon. Guests on the series ranged from cellist Yo-Yo Ma to actor and bodybuilder Lou Ferrigno of TV's The Incredible Hulk (in a 2001 piece where celebrities were asked about their heroes, Rogers cited Ma as one of his heroes ). A 1968 visit by electronic music pioneer Bruce Haack resurfaced in

720-474: A child, and continues to do so in his spare time. He enjoys exploring America's National Parks. Smith brings his outdoor experiences to the group by blowing duck and goose calls on some of the band's songs, including "I Heard That." An English Literature graduate of the University of New Orleans , Smith's given Mover prop is his trusty journal, which represents his Indiana Jones-like scholarly personality and

840-429: A concept called Super Movers, a fresh new animated/hybrid program geared towards children ages 4 to 7 years old, bursting with comedy, adventure, and music. The show's main message is that “Everybody has the power to become a superhero!” Two years later, the Movers released the single Super Movers , an upbeat, ska-inspired audio treat and a musical video, which was the trailer for the animated show. The song hit number 1 on

960-678: A guest on some other series. On the children's animated cartoon series Arthur , for example, Rogers plays himself as an aardvark like Arthur. Later on, Arthur appears as a guest in hand-puppet form in a 1999 episode of Mister Rogers' Neighborhood in the Neighborhood of Make-Believe . Bill Nye , host of a science-themed program, and Rogers also exchanged appearances on each other's series, as did Rogers and Captain Kangaroo . Rogers additionally appeared in an episode of Sesame Street , where he explains to Big Bird that, even if one loses

1080-478: A joint marketing agreement with Highmark Blue Shield in Pittsburgh for their separate hospital and medical plans. However, Independence Blue Cross, like most of its sister Blue Cross Blue Shield companies, cover most of their customers under managed care plans such as HMOs and PPOs which provide hospital and medical care in one policy. Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Rhode Island was founded in 1939. The insurer

1200-451: A model building at the beginning and end of Mister Rogers' Neighborhood from 1969 to 1970. When NET ceased operations, the series moved its successor network PBS, even though episodes up until the end of the fourth season in May 1971 were still copyrighted by and produced for NET. The series' first season (1968) consisted of 130 episodes, produced in black-and-white. For seasons 2–8 (1969–75),

1320-460: A mutual insurance company, with the name again changed, to Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Mississippi, A Mutual Insurance Company. During 2022, BCBS and University of Mississippi Medical Center (UMMC) network entered conflict over who is to blame for an increasing lack of covered care in the state. Media reported that UMMC had paid close to $ 279,000 for digital advertising, commercials, and billboards to attack BCBS, which, in subsequent months, sued

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1440-549: A new series based on The Children's Corner , called Misterogers , a 15-minute program on CBC Television . Misterogers aired on CBC for about four years, and a number of the set pieces that he would take with him back to the United States, such as the trolley and castle, were created for the Canadian program by CBC designers and in collaboration with producer Bruce Attridge. Most importantly, Rogers appeared on camera in

1560-1036: A partnership with Cambia Health , but cancelled the agreement later that year. Dr. Patrick H. Conway , who had served as CEO from 2017, was scheduled to become CEO of the merged company, replacing retiring Cambia CEO Mark Ganz, but resigned after a DWI arrest in June 2019, putting the merger on hold. Though historically "Blue Cross" was used for hospital coverage while "Blue Shield" was used for medical coverage, today that split only exists for traditional health insurance plans in Pennsylvania . Two independent companies operate in central Pennsylvania, Highmark Blue Shield in Pittsburgh and Capital Blue Cross in Central Pennsylvania. In southeastern Pennsylvania, Independence Blue Cross in Philadelphia has

1680-422: A puppet segment chronicling occurrences in the Neighborhood of Make-Believe . Another segment of the show consisted of Rogers going to different places around the neighborhood, where he interviewed people to talk about their work and other contributions that focused on the episode's theme, such as Brockett's Bakery, Bob Trow's Workshop, and Negri's Music Shop. In one episode, Rogers took the show behind-the-scenes on

1800-428: A radically different design for the character along with his friends Purple Panda, Duck Duck and Bob Dog, as they learn and sing through the land of "Someplace Else". The song "Won't You Be My Neighbor?" was written by Fred Rogers in 1967 and was used as the opening theme for each episode of the show. In the first three seasons of the show, during which new episodes were constantly being produced, each show ended with

1920-505: A running race such as the one Big Bird had run against his friend " Snuffy ", no hard feelings threaten to break the two of them apart. Big Bird himself also appeared in one episode of Mister Rogers' Neighborhood in the Neighborhood of Make-Believe, when he came to deliver his entry to the "Draw the Neighborhood" art contest. The Ford Foundation, Public Television Stations and Johnson & Johnson also provided funding for repeats of

2040-506: A select number of episodes. As of 2023, reruns air on many PBS stations early in the morning on Saturdays and Sundays. To celebrate the 50th anniversary of the series' national premiere, PBS aired select episodes of Mister Rogers' Neighborhood for a week in February 2018. In July 2011, during the annual Television Critics Association summer press tour, it was announced that a new animated spin-off series, Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood ,

2160-464: A slot on the side, then show the material using a wired remote control (slides were viewed on Picture Picture; films and video were faded in to the clip). When Picture Picture was not used, a different painting would be displayed on its screen. Often it would display the words "Hello" or "Hi" at the opening. The series was also notable for its use of jazz -inspired music, mostly arranged and performed by Johnny Costa , until Costa's death in 1996, when he

2280-472: A small version of the "Neighborhood Trolley", as it crosses several streets from left to right on a model train track. This is the same model electric trolley that later in the program would transport viewers into the Neighborhood of Make-Believe. Usually, the camera goes from the neighborhood to out on the porch of the Rogers' television house, where the viewers see Fred Rogers coming for a visit before he enters

2400-863: A variety of perspectives. In 2018, Durbin suffered a subarachnoid hemorrhage while performing with the Movers in Virginia. He spent a few days in ICU. He later recovered fully from it. Durbin joined the faculty at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette as an instructor and coordinator of the Music Business Program in 2015. He is currently an Assistant Professor and received the Sue and Chuck Lein Endowed Professorship in Music Business in 2021. Additionally, in 2023, Scott received

2520-542: A volunteer in 1975. He played an acrobat in a troupe called The Flying Zookeenies that performed for King Friday's birthday and was also in charge of running the Trolley. Thirteen in-series "operas" took place during the course of the series within the Make-Believe segments. Many of them featured American baritone John Reardon as a main character. The operas would encompass the entire episode and would be seen after

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2640-631: A worker directing a United Airlines jet with its stylized "U" logo—which was not introduced until 1974. All of the episodes revised from the first series also included an extra segment following the closing credits, mentioning the episode number and additional companies that provided funding since these episodes originally aired, even though they had not provided funding at the time of their original production. The episode numbers correlated to activity guides for parents, which included activities and discussion topics for parents and child care providers to utilize with their children. The black and white episodes of

2760-602: Is a non-profit health insurance company headquartered in Rochester, New York . It is part of the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association. In 2010, Excellus was Upstate New York 's largest nonprofit health plan. In 2001, Excellus merged with Univera Healthcare , (formerly North AmeriCare ), based in Buffalo, New York . Univera retained its name and is separate from Excellus BCBS. Excellus

2880-688: Is a name used by an association of health insurance plans throughout the United States . Its predecessor was developed by Justin Ford Kimball in 1929, while he was vice president of Baylor University 's health care facilities in Dallas, Texas . The first plan guaranteed teachers 21 days of hospital care for $ 6 a year, and was later extended to other employee groups in Dallas, and then nationally. The American Hospital Association (AHA) adopted

3000-519: Is an independent licensee of the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association, and the largest healthcare provider in the state. It donated $ 1.98 million to The Walton College of Business toward founding its Robert L. Shoptaw Master of Healthcare Business Analytics Program. In August 2022, more than 12,000 members of Arkansas Blue Cross were affected by a ransomware attack on a former affiliate, North Highland Company, LLC. Blue Cross of Idaho and Regence BlueShield Idaho are separate companies and compete throughout

3120-693: Is headquartered in Providence, Rhode Island . BlueCross BlueShield of the U.S. Virgin Islands is administered by BlueCross BlueShield of Puerto Rico. Blue Cross Blue Shield of Wyoming (BCBSWY) is a non-profit founded in 1945. In 2022, BCBSWY penned opposition to the Pharmacy benefit managers act enhancements (Wyoming Senate File 0036). While only some members retain nonprofit status, the ones that do have been criticized for holding excessive amounts of cash or excessive executive compensation. For instance,

3240-609: Is used as a resource when the Movers are trying to solve a problem. A New Orleans native, Smith resides in New Orleans with his wife, Mary, their daughter, and two dogs. On March 22, 2008, the Imagination Movers were one of the entertainment groups to perform at the annual White House Easter Egg Roll on the White House South Lawn. Again in 2009, the Movers performed at the annual White House Easter Egg Roll for U.S. President Barack Obama . On August 21, 2008,

3360-577: The Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association (BCBS). Prior to 1986, organizations administering BCBS were tax exempt under 501(c) (4) as social welfare plans. The Tax Reform Act of 1986 revoked the exemption, however, because the plans sold commercial-type insurance. They became 501(m) organizations, subject to federal taxation, but entitled to "special tax benefits" under IRC 833. In 1994, BCBS changed to allow its licensees to be for-profit corporations. During 2010, Health Care Service Corporation ,

3480-472: The Chicago Loop area of Chicago, Illinois. Single-state members include the following organizations. Blue Cross Blue Shield of Arizona (BCBSAZ) is a non-profit healthcare organization founded in 1939. BCBSAZ partners with non-profit "Discovery Triangle Development Corporation" to launch a Farm Express mobile market (formerly Fresh Express). Founded in 1948, Arkansas Blue Cross Blue Shield (ABCBS)

3600-584: The Federal Employees Health Benefits Program (FEHB) for U.S. federal government employees and retirees, and has been part of FEHB since FEHB's inception in 1960. FEP enrolls over half of the federal workforce, with over 5 million members, making it the largest insurer of federal employees and the largest single health plan group in the world. The association is headquartered in the Michigan Plaza complex in

3720-599: The Paley Center for Media , including the first episode of the series and the first color episode. A complete collection of episodes, including more than 900 videotapes and scripts from the show along with other promotional materials produced by Rogers or his Family Communications Inc. production company, exists in the Mister Rogers' Neighborhood Archives, located in the Elizabeth Nesbitt Room at

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3840-489: The Smithsonian Institution , a testament to the cultural influence of his simple daily ritual. At the end of each episode, Rogers sang "It's Such a Good Feeling" (a different song, "Tomorrow" was used from 1968 to 1972) when he took off his sneakers as he says "You're alive" in a higher-toned voice, and grabs his dress shoes to put back on, and then snaps his fingers two times. After that, Rogers goes into

3960-538: The United States federal government . BCBSA manages communications between its members and the operating policies required to be a licensee of the trademarks. This permits each BCBSA company to offer nationwide insurance coverage through its BlueCard provider network and claims reimbursement program even though it operates only in its designated service area. Blue Cross and Blue Shield developed separately, with Blue Cross providing coverage for hospital services and Blue Shield covering physicians' services. Blue Cross

4080-427: The University of Pittsburgh School of Computing and Information Building. When PBS began re-airing the first 460 color episodes of the series in 1976, some of the earliest color episodes from 1969 and 1970 were re-edited with new voice-overs or footage. For example, in one 1970 episode where Mister Rogers demonstrates the noise-proof ear protectors that airport workers use on the tarmac, the film footage used featured

4200-405: The background music heard on the series, including the show's recognizable main theme, the trolley whistle, Mr. McFeeley's frenetic speedy delivery piano plonks, the vibraphone flute-toots (played on a synthesizer) as Fred fed his fish, dreamy celesta lines, incidental music , and Rogers' entrance and exit tunes. Each day an episode was recorded, Costa and his ensemble played live in the studio for

4320-574: The "Rising Star Award", an award recognizing junior faculty members showing great promise in scholarship in their respective colleges. In 2024, Durbin received an Eminent Faculty Award from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette for Service Leadership. An architect by trade, Poche was part of the design team for the New Orleans Saints practice facilities and also designed various New Orleans–based banks, office buildings, and hotels. He most recently worked on several designs that are part of

4440-410: The 100 greatest TV shows of all time. The series had its genesis in 1953, when Rogers and Josie Carey joined the newly formed public television station WQED . On April 5, 1954, WQED debuted The Children's Corner , a program featuring Rogers as puppeteer and composer, with Carey as host and lyricist, in an unscripted weekday-afternoon live-television program. It was on this program where many of

4560-539: The 1969-1975 color episodes, beginning in 1976. When Fred Rogers died in 2003, PBS's website provided suggestions to parents on how to respond to children who ask about Rogers' death. Beginning on September 3, 2007, some PBS affiliates began replacing the show with new programs such as Super Why! , WordGirl and WordWorld . In June 2008, PBS announced that, beginning in late 2008, the network would stop broadcasting Mister Rogers' Neighborhood as part of its daily syndication lineup to member stations, instead airing

4680-426: The 2004 documentary Haack: King of Techno . Guests on Mister Rogers' Neighborhood were often surprised to find that, although Rogers was just as gentle and patient in life as on television, he was nevertheless a perfectionist who did not allow "shoddy" ad-libbing ; he believed that children were thoughtful people who deserved programming as good as anything produced for adults on television. Rogers appeared as

4800-496: The Blue Cross and Blue Shield trademarks and names across the United States and in more than 170 other countries, which it then licenses to the affiliated companies for specific, exclusive geographic service areas. It has affiliated plans in all 50 states, Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico , and licensees offering plans in several foreign countries; it also participates in the nationwide health insurance program for employees of

4920-612: The Blue Cross symbol in 1939 as the emblem for plans meeting certain standards. In 1960, the AHA commission was superseded by the Blue Cross Association. Blue Cross severed its ties with the AHA in 1972. Blue Shield was developed by employers in lumber and mining camps of the Pacific Northwest to provide medical care by paying monthly fees to medical service bureaus composed of groups of physicians. In 1939,

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5040-549: The CEO of BCBS Michigan, Daniel Loepp, earned over 19 million USD in 2018, more than the CEO of Ford or Fiat Chrysler during the same year. In 2014, BC/BS of Illinois ( Health Care Service Corporation ) was sued over its nonprofit status. The lawsuit was dismissed, with prejudice , and the dismissal ruling was upheld on appeal. Similar suits occurred with similar results in other states such as Oregon. Conversions into for-profit corporations typically results in distribution of some of

5160-512: The Children's Charts on both iTunes and Amazon in the US and Canada. Unfortunately, the animated show never found a network or streaming platform. In 2015, the Imagination Movers released their ninth album, a CD/DVD entitled Licensed to Move . The project was crowd funded through PledgeMusic . The album featured such hits as Here Comes Summer, Dump Truck, and "Following My Mom Around." In 2017,

5280-471: The Imagination Movers . The compilation of artists includes indie-pop groups Royal Teeth and GIVERS , ska band Mustard Plug , the Brooklyn-based alt band Laundry Day , Canadian shimmer pop Soul Push , surf rockers One South Lark +The Durbulence, along with the rootsy, Celtic-influenced sounds of Carbon Leaf . The album has received superlative reviews with songs like Happy by Soul Push making

5400-830: The Imagination Movers began as a television/music concept that was pitched to local PBS affiliates. WLAE-TV was the first to take an interest in the group and later introduced them to Beth Courtney, the President & Chief Executive Officer at Louisiana Public Broadcasting . Soon after, LPB began airing one-minute videos produced by the Imagination Movers themselves. The Movers built a sizable regional following by setting educational songs for kids to melodies and rhythms that adults also appreciate. They sold more than 100,000 copies of their self-produced CDs and DVDs. Their three indie CDs: Good Ideas , Calling All Movers , and Eight Feet along with their grassroots DVD Stir It Up have, combined, won fourteen national awards, from such groups as

5520-549: The Imagination Movers crowdfunded their tenth album through Indiegogo , entitled 10-4 . The album was released on December 14, 2018. The song Is That Wrong landed on the 13 Under 13 Countdown. During 2020, the Movers released numerous unreleased songs via their Bandcamp page. In the summer of 2021, the Movers released their first new product, a single called Happy and the Happy to Be Here EP, through children's music label 8 Pound Gorilla Records . Two music videos were part of

5640-715: The Imagination Movers have received critical kudos for their live concert performances. Indie Kids Rock reviewed the group, saying they were "the U2 of kids music with a big anthemic pop/rock sound, catchy lyrics, & of course, imagination." In October 2009, the Imagination Movers started the Live from the Idea Warehouse Concert Tour 2009 . Traveling from mid-October to mid-December 2009 their live performances include many of their favorite songs and dancing, as well as video appearances of Warehouse Mouse. The success of

5760-503: The Imagination Movers performed on " Good Morning America ". The Imagination Movers won a 2009 Daytime Entertainment Emmy Award for Outstanding Original Song in the category of Children's and Animation for their original song "Boing, Cluck, Cluck." The Movers have been nominated twice for Daytime Emmy Awards in the category of Outstanding Original Song: 2009 & 2011. In 2011, the Imagination Movers TV series received

5880-420: The Imagination Movers quirky earworm was finally given form in a consciousness-expanding music video. The song surpassed 20,000,000 streams on Spotify, an impressive feat for a children's band. As forerunners of alt music for families and kids of all ages, the Movers celebrated over 20+ years of entertaining families throughout the world by releasing - in 2023 - a compilation album entitled Coveralls: Songs from

6000-608: The Imagination Movers' music to the nation with the release of the Movers' first nationally released CD, Juice Box Heroes . The album's tracklisting was curated from the Movers first three independent albums: Good Ideas, Calling All Movers, and Eight Feet. In September 2008, a 22-minute show featuring the group began airing on the Disney Channel 's preschool programming block known as Playhouse Disney , and eventually airing on Playhouse Disney's replacement, Disney Junior . The Movers starred and were also co-executive producers of

6120-421: The Make-Believe segments and seemed to form a link between the two worlds. The idea of the trolley came from Rogers. When he was young, many trolleys operated in Pittsburgh , and he liked riding on them. This reality/fantasy distinction put Rogers' series in sharp contrast with other children's series, such as Sesame Street and Captain Kangaroo , which freely mixed realistic and fantastic elements. Trolley

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6240-426: The Movers released the first single from their upcoming 11th studio album, BLUE SKIES . The quirky, interactive earworm, Ice Cream Sandwich , immediately found its way on a Spotify editorial playlist for new music for kids, and was quickly accompanied by an eclectic music video, directed by Mover Rich's daughter. On April 1, 2024, the Movers released their second single Road Trip . The Daily Advertiser hailed it

6360-631: The National Association of Parenting Publications (NAPPA) and Parents' Choice. Moreover, Kids Place Live put many of the Movers early catalog into heavy rotation, further increasing the bands national audience. In 2005, Disney took notice and initiated negotiations to add the Movers to the company's roster. The Movers rejected deals from Disney twice, insisting on staying the PBS route. Then, Hurricane Katrina interrupted all plans in August when

6480-463: The PBS syndicated feed, with series home WQED in particular continuing to air the series daily until 2010. There was a campaign in 2008 and 2009 to urge PBS and all member stations to bring the show back seven days a week. The premiere of the Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood spin-off in 2012 effectively ended most reruns of the show for several years, but, by 2017, some stations began to bring back

6600-486: The TV screen. Originally from Silver Spring, Maryland, Collins graduated from The Catholic University of America and relocated to New Orleans in the early 1990s to form a rock band, Dubly. The husband and father of five lost his home in 2005, during Hurricane Katrina . Before the Imagination Movers, Collins worked as a journalist . He also worked on his own music and released his second album, Golden Pick , in 2016, following

6720-590: The US Army, Durbin spent most of his early childhood as an army brat , residing in various places around the world including Washington, D.C., San Antonio , and Thailand , before his family moved to New Orleans when he was around seven years old. He studied abroad in both high school and college, living in Japan and Denmark . He has since moved because of Hurricane Katrina . He currently lives in Lafayette. Before

6840-568: The United States District Court, Western District of Louisiana ruled that "Because Salim showed that PBT was a nationally accepted standard of care for advanced head and neck cancer in 2018, BCBSLA abused its discretion in finding Salim's PBT treatment was not medically necessary." A Propublica investigation found that Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Louisiana used guidelines from an outside company called AIM Specialty Health to reject appeals for denial, and that this practice

6960-623: The United States to more than 115 million people as of 2022. It was formed in 1982 from the merger of its two namesake organizations: Blue Cross was founded in 1929 and became the Blue Cross Association in 1960, and Blue Shield emerged in 1939 and the Blue Shield Association was created in 1948. Its headquarters are at the Aon Center at 200 E. Randolph Street in Chicago , Illinois . BCBSA claims to control access to

7080-496: The United States. Coombs first appeared as Mr. Dressup in the CBC program Butternut Square , conceived and produced by Attridge. Coombs then helped to develop what became Mr. Dressup , which ran for nearly 30 years as an iconic presence on Canadian television, ending in 1996. In 1966, Rogers acquired the rights to his program from CBC and moved the show to WQED in Pittsburgh, where he had worked on The Children's Corner . He renamed

7200-470: The airing of a new batch of Monday-to-Friday episodes. Beginning in 1994, the production schedule was changed so that 10 new episodes a year were produced instead of 15. Shortly thereafter, as of August 11, 1995, the episodes from the "first series" (1968–76) were withdrawn from the repeat schedule, since there were over 200 "second series" episodes available for broadcast, and many of the first series episodes had become outdated. The show's final years varied

7320-525: The assets into a charitable foundation . When Blue Cross of California was converted, it initially had no distribution, but subsequently The California Endowment and California Health Care Foundation were endowed with $ 3.2 billion. Proceeds ranged from $ 3.2 billion (California) to $ 1.5 million (Nevada). An exceptional case occurred in the Empire Blue Cross conversion, where the proceeds went to fund wage increases for union workers. In 2022,

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7440-417: The association and traditionally of each other, offering insurance plans within defined regions under one or both of the association's brands. Blue Cross Blue Shield insurers offer some form of health insurance coverage in every U.S. state . They also act as administrators of Medicare in many states or regions of the U.S. The Blue Cross Blue Shield Federal Employee Program (FEP) is a nationwide option under

7560-476: The characters in it). He often discussed what was going to happen in Make-Believe before the next fantasy segment was shown ("Let's pretend that Prince Tuesday has been having scary dreams..."), and sometimes acted out bits of Make-Believe with models on a table before the camera transitioned to the live-action puppet rendition. The miniature motorized trolley , which was known in character form as "Trolley", with its accompanying fast-paced piano theme music, and which

7680-435: The closet, takes off his cardigan, hangs it up, and grabs his jacket to put back on. Before the closing credits, Rogers got ready to go out the door by reminding the viewers: "You always make each day a special day. You know how: By just your being you/yourself. There's only one person in the whole world that's like you, and that's you. And people can like you just/exactly the way you are. I'll be back next time. Bye-bye!". During

7800-472: The closing credits, which is complete with the show's logo and the episode number, the camera would perform a reversed version of the opening sequence's pan shot, while the "Neighborhood Trolley" crosses streets from right to left. Starting in 1979, episodes were grouped into week-long series, with each series focused on a particular topic; each opening includes that week's subject, in the form of "Mister Rogers Talks About [subject]". Rogers' monologues throughout

7920-486: The company was renamed The Fred Rogers Company after Rogers' death (it has since been renamed again to Fred Rogers Productions as of 2019). In May 1997, the series surpassed Captain Kangaroo as the longest-running children's television series, a record the series held until June 2003, when Sesame Street beat Mister Rogers' record. The series could be seen in reruns on most PBS stations until August 31, 2007, when it began to be removed by various PBS stations, and

8040-673: The couple has returned to the New Orleans area where they currently reside with their children. Smitty, a captain in the New Orleans Fire Department, was part of the Hurricane Katrina search-and-rescue effort. While he was the only Mover not to lose his home to the storm, his firehouse was destroyed. Guitarist for the Movers, Smith is the adventurous outdoorsman of the group; growing up in Southern Louisiana, he hunted and fished every weekend as

8160-490: The cover of Pollstar. The Imagination Movers are National Buddy Walk Partners with the National Down Syndrome Society. Mister Rogers%27 Neighborhood Mister Rogers' Neighborhood (sometimes shortened to Mister Rogers ) is an American half-hour educational children's television series that ran from 1968 to 2001. It was created and hosted by Fred Rogers . Its original incarnation,

8280-508: The dates selling out. The tour featured the Movers performing songs from their hit Disney Junior series and their chart-topping album Back In Blue , which debuted as the No. 1 Children's Album on iTunes in Canada. During the fall of 2014, 9 Story Entertainment announced that it had entered into a development deal with the award-winning musical act Imagination Movers. 9 Story teamed with the band on

8400-488: The editorial New in Alternative Music playlist on Apple Music. On March 1, 2024, the Imagination Movers performed their first-ever 18+ show at the legendary music venue Tipitina's in New Orleans, LA. During the set, the Movers performed many of their hits along with covers of popular songs from Beastie Boys , Five Seconds of Summer , The Killers , and Harry Styles , to name a few. At the beginning of 2024,

8520-505: The filming. Musicians who played in this ensemble were: Even after Costa's death in 1996, much of the music heard on the program continued to be Costa's, and his name continued to be listed in the show's closing credits as one of its Musical Directors. The first broadcast of Mister Rogers' Neighborhood was on the National Educational Television network on February 19, 1968; the color NET logo appeared on

8640-452: The final week of original episodes of the so-called "first series") featured Mister Rogers in his workshop, watching scenes of past episodes of his series, which he recorded on videocassettes and kept on the shelf in his workshop. On the Friday episode of that week (February 20, 1976), he reminded viewers that they, too, could watch many of those old episodes beginning the following week. During

8760-565: The first official Blue Shield plan was founded in California. In 1948, the symbol was informally adopted by nine plans called the Associated Medical Care Plan, and was later renamed the National Association of Blue Shield Plans. In the 1960s, the U.S. government chose to partner with Blue Cross and Blue Shield companies to administer Medicare . In 1982, Blue Shield merged with The Blue Cross Association to form

8880-426: The first season were last re-run on August 21, 1970, just before NET was replaced by PBS. As of 2013 , almost all of the 1979–2001 "second series" episodes are still in active rotation on a number of PBS stations. The only exception is the week-long "Conflict" series (episodes #1521–#1525), first aired during the week of November 7–11, 1983. The series/story arc covered the topics of war, bombs, and an arms race, and

9000-411: The first time, as it played the school bus . When in Mister Rogers' house, it simply had two pieces of yellow construction paper shaped and drawn like the profile of a school bus stuck to its sides, but in the Neighborhood of Make-Believe, it had a chassis on it that made it look like a school bus. The series featured "Picture Picture", a rear-projection motion picture and slide projector, whose screen

9120-458: The flood protection designed and built by the Army Corps of Engineers to protect New Orleans failed. The resulting floodwater claimed the band's office and the homes and jobs of Collins, Durbin, and Poche – but the deal was signed in the spring of 2006. A pilot episode was made in 2006, and music videos started populating The Disney Channel. Soon after, in 2008, Walt Disney Records introduced

9240-448: The formation of the Movers, Durbin received his undergraduate degree in religious studies from Centenary College of Louisiana and his graduate teaching certification from the University of New Orleans . He taught for a total of ten years, which inspired him to form the Imagination Movers. The first six years were at Norco Elementary 4–6 in the St. Charles Parish Public School system where he

9360-470: The group of 34 companies that make up the BCBS Association settled an antitrust investigation by allowing competition among member companies under non-Blue names while retaining regional exclusivity for regional licenses. In 2018 Robert Salim was diagnosed with stage 4 throat cancer, however the proton therapy ordered by his doctor was denied by Blue Cross Blue Shield. Salim sued. In July 2022

9480-460: The hiatus period, two primetime episodes were produced and aired as specials: a Christmas show in December 1977 and a "springtime"-themed show. In 1978, production of the series resumed, with an eye towards "freshening up" the show by producing 15 new episodes per year. These "second series" episodes, which began airing in August 1979, would be mixed in with the already-airing cycle of repeats from

9600-405: The hospital for defamation. Blue Cross Blue Shield of Nebraska was founded in 1939. On July 1, 2018, BCBS Nebraska formed GoodLife Partners Inc., a mutual holding company, to conduct its noninsurance businesses. The company retained the Blue Cross brand, converting from mutual ownership to a stock company wholly owned by GoodLife. Excellus BlueCross BlueShield ( Excellus BCBS , or Excellus )

9720-417: The house. After the camera goes from the neighborhood to inside the Rogers' television house, Fred Rogers is seen coming home with his jacket on, singing "Won't You Be My Neighbor?". He goes into the closet, takes off his jacket, hangs it up, and grabs a cardigan zipper sweater to put on. After that, he takes his dress shoes off and grabs a pair of blue sneakers to put on. One of Rogers' sweaters now hangs in

9840-479: The new show rather than only appearing through puppets or characters. Fred Rainsberry, head of Children's Programming at CBC, persuaded Rogers to appear on camera in the new show (which he named after Rogers) after seeing him interact with children. Ernie Coombs , one of the Americans whom Rogers brought with him to help develop the CBC show, would remain with CBC, on Rogers' recommendation, after Rogers returned to

9960-411: The number of episodes produced per season: season 26 (1995–96) consisted of 20 episodes, season 27 (1997) produced 10 episodes, seasons 28 and 29 (1998–99) both contained 15 episodes, and season 30 (2000) reverted to 10 episodes. The final season, season 31 (2001), consisted of only 5 episodes, centering on the theme "Celebrate The Arts". A few episodes from the "first series" are available for viewing in

10080-634: The original TV concept, such as an on-stage "idea emergency" and several sets from their older catalog. The tour promoted the Imagination Movers' new album/DVD release, Rock-O-Matic , which featured all new music from the band. During the ROM tour, the Movers fired and sued their manager for promoting the interests of a rival group. In the summer of 2013, Imagination Movers released a digital-only release, marking their fourth album on Disney records, entitled Back in Blue . The album consists of 26 songs, covering most of

10200-561: The other Movers to create a live-action TV show that was a combination of shows like Mister Rogers' Neighborhood , Captain Kangaroo , and The Monkees , with the music they enjoyed, like Beastie Boys , The Police , and U2 . Early days saw the four Movers working every night after their children's bedtime, from 9 p.m. to midnight, writing songs, developing plot lines, and fine tuning the concept, including creating Knit Knots, Carla (who became Nina), Warehouse Mouse, as all as developing their gadgets. Created by four friends in New Orleans,

10320-615: The parent company of BCBS in Texas, Oklahoma, New Mexico, Montana and Illinois, nearly doubled its income to $ 1.09 billion in 2010, and began four years of billion-dollar profits. In the final spending bill for FY 2015 after much lobbying since 2010, nonprofit Blue Cross and Blue Shield plans continue to have special tax breaks that were understood to be threatened by the Affordable Care Act of 2010. Blue Cross and Blue Shield insurance companies are licensees , independent of

10440-524: The perfect family road trip song. Summer Campers marked the third single release, bowing on May 10, 2024. A month later, the Movers celebrated their unofficial birthday, June 18, by dropping their 11th album BLUE SKIES to critical praise. Collins, a multi-instrumentalist, works the controls in the recording studio. He is the Imagination Movers' drummer on the TV show but plays guitar, bass, and occasionally drums in concert. His drum sticks double as "Scribble Sticks", which he uses to draw words and pictures on

10560-488: The post-Katrina rebuild efforts. As 'Imagination Mover Dave,' Poche is the Movers' "jack-of-all-trades," using his red gadget hat as a storage device for a variety of objects, many of which he uses to make his cool gizmos and contraptions. Poche is also responsible for creating the concept of the Warehouse Mouse puppet, a mainstay in the series. An active father, he has taken time from his busy schedule to serve as

10680-487: The program only once a week over the weekend. Milwaukee PBS , for example, still carries the show once a week, on Sunday, over its primary HD/SD channel. Beginning on September 1, 2008, Mister Rogers was replaced by new programming such as Martha Speaks , Sid the Science Kid , and an update of The Electric Company . However, individual member stations have the option of airing Mister Rogers independently of

10800-554: The puppets, characters and music used in the later series were developed, such as King Friday XIII , Daniel Tiger, and X the Owl. It was also the time when Rogers began wearing his famous sneakers , as he found them to be quieter than his work shoes while he was moving about behind the set. The show was briefly broadcast nationally on the NBC Television Network. Rogers moved to Toronto , Ontario , in 1961 to work on

10920-455: The release of his solo debut, That Escalated Quickly , in 2013. The initial inspiration for Imagination Movers came from Durbin in 2002, who wanted to create a local live action kids show that presented strong male role models for children. Durbin was inspired by the likes of Captain Kangaroo and Fred Rogers as well as the musical stylings of The Police and De La Soul . The son of a second-generation Methodist minister and chaplain in

11040-518: The release, including Happy and Robot Breaks Down , which can be viewed on the Movers YouTube channel. The 76 episodes of the “Imagination Movers” TV show, which initially aired on Disney Junior from 2008 to 2013, were made available again on Disney+ . In 2022, the Mover song Watermelon Meow Meow became a viral hit, averaging over 1 million monthly streams on Spotify alone. In appreciation,

11160-444: The same time, the show had a slight title change, to the more-familiar Mister Rogers' Neighborhood . The show was broadcast from February 19, 1968 to February 20, 1976, and again from August 27, 1979 to August 31, 2001. The final episode was recorded on December 1, 2000. The studio at WQED in Pittsburgh in which the series was recorded was later renamed "The Fred Rogers Studio". During each half-hour segment, Rogers spoke directly to

11280-594: The same way in both Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood and the Neighborhood of Make-Believe. The "Neighborhood of Make-Believe" is the fictional kingdom visited by Mr. Rogers during the show. Characters in the Neighborhood of Make-Believe were portrayed by both hand puppets and actors. Fred Rogers was the puppeteer for a great number of the characters: Other characters and their performers or puppeteers: In addition to Bob Trow , other regular puppeteers included Michael Horton , Lenny Meledandri (1980–2001), and Carole Switala. Michael Keaton made his first television appearance as

11400-410: The series Misterogers debuted in Canada on October 15, 1962, on CBC Television . In 1966, Rogers moved back to the United States creating Misterogers' Neighborhood (sometimes shown as MisteRogers' Neighborhood ), later called Mister Rogers' Neighborhood , on the regional Eastern Educational Television Network (EETN, a forerunner of today's American Public Television ). The U.S. national debut of

11520-413: The set of The Incredible Hulk , which aired on CBS from 1978 to 1982. At the start of each episode, the show's logo appears as the camera pans slowly over a model of the neighborhood, as the camera goes from the neighborhood to inside the Rogers' television house. From 1979 to 1981, an alternate version of the opening sequence was used. Beginning in the early 1980s, the neighborhood model incorporated

11640-469: The show Misterogers' Neighborhood , which initially aired regionally in the northeastern United States through EEN, including educational stations in Boston , Washington, D.C. , and New York City . The 100 episodes of the half-hour show incorporated the " Neighborhood of Make-Believe " segments from the CBC episodes with additional reality-based opening and closing material produced in Pittsburgh. The series

11760-464: The show occurred on February 19, 1968. It aired on NET and its successor, PBS , until August 31, 2001. The series is aimed primarily at preschool children ages 2 to 5, but it was labeled by PBS as "appropriate for all ages". Mister Rogers' Neighborhood was produced by Pittsburgh , Pennsylvania public broadcaster WQED and Rogers' non-profit production company Family Communications, Inc., previously known as Small World Enterprises prior to 1971;

11880-459: The show produced 65 new color episodes each year. By the end of season 8, this meant there was a library of 455 color episodes that could be repeated indefinitely. Rogers and the rest of the show's cast and crew began suffering burnout from taping 65 episodes a year and, in 1975, Rogers made the decision to take a break from the series for a few years. As a consequence, season 9 (1976) consisted of only five episodes. These five new episodes (which aired

12000-435: The show. Despite creating the show, the Movers were forced to settle for a placard stating the show was based on the music and format of the Imagination Movers. Moreover, the show was incorrectly labeled a variety show by the channel, thereby cheating the Movers out of a created by credit and considerably underpaying them for their creative IP. The Movers wrote and performed all the songs heard on their eponymous show. Moreover,

12120-457: The so-called "first series" (i.e., the color episodes of seasons 2–9, aired from 1969 to 1976). The series aired 15 new episodes annually between 1979 and 1993. As well, there were occasional "Mister Rogers Talks with Parents About..." specials, which featured panelists discussing ways in which parents could talk to their children about the issues discussed on Mister Rogers' Neighborhood . These specials usually were aired on weekends, just prior to

12240-435: The song "Tomorrow", which was written by Rogers' former colleague, Josie Carey . Starting with Season 4 in 1971, "Tomorrow" was used only on Monday through Thursday episodes, and a new closing song, which is titled as "The Weekend Song", was used only on Friday episodes as the program would not return until Monday. Eventually, the "Tomorrow" song was removed entirely due to copyright issues, and by 1973, Rogers sang "It's Such

12360-906: The songs written for season three of the TV series and any other unreleased material penned by the Movers for the television show. Fall 2013, the Imagination Movers teamed with Blue Cross Blue Shield Association to present the Think Big Tour, an educational 60-minute concert traveling throughout the state of Louisiana. In May 2014, Disney Junior Canada presented the Imagination Movers Live in Concert Tour with special guest Warehouse Mouse. The tour covered seventeen Canadian cities, starting September 13 in Victoria, BC, and ending in Glace Bay, NS, on October 2, with most of

12480-587: The state. Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas (BCBSKS) was founded in 1942 by Sam Bartham, later becoming an independent licensee of the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association. Blue Cross Blue Shield of Louisiana is a tax-paying non-profit that was founded in 1934 in New Orleans . An independent licensee of the BCBSA, it is a privately held mutual company without shareholders, which is wholly owned by its policyholders. Blue Cross Blue Shield of Minnesota (BCBSMN)

12600-405: The topic of anger regularly and focused on peaceful ways of dealing with angry feelings. Beginning in the third season, Mister Rogers always made a clear distinction between the realistic world of his television neighborhood and the fantasy world of Make-Believe (prior to that, the line was blurred somewhat as he would often talk about it as if it were real and he had a direct line of contact with

12720-492: The tour led the Movers to grace the cover of Pollstar , a professional trade publication for the concert and live music industry. Beginning in early February 2011 and wrapping up in late May 2011, the Imagination Movers presented their In a Big Warehouse Concert Tour , playing more than 100 shows in 50+ cities across North America. From March to October 2012, the Imagination Movers toured North America on their post-Disney Rock-O-Matic tour. The show maintained several elements of

12840-444: The viewer about various topics, taking the viewer on tours of factories, demonstrating experiments, crafts, and music, and interacting with his friends. Rogers also made a point simply to behave naturally on camera rather than acting out a character, stating that "One of the greatest gifts you can give anybody is the gift of your honest self. I also believe that kids can spot a phony a mile away." The half-hour episodes were punctuated by

12960-469: The week explore various facets of the topic, and the ongoing story from the Neighborhood of Make-Believe serves as illustration. Rogers covered a broad range of topics over the years, and the series did not shy away from issues that other children's programming avoided. In fact, Rogers endeared himself to many when, on March 23, 1970, he dealt with the death of one of his pet goldfish. The series also dealt with competition, divorce, and war. Rogers returned to

13080-467: Was a character in its own right. Often, when it crossed into the Neighborhood of Make Believe, it would stop and have a "conversation" with King Friday XIII (by moving back and forth slightly and making bell noises to respond to Friday), then continue on. Trolley also truly showed the difference between the worlds during the week when the three youngest puppet characters (Daniel Striped Tiger, Prince Tuesday, and Ana Platypus) prepared for and went to school for

13200-660: Was awarded Teacher of the Year from his school. Later, he joined the faculty at Isidore Newman School in Orleans Parish and again received recognition, receiving the New Teacher of the Year award his first year there. He is married and has two children. In the Idea Warehouse, Durbin, who plays the mandolin , keyboards , and melodica on the show, also wears "Wobble Goggles," which allow him to see things from

13320-522: Was cancelled in 1967 due to lack of funding, but an outpouring of public response prompted a search for new funding. In 1967, The Sears Roebuck Foundation provided funding for the program, which enabled it to be seen nationwide on National Educational Television ; taping began on September 21, 1967 for the first national season. The first national broadcast of Misterogers' Neighborhood appeared on most NET stations on February 19, 1968. In 1970, when PBS replaced NET, it also inherited this program. Around

13440-498: Was created in response to the Invasion of Grenada , and the 1983 Beirut barracks bombings . The "Conflict" series was last aired on PBS during the week of April 1–5, 1996. Blue Cross Blue Shield Association Blue Cross Blue Shield Association , also known as BCBS , BCBSA , or The Blues , is a United States –based federation with 33 independent and locally-operated BCBSA companies that provide health insurance in

13560-416: Was encased with a picture frame. In early episodes, Picture Picture would show various films or slides at Mister Rogers' command; after the material was presented, Mister Rogers would thank Picture Picture, to which it would return a "You're Welcome" on its screen. After 1970, Picture Picture no longer operated magically, becoming merely a projector; Mister Rogers would insert a film, slides or videotape through

13680-404: Was founded in 1933, with 3,500 employees reported in 2022. Blue Cross Blue Shield of Mississippi (BCBSMS) was formed as a privately held company in 1954. In 1948, it was converted to a non-profit. In 1973, its name was changed from Mississippi Hospital and Medical Service to Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Mississippi, Inc., which, in 1996, was converted from a non-profit membership corporation to

13800-457: Was in production. The show debuted on most PBS stations on September 3, 2012. The series features Daniel Tiger, the four-year-old son of Daniel Striped Tiger , as a host of the series, which also features characters of the Neighborhood of Make-Believe all grown older, with the children now having families of their own. A second spin-off titled Donkey Hodie , focusing on the titular character, aired on PBS May 3, 2021. The puppet series features

13920-406: Was only used on Monday through Thursday episodes. On Friday episodes, the lyric was changed to "week" instead of "day". On early episodes of this season, the line was originally written as "When tomorrow is new". Musical directors for the series include: In addition to arranging and directing the music heard on Mister Rogers' Neighborhood , Costa, along with other musicians, performed almost all

14040-415: Was operated by Rogers with his left hand, working buttons and controls hidden on the side of the bench on which Rogers usually would sit, was the only element that appeared regularly in both the realistic world and Make-Believe: it was used to transport viewers from one realm to the other. Rogers, however, was mentioned from time to time in Make-Believe, particularly by Mr. McFeely, who appeared occasionally in

14160-455: Was succeeded by Michael Moricz for the remainder of the series. The music was unique in its simplicity and flow that blended with the series' sketches and features. The music was usually played live during taping. Lyrics and melodies were written and sung by Rogers, who created more than 200 original songs. Characters on the series include: Only Mr. McFeely, Mrs. McFeely, Officer Clemmons, Scientist Adler, and Chef Brockett appeared substantially

14280-808: Was the target of a cyberattack in 2015, in which 10.5 million records were hacked, and cost the company 17.5 million dollars. The company's Blue Cross Blue Shield subsidiaries have been known as: By September 2010, BCBS licensee Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina announced that it would refund $ 156 million to their policyholders following documented charges: they had been sued and fined for denying due medical treatments to their customers and for underpaying doctors. As of 2019 they were overseeing well over half of all payments for medical services in their state. BCBSNC invests in chronic and underlying condition research, telehealth and artificial intelligence (AI) for digital healthcare . In 2019, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina agreed to enter into

14400-529: Was then permanently removed from the daily syndicated schedule by PBS after August 29, 2008. Eleven years after Mister Rogers' Neighborhood concluded, PBS debuted an animated spin-off, Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood . A 50th-anniversary tribute and a PBS pledge-drive show, hosted by actor Michael Keaton (who got his start on the show), titled Mister Rogers: It's You I Like , premiered on PBS stations nationwide on March 6, 2018. In December 2023, Variety ranked Mister Rogers' Neighborhood #89 on its list of

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