Tom Hanks channels Mister Rogers, thanks 'helpers' from coronavirus quarantine
The actor and his wife, Rita Wilson, remain in isolation in Australia after being diagnosed with COVID-19.
- Co-author of two Gen X pop-culture encyclopedia for Penguin Books. Won "Headline Writer of the Year" award for 2017, 2014 and 2013 from the American Copy Editors Society. Won first place in headline writing from the 2013 Society for Features Journalism.
Tom Hanks as Mr. Rogers.
Tom Hanks played Mister Rogers in the 2019 film A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood, and a famous quote from the late children's show host apparently has stayed with the actor. Hanks and his wife, Rita Wilson, were diagnosed last week with COVID-19, the illness caused by the novel coronavirus, and are currently in isolation in Australia. On Sunday, Hanks posted a variation on Fred Rogers' famed quote about looking for the good in troubled times.
"Thanks to the helpers," Hanks wrote on Instagram, along with a photo of iconic Australian items -- a stuffed kangaroo and a tube of Vegemite spread. "Let's take care of ourselves and each other."
Fred Rogers famously said in an interview that his mother would tell him to "always look for the helpers" when a catastrophe occurred. "There will always be helpers," he said, citing medical workers and others who come in to a troubled situation. "Because if you look for the helpers, you'll know there's hope."
Hanks' photo featured a stuffed kangaroo holding an Australian flag and a clip-on koala toy holding on to a tube of Vegemite, perched behind toast covered with that Aussie food spread. It has been liked more than a million times in just 16 hours.
In an earlier Instagram caption, Hanks said he and Wilson are remaining in isolation so they don't spread the illness to those for whom it could be more dangerous. "We are taking it one day at a time," he wrote.
