>> announcer: this is night line. >> tonight >> ♪ it's a beautiful day in this neighborhood, a beautiful day for a neighbor ♪ ♪ >> neighborhood hero, mr. rogers still touching hearts. young. >> i like it. >> and old. but who was he when the cameras were off? a new look at an old friend. his legacy, his lessons, and those who knew him best. >> you were married to mr. rogers. >> that's right. >> on how he'd respond to today's incivility. plus, a night line holiday tradition. whoopie goldberg's twist. >> not a creature was stirring, not even mickey mouse.

>> on a christmas. and simon the snowman, the man who suddenly stumbled onto global recognition when he invented an outdoor art form. his inspiring story and what's next for the world's best and only snow artist. but first, the night line 5. >> this winter, a hero will fight. fight.

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good evening. thanks for joining us. we begin with the new images of the devastation of the volcano triggered tsunami in indonesia. drone footage showing the scale of the destruction, it took just 24 minutes for the tsunami to make landfall after the volcano erupted. and on the ground, the moment of impact during a concert when the powerful wave slammed into the band and the crowd. the death toll is at more than 370, and continues to rise. while officials warn of a second possible tsunami, we will have more on this story as it develops. and now we revisit the man who taught kindness, curiosity, and civility to an entire generation. mr. rogers was a pillar of comfort and clarity in uncertain times, and now, over a decade after his death, america might need him more than ever.

tonight we introduce him to children who have never heard his inviting catch phrase "won't you be my neighbor." here's abc's john. >> reporter: there is a generation of young adults and children who just never knew like these 4 and 5-year-olds, who, when i asked, do you know who this is? just gave back a long silence before they started guessing. >> is he a library man? >> no. >> is he barack obama? >> no, he's not barack obama, no. because they never got the chance to know what you have to be at least 20 or 21 to know. >> that's mr. rogers. >> he was lots of fun to watch. i wish i could be princess and live in the castle and have the king and queen. oh, yeah, i love that. >> reporter: can you identify this man? >> yes. >> happily. >> reporter: what's this -- >> my heart. >> reporter: your heart? >> that's my heart right there. >> reporter: really? >> yeah, i love him.

♪ it's a beautiful day in this neighborhood -- >> reporter: you think of the song he made famous, the innocence owed to getting along with each other. you consider how that song would fail today for the present moment. >> you're speaking spanish. speak english. >> do something about your dad's immigration practices, you feckless -- >> reporter: we demonize each other. people calling each other names and the incivility among our leaders. >> get that [ bleep ] off the field right now, out. he's fired. >> reporter: or does it? could it, in fact, be that we need mr. rogers now more than ever? ♪ please, won't you be my neighbor ♪ ♪ >> reporter: as it happens, fred rogers is a man i got to know some myself when i profiled him for "nightline" in 2001. that was the year he hung up his sweater. fred was a superstar by then. >> when i was a little girl,

there were many confusing messages about white and black and who belonged where. but we knew we belonged with you. >> thank you so much. >> reporter: that happened everywhere he went. fred rogers made connections with millions of people that lasted a lifetime. and i remember asking him about that. to watch so many people walk up to you and all of them saying two words, thank you. over and over, it was thank you. what are they all thanking you for? >> you know, i think that people long to be in touch with honesty. we're not going to fudge stuff. we're going to tell them the truth. and we're not going to dance around and say how happy things are when they're not. and i have a feeling that that's part of the thank you. >> reporter: the neighborhood did not try to dazzle or distract little kids. it was there to help them understand the world they were growing up into, with straight talk on sometimes difficult topics that took their feelings

seriously. >> did you ever know any grown ups who got married and then later they got a divorce? >> reporter: most famously, 50 years ago, immediately following the assassination of robert kennedy, mr. rogers found a way to help kids put that in perspective. >> what does assassination mean? >> have you heard that word a lot today? >> yes. >> reporter: then after september 11th, mr. rogers came out of television retirement again to comfort. >> i know how tough it is some days to look with hope and confidence on the months and years ahead. >> hi, officer clemens, come in. >> reporter: fred rogers was a subtle revolutionary. he introduced francois when african americans had little visibility, playing a police officer. >> i had no desire to be a

police officer. it was the last thing on my mind. but fred was a very persuasive person. >> reporter: and he had them cool their feet down together. clemens toelgd me that rogers, who was also an ore ordained presbyterian jesus this was in the bible, jesus was washing his feet. >> he knew what he was doing. >> reporter: on the day i spent with fred in 2001, he may have already been sick with the stomach cancer that two years later would take his life. and the surprising thing after that was how quickly his legacy was shunted off to be part of yesterday, the set of the neighborhood became literally a museum piece. mr. rogers' place in our consciousness had lost its relevance. or maybe not. >> oh, god. >> reporter: only last year following a terrorist attack at an ariana grande concert in manchester, england, he began

bouncing around social media. one where he talks about the advice his mom gave him. >> she would say, always look for the helpers. there will always be helpers. >> reporter: advice from a man who could make a frightening world seem less frightening, something some of us really seem to be missing right now. >> i think we could all use mr. rogers now for sure. >> reporter: if he could show up again today, would that be a good thing? >> yes. >> reporter: well, in a way he is. tom hanks will be playing mr. rogers in a movie. >> i like you. >> and i like you, my dear. >> reporter: and then there is that documentary. >> that little bit that he put into each of us, that little lesson, that little sense of propriety, or neighborliness that he put into us. that's the thing that i think is kind of immeasurable. >> is it alive in the land given how polarized we are? >> that's why i made this film. i want to know. let's have a discussion. what kind of neighbors are we? with r are we living up to what fred rogers wanted us to do? >> reporter: the film also

includes interviews with someone who spent a lot of years with mr. rogers. 50 years you were married to mr. rogers, which makes you mrs. rogers. >> that's right, that's right. i'm joanne. >> reporter: joanne, who told me she also thinks the times we're in could use her husband again, who happened to be a lifelong republican. >> here we have somebody leading us right now who is not a forgiver. his values are very, very different from fred's values. almost completely opposite. >> reporter: you can imagine fred rogers actually coming out and speaking up about that? a person whose name we are not naming? >> i think he might have to. >> reporter: really? so that would be political. >> that would be political, yes. >> reporter: which is something he tried to avoid. >> yes, yes. >> reporter: but fred was cautious about the fact that one of the characters on the show, officer clemens again, was in real life gay. and fred wanted that kept quiet. >> there was a part of me that was heartbroken. i'm also a realist. there are lots of places where i could not be openly gay.

>> reporter: so fred, in a way, was a revolution air i and in a way he was not a revolutionary. >> that's right. he always was thinking of that audience of adults who were going to take away his children. >> reporter: turnoff the television. >> yes. >> reporter: do you think fred would give francois that same advice? >> probably not, not now. >> reporter: so how about those kids who never heard of mr. rogers, who grew up knowing mostly entertainment that is action packed, ever changing, and fast moving? well, here was a advise toyota a farm with fred rogers, 13 slow-moving minutes, and the kids were, well, they were entranced. >> the machine moves so fast. >> it was nice seeing you, fred. >> reporter: who liked it ? >> i like it. >> i like it. >> i like it. >> reporter: and what did they see in fred rogers? >> he seemed like he's nice and he helps a lot. >> reporter: so, there it is. fred rogers still making connections that who knows could

last a lifetime. >> i would watch it every day and i'll watch it after that day. >> i'll watch it until i get old. >> reporter: for "nightline," i'm john donovan in new york. >> up next, shaking up a christmas classic with whoopi goldberg. >> there arose such a clatter. i sprang from the bed to see what was the matter. away to the window i flew like a flash to open the shutters and threw up the sash. up the sash. edicines with trele. the only fda-approved 3-in-1 copd treatment. ♪ trelegy. the power of 1-2-3 ♪ trelegy 1-2-3 trelegy with trelegy and the power of 1-2-3, i'm breathing better. trelegy works 3 ways to... ...open airways,... ...keep them open... ...and reduce inflammation... ...for 24 hours of better breathing. trelegy won't replace a rescue inhaler for sudden breathing problems. trelegy is not for asthma. tell your doctor if you have a heart condition or high blood pressure before taking it.

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♪ ♪ connecting people... ...uniting the world. ♪ united. official airline of the golden state warriors. and now a "nightline" tradition. the night before christmas as told by whoopi goldberg.

♪ ♪ >> hey, it's me, whoopi. every year i reed the night before christmas. and since it's "nightline" and you're watching, sit back, relax, it goes quick. twaz the night before christmas when all through the house, not a creature was stirring, not even mickey mouse. the socks were hung by the chimney with care, in hopes that saint nicolas, also santa claus, soon would be there. now, the kids were all nestled all snug in their beds, with visions of sugar plums dancing in their heads. and mama in her kerr chif and i in my cap had settled our brains for a long winter's nap, when out on the lawn there arose such a clatter, i sprang from the bed to see what was the matter! away to the window i flew like a flash to open the shutters and threw up the sash! the moon on the breast of the

new fallen snow gave the luster of midday to objects below. it means it was sobriety you could see stuff. when what to my wondering eyes should appear, but a miniature sleigh, and eight tiny little reindeer with a little driver so lively and quick. i knew in a minute it had to be saint nick. that's right, saint nick. more rapid than eagles, his courses they came. he whistled and shouted and called them by name. now dasher now dancer now prancer and vixon on comet on cupid on donner and blixen. to the top of the porch, to the top of the wall, dash away, dash away, i said dash away, wall. he's very pushy. up to the house tops, the courses they flew, with the sleigh full of toys and saint nicolas, too. then in a twinkling, i heard on the roof the prancing and pawing

of each little hoof. i drew in my head and was turning around. down the chimney saint nicolas came with a bound. now, let's think about that for a second. do you think he asked? hey, make sure the fire is out if you happen to have a chimney. i think he does. i think that he e-mails us and says turn all the chimneys down, cool it all down so i can come down there. these are things i think about when i reed this. he was dressed all in faux fur from his head to his foot and his clothes were all tarnished with ashes and soot and a bundle of toys he flung on his back. he looked like a peddler. his cheeks were like roses, his nose like a cherry. his drawn little mouth was drawn up like a bow, and his beard of his chin was as white as snow. and the stump of a pipe held

tight in his teeth, and the smoke encircled his head like a wreath. well, this is of a certain time where, you know, guys had pipes and stuff. so it's okay. santa does not smoke. i'm just saying. it's all good. in in a broad dpas and a round little belly that shook when he laughed like a bowl full of jelly. he was chubb i and plump -- no, he was plus size and a jolly old elf. and i laughed when i saw him in spite of myself. and a wink of his eye and a twist of his head, soon gave me to know i had nothing to dread. he spoke not a word. he went straight to his work. filled all the stockings, except for the one for the jerk. and he laid his finger aside his nose and gave an -- up the chimney he rose. he gave a whistle and away they flew like the don of a thistle. but i heard him exclaim as he drove out of sight, yo, whoopi, merry christmas.

to everybody else, good night. merry christmas, y'all. ♪ ♪ >> our thanks to our friend whoopi. up next, the stunning snow art, the intricate patterns made in an unusual way. ♪ whoa! the mercedes-benz winter event is back, and you won't want to stop for anything else. lease the gla 250 for $359 a month at your local mercedes-benz dealer. mercedes-benz. the best or nothing.

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simon beck was a map maker who hated his job until one day he literally stumbled into a new art form. it's called snow art, where he creates elaborate geometric patterns using his own 2 feet. now his works are featured in national parks and stadiums. another look at how he makes his magic. here's abc's gloria rivera. >> reporter: in the beginning his canvas is as pure as driven snow. it will take him ten painstaking hours placing 1 foot in front of the other 45,000 times.

to bring what only exists in his mind to life, this is simon beck, dubbed the world's first snow artist. >> what we're doing, it looks good. it hasn't been done before. that's the holy grail, isn't it? >> reporter: snow art, transfixing murals in nature's powder that will become a sensation. simon beck's work sought after around the globe. >> it started a bit of a joke. i decided to make a drawing on this area of level snow. >> reporter: over time beck's snow shoes taking him on an artistic trek around the world. from the national park to summit powder mountain in utah, and here to minneapolis, minnesota. >> overall i think it's pretty good. we should get a reasonable result today. >> reporter: he always wanted to fill a stadium, and this is his first, target field. >> i think it's an engineer's drawing cut down to the grass area. gives an idea of the scale of

the drawing. we go out here, a straight line. that red cone there. >> reporter: he secure iz his snow shoes, for beck his painter's brush, and begins. >> i'm going to go around clockwise. i've got to step over and tie a loop in it. >> reporter: the work can take hours, even days. this installation will take roughly ten hours to complete. and 45,000 steps later, the vision in simon beck's mind has come to life. when you realize, wow, i'm the only person doing this. a lot of people are interested in having a piece of it. what is that like you to? >> the first time i felt i was a

more valuable member of society. >> reporter: so that's what this is about in large part? >> it's all i do. >> reporter: for "nightline," i'm gloria riviera in minneapolis. >> thanks for watching "nightline." and you know, as they do every year, norad is tracking that guy right behind me. merry christmas, everybody. have a good night. announcer: from the seventh-day adventist church on the campus of oakwood university in huntsville, alabama, welcome to "king of kings" from breath of life ministries,

featuring dr. carlton p. byrd, grammy award-winning artist kirk franklin, musician and artist sheléa frazier, actress becky gray, and the internationally renowned oakwood university aeolians concert choir under the direction of jason ferdinand. [ "hallelujah" plays ] ♪ ♪ hallelujah ♪ hallelujah ♪ hallelujah, hallelujah ♪ hallelujah ♪ hallelujah ♪ hallelujah ♪ hallelujah, hallelujah ♪ hallelujah ♪ for the lord god omnipotent reigneth ♪ ♪ hallelujah, hallelujah ♪ hallelujah, hallelujah ♪ for the lord god omnipotent reigneth ♪ ♪ hallelujah, hallelujah