Joe Negri obit

Joe Negri, jazz guitar virtuoso and Mr. Rogers’ ‘Handyman,’ dies at nearly 100

‘Joe Negri radiates life as an art form’ 

He was on the list.

Joe Negri, one of America’s best jazz guitarists and a key part of “Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood,” died Saturday, just days short of turning 100.

Lisa Negri, his oldest daughter, said that her father died of natural causes. He and his family, along with many in Pittsburgh’s music world, were preparing to celebrate his legacy for his 100th birthday, June 10.

Negri, a Pittsburgh native, was a musician from childhood. He began to play guitar at age 8 and was touring nationally with swing bands by 16. Except for a brief stint in New York City, Negri spent his life in Pittsburgh, as a musician, educator and TV performer.

On “Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood,” he was Handyman Negri, the fix-it man in the Land of Make-Believe, as well as proprietor of Negri’s Music Shop, where he’d perform and showcase music. Negri was on the show for its entire three-decade run.

As an adjunct professor at the University of Pittsburgh and Duquesne University for decades, Negri instructed generations of musicians in the art of jazz guitar. At Duquesne, he founded the jazz guitar program and taught there until 2022. He retired from Pitt in 2019, after nearly 50 years of teaching.

“Joe Negri radiates life as an art form,” said Pitt professor of music Deane Root, then chair of the department. “He crosses generations and he brings out the best in the musicians he plays with.”

A 2016 TribLive article previewed a performance of “Mass of Hope: The Mass in the Jazz Idiom,” a composition by Negri. “My love and my passion for music continues to dominate my daily life,” he said.

As a performer, he played widely, from the Manchester Craftsmen’s Guild and Pittsburgh Symphony to jazz clubs large and small.

In 2019, Negri received a Lifetime Achievement in the Arts award from the state of Pennsylvania, part of the Governor’s Awards for the Arts.

He appeared as himself and as "Handyman Negri" in the Neighborhood of Make-Believe segments on Mister Rogers' Neighborhood. He appeared on the 1959 children's television program Adventure Time with Paul Shannon and with Johnny Costa on the 1954 TV series 67 Melody Lane hosted by Ken Griffin.

Negri taught jazz guitar for 49 years at the University of Pittsburgh, where jazz guitar was first offered as a discipline in higher education. He taught for 46 years at Duquesne University, as well as at Carnegie Mellon University.

At the age of three, Negri began performing on radio, playing the ukulele and singing. He joined the local musicians' union and began playing professional engagements. In the 1940s, he toured nationally and was a member of the Shep Fields and His Rippling Rhythm Orchestra from 1943 until 1944, when he served in the U.S. Army for two years.

After returning home, he performed in Pittsburgh with his brother, pianist Bobby Negri. In the 1950s, he enrolled at Carnegie Mellon University, concentrated on music composition, spent the majority of his time playing locally around the Pittsburgh area and often worked with pianist Johnny Costa on KDKA television. His trio, with accordionlist Dom Trimarkie and bassist Lou Mauro, were the regular band on the live KDKA variety show Buzz and Bill, hosted by the team of Buzz Aston and Bill Hinds. Around 1960, WTAE, Pittsburgh's ABC television outlet, hired him as its music director, assuming the role for over 20 years. Negri played on various live programs and composed theme music. He met Fred Rogers at WTAE, when Rogers hosted a short-lived children's show. In 1968, Negri began appearing as Handyman Negri on the children's program Mister Rogers' Neighborhood until Rogers ceased production of new episodes in 2000. Though many assume Negri was part of the musical ensemble on the show, in fact he only occasionally joined the show's band on special occasions. Most of his work on the program involved his Handyman Negri character or portraying himself as owner of "Negri's Music Shop" when Rogers presented musical guests.

Negri taught guitar and later helped Duquesne University establish a jazz guitar program. Over the years he taught many students including Ralph Patt, the inventor of major-thirds tuning. Negri and Patt recorded together in 1989.

In 2010 he recorded the album Fly Me to the Moon with Michael Feinstein and performed with him during the following year at the Newport Jazz Festival. Negri was the subject of a profile in the September 2010 issue of Vintage Guitar magazine written by Rich Kienzle.

Joe Negri died on May 30, 2026, at the age of 99, 11 days before his 100th birthday.

 

Discography

As leader

Guitar, With Love (True Image Recordings, 1960)

Afternoon in Rio (MCG Jazz, 1998)

Guitars for Christmas (MCG Jazz, 2003)

Uptown Elegance (MCG Jazz, 2004) with Buddy DeFranco

Dream Dancing (Noteworthy Jazz, 2010)

As sideman

Michael Feinstein, Fly Me to the Moon (DuckHole, 2010)

Other works

A Common Sense Approach to Improvisation for Guitar (Mel Bay, 2002)

 

Actor

Lenny Meledandri and Fred Rogers in Mister Rogers' Neighborhood (1968)

Mister Rogers' Neighborhood

8.8

TV Series

Handyman NegriJoe NegriFather Elephant ...

1968–2001

331 episodes

 

Kismet (1967)

Kismet

7.6

TV Movie

Courtier (uncredited)

1967

 

Fred Rogers in MisteRogers (1961)

MisteRogers

8.9

TV Series

Handyman NegriJoe NegriMr. Negri

1964–1966

9 episodes

 

Music Department

Lenny Meledandri and Fred Rogers in Mister Rogers' Neighborhood (1968)

Mister Rogers' Neighborhood

8.8

TV Series

musician

1998

1 episode

 

Old Friends... New Friends (1978)

Old Friends... New Friends

8.2

TV Series

musician

1980

1 episode

 

Morgan Freeman in Drink, Drank, Drunk (1974)

Drink, Drank, Drunk

TV Special

arranger (segment "There's a Tavern in the Town")

1974

 

Summer Sounds

TV Movie

musician: guitar

1966

 

Composer

Summer Sounds

TV Movie

Composer

1966

 

Soundtrack

Official Alongside Night Movie Poster

Alongside Night

2.9

Soundtrack ("Gypsy Jam")

2014

 

Lenny Meledandri and Fred Rogers in Mister Rogers' Neighborhood (1968)

Mister Rogers' Neighborhood

8.8

TV Series

performer: "Let's Think of Something to Do While We're Waiting", "A Man Who Manufactures"performer: "Let's Think of Something to Do While We're Waiting", "I'm a Man Who Manufactures"performer: "Once Upon Each Lovely Day" (uncredited) ...

1970–2000

22 episodes

 

Summer Sounds

TV Movie

Soundtrackmusic: "Pittsburgh, Pa.}performer: "Pittsburgh, Pa.}, "The River is Wide", "Lazy Afternoon", "The Things We Did Last Summer" ("Got a Lot of Living to Do", "Once in a Lifetime", "Cruisin' Down the River", "Take Me Out to the Ball Game", "(You Gotta Have) Heart", "On a Picnic We Will Go")

1966

 

Self

Fred Rogers in Mister Rogers' Neighborhood (1968)

Mister Rogers: It's You I Like

8.3

Self

2018

 

We Knew What We Had: The Greatest Jazz Story Never Told (2018)

We Knew What We Had: The Greatest Jazz Story Never Told

Self

2018

 

Fred Rogers in Won't You Be My Neighbor? (2018)

Won't You Be My Neighbor?

8.3

Self - 'Handyman Negri'

2018

 

Speedy Delivery (2008)

Speedy Delivery

8.6

Self

2008

 

Christmastime with Mister Rogers

8.8

TV Special

Self - Handyman Negri

1977

 

Summer Sounds

TV Movie

Self - Host, performer

1966

 

Fred Rogers in MisteRogers (1961)

MisteRogers

8.9

TV Series

SelfSelf - Handyman Negri

1965

2 episodes

 

Archive Footage

Lenny Meledandri and Fred Rogers in Mister Rogers' Neighborhood (1968)

Mister Rogers' Neighborhood

8.8

TV Series

Joe Negri (archive footage)

1976

1 episode