Joe Negri, the acclaimed Pittsburgh jazz guitarist known to many as Handyman Negri on Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood, died Saturday at the age of 99, just days before his 100th birthday.
A Pittsburgh native, Negri began playing guitar at age 8 and was touring nationally with swing bands by 16. He spent most of his life performing, teaching, and mentoring musicians in western Pennsylvania.
He appeared on Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood throughout the show’s entire three-decade run, both as Handyman Negri and as the owner of Negri’s Music Shop.
Negri also taught jazz guitar for decades at the University of Pittsburgh and Duquesne University, where he founded the school’s jazz guitar program. In 2019, he received Pennsylvania’s Lifetime Achievement in the Arts Award.
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