‘Mister Rogers’ Officer Clemmons gets help from his ‘neighborhood’

He’s hoping for a beautiful Christmas in the neighborhood.

Singer and actor Francois Clemmons, best known for breaking racial barriers in his role as Officer Clemmons on “Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood” is struggling to make ends meet amid poor health and limited income, The Post has learned.

But more than a dozen longtime friends and fans of Clemmons — who shared a now-iconic onscreen moment with Rogers amid the heightened racial tensions of the 1960s — have banded together to help.

“I absolutely could consider it a Christmas miracle. I’m just floored with the kindness and love that’s outpouring,” he told The Post.

Clemmons, 78, had two strokes in 2015 and 2016, two knee-replacement surgeries, and needs a health aide along with other services at The Residence at Otter Creek, the assisted-living facility where he lives in Vermont.

The Grammy winner sold his home to help offset the cost, but friends fear it’s not enough, especially if he needs more expensive services.

“He has limited savings and very little income. He can’t afford more than a few years in his retirement center … even less if he has to go into assisted living,” said Chuck Dickinson, a classmate of Clemmons at Oberlin College, who led the campaign.

Led by Dickinson, his pals, who met Clemmons in different stages of his life — at Oberlin; during his years performing in the Big Apple; or when he served as an artist in residence at Vermont’s Middlebury College — have launched a GoFundMe campaign to raise money.

“Officer Clemmons needs our help,” according to the fundraising site, which features an image of Clemmons with Rogers during his final appearance on the program.

The effort began in October with a modest $100,000 goal and reached $80,000 days before Christmas.

Clemmons, who played a singing policeman on the PBS series from 1968 to 1993, was one of the first African Americans to have a leading role on national children’s television.

The Birmingham, Alabama native, who lived on West 101 Street and Central Park West for 35 years and created the Harlem Spiritual Ensemble, first met Fred Rogers through Roger’s wife, Joanne, who was in a church choir with him in Pittsburgh.

When Rogers offered him the job of Officer Clemmons, the actor told him, “You must be crazy.”

“A policeman’s not a hero in the ghetto. I’m a ghetto boy, and I saw policemen doing all kinds of things,” he recalled.

“And I carried inside of me a fear of what they could do. And Fred said, ‘Policemen could be helpers; policemen could be kind.’”

A May 1969 episode featured the black Clemmons and the white Rogers dipping their feet in a kiddie pool at the same time on a hot day and sharing a towel to dry off — sending a quiet but powerful message about equality at a time when segregated swimming pools were the norm.

Rogers, who died in 2003, treated him like a surrogate son, the actor said.

“Being a black tenor, there were opera companies and productions that were closed to me. And Fred said, ‘I know you’re having trouble getting jobs because of racism. I will be there for you,’” Clemmons remembered. “He was a wonderful, gentle, spiritual man.”

Despite his work on the famous public television show, Clemmons doesn’t earn royalties from it.

“Not a cent,” he said. “I wouldn’t be in the condition I’m in if I got serious royalties. I’m not angry with Fred about that. I’m angry with their business practices since he’s dead. He would never ever have allowed me to be in this condition.”

Literary agent Elizabeth Copps, who worked with Clemmons when he penned his 2020 memoir, also aided with the launch of the GoFundMe and understands why people feel compelled to contribute.

“He generates genuine warmth and compassion towards everyone he meets,” she said.

“Over the seven years I’ve known him, I’ve seen him give his gift of song and story to so many people without ever asking or expecting anything in return, so it feels really wonderful to try and help him. There’s just not a more deserving person on the planet.”

Copps said the fundraising effort couldn’t have come at a better time.

“These sorts of fundraising efforts are what the holiday season is all about,” she said. “And people like Francois are the reason for the season.”