It's probably not a beautiful day in the neighborhood for Michael Kinsell, who announced Thursday he's canceled a tribute to "Mister Rogers" that was to take place Sunday at the California Center for the Arts, Escondido.

Kinsell's announcement came after he was unable to deliver any of the celebrity performers that the show's advertising had promised.

The cancellation also followed complaints from the Public Broadcasting System and the production company representing Fred Rogers for attempting to link the event to them.

"I'm sure it's all over," Kinsell said in an e-mail to the North County Times on Thursday evening. "I'm so sorry for any trouble."

Kinsell also told the Current, a trade newspaper that covers public broadcasting, that the "event is in motion to be officially canceled. I am in the means of letting our staff know now. At this point I'm finished with this whole thing."

Kinsell had said he wanted to honor Rogers, who appeared on PBS for decades on the "Mister Rogers' Neighborhood" show before passing away in 2003.

In his publicity for the show, Kinsell intimated that a host of celebrities such as Bette Midler, Dick Van Dyke, Bob Newhart and Eddie Murphy would attend his "gala" tribute.

The publicity also said Kinsell, who says he is 18, would be introduced as the next Mister Rogers and that he would present a $10,000 check to Family Communications Inc., the company that represents Rogers.

PBS objected to the suggestion he would be the next Mister Rogers and issued several letters telling him to stop making any reference to the network. Family Communications did the same, and said no one from the company or Rogers' family would attend the event.

One of the performers who was planning to attend, Mallory Lewis, daughter of the late Shari Lewis who was a famed puppeteer with Lamb Chop, said she was taken in by what she termed a gross misrepresentation by Kinsell. Mallory Lewis has been performing with Lamb Chop since shortly after her mother died about 10 years ago.

"Once it was established this was bogus, I was less than thrilled," Lewis said. "It sounded like a good cause, but trying to do something in someone else's name, when told not to, to raise money for yourself is just wrong."

Kinsell had said the fundraiser would benefit his Children's Media Foundation and help underwrite his attempt to produce a children's television show he calls "Michael's Enchanted Neighborhood."

Lewis said she had made arrangements to spend the weekend in the area, planned to take her son out of school and was looking forward to being introduced by Maria Shriver, the wife of Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger. She even wrote some special material to zing at the governor and the stars Kinsell had said would be in attendance.

"I thought how cool would this be and I would get a chance to meet Bette Midler," Lewis said. "But then I remembered she's performing in Vegas and I looked at her schedule and sure enough, she has a performance there that night."

The governor declined to attend the event when he received an invitation, and Maria Shriver also had no plans to attend, the governor's spokesman said Wednesday.

The only good coming out of the episode for her, Lewis said, is that she bought a new purse for the event and will keep it.

Kinsell's attorney and his publicist said earlier in the day that they were no longer associating themselves with him. Each said they began to realize some of what he was promising for the show Kinsell said he spent about $100,000 to produce would not be delivered.

The publicist, Lisa Jamal, said she spoke to arts center officials Thursday and told them they would not need to roll out the red carpet.

"I told them there aren't going to be any celebrities attending except some celebrity impersonators," Jamal said.

Arts center spokeswoman Teresa Ramirez said that people who purchased tickets for the 7 p.m. event that was to take place in the 1,523-seat main concert hall can obtain refunds.

"If any show cancels we refund all the ticket money," she said.

Tickets had been on sale for prices ranging from $75 to $300. On Wednesday, Kinsell set a flat ticket price of $100 per ticket and a fee of $150 for what he said would pay for the show and a dinner with unnamed celebrities.

Call staff writer Mark Walker at 760-740-3529.