Arts & Culture

Many Canadians remember themselves or their children growing up with a children’s television program called Mr. Dressup that ran on the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) television network from February 13, 1967 to February 14, 1996, followed by ten years of re-runs to 2006. On February 13-14 and beyond, please take a moment to remember the individual who came up with the idea of Mr. Dressup, who he then portrayed – Ernest Arthur “Ernie” Coombs (Born: November 26, 1927 in Lewiston, Maine; Died: September 18, 2001 in Pickering, Ontario). After being educated at North Yarmouth Academy in Maine, Coombs decided to pursue a career as a children’s entertainer. Coming to Canada in 1963, he worked at the CBC with Fred Rogers on Misterogers, a precursor to Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood. Coombs remained in Canada (even when Rogers returned to the United States) and worked on a television series called Butternut Square which introduced the character Mr. Dressup (portrayed by Ernie Coombs) and his sidekick puppet characters Casey and Finnegan (operated by puppeteer Judith Lawrence).

Four thousand episodes of Mr. Dressup aired during its original 29-year run. Mr. Dressup would lead children through singing songs, telling stories, doing arts and crafts, and conducting imagination games with the help of his puppet friends, Casey (a child) and Finnegan (a dog), who resided in a treehouse in Mr. Dressup’s backyard. Mr. Dressup often accessed costumes from his famous Tickle Trunk and portrayed the role suggested by the selected costume – police officer, firefighter, animal etc. Sometimes the trunk would not open immediately so Mr. Dressup sang a song and tickled the lock on the trunk to coax it open – hence its name. Often Mr. Dressup would make something to dovetail with his costume, which led into a craft segment. In addition to singing and making crafts, Mr. Dressup also read from books, narrated short silent documentaries and drew on his drawing board either to illustrate a short story being told or to outline a game being played. Children watching at home were encouraged to participate.

In 1989, puppeteer Judith Lawrence retired from the show and so did Casey and Finnegan. However, new puppet friends (operated by new puppeteers) joined Mr. Dressup for his final years, including Chester the Crow, Lorenzo the Raccoon, Annie, Alex, Granny and Truffles. In 1992, Ernie Coombs suffered a personal tragedy when his wife Marlene was killed in a traffic accident. Nonetheless, Coombs became a Canadian citizen in 1994 and a member of the Order of Canada in 1996.

As we remember and celebrate the memory of Mr. Dressup (aka Ernie Coombs) and his friends, consider the following items for perusal from Toronto Public Library collections:

Books:

Book, 1991

   Book, 1991

 
Book, 2005

DVDs:

 From the Toronto Star Archives:

Ernie Coombs and puppeteer Judith Lawrence with puppets Casey and his dog Finnegan. Coombs was surprised that the show lasted more than two years – Ron Bull – Picture, 1987 (Credit: Toronto Star Archives)

Rehearsal for the last show – Jeff Goode – Picture, 1996 (Credit: Toronto Star Archives)

Rehearsal for the last show – Jeff Goode – Picture, 1996 (Credit: Toronto Star Archives)