Ernie Coombs(1927-2001)

Beloved kids performer Ernie Coombs was a fixture on the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, "CBC," for three decades. Coombs was lured to Canada in 1963 by the progressive ideas of the public broadcasting system, beginning his career as an assistant puppeteer on a CBC series that featured another soon-to-be-legendary kid's entertainer, Fred Rogers. When Fred Rogers decided to relocate his Neighborhood back to the U.S. after one season, Ernie stayed to join the cast of a new CBC series called Butternut Square where the character of Mr. Dressup was born. In 1967 Ernie Coombs took over the show and introduced puppet pals Casey and Finnegan. Mr. Dressup spent time in front of the camera drawing and creating simple crafts from construction paper, yarn and glue. Mr. Dressup also would find an endless number of costumes for him to dress up in from his "Tickle Trunk." Ernie Cooms retired in 1996 but continued touring.