Ernie Coombs
| Ernie Coombs CM |
|
|---|---|
 |
|
| Born |
November 26, 1927 Lewiston, Maine, United States |
| Died | September 18, 2001 (aged 73) Pickering, Ontario, Canada |
| Cause of death | Stroke |
| Occupation | Entertainer |
Ernest "Ernie" Arthur Coombs, CM (November 26, 1927 – September 18, 2001) was an American Canadian children's entertainer who starred in the Canadian television series Mr. Dressup.
Ernest Coombs was born in Lewiston, Maine, and pursued a career in children's entertainment after attending North Yarmouth Academy in Yarmouth, Maine. He was an understudy to Fred Rogers. He travelled to Canada in 1963 to work for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation on an early version of Mister Rogers' Neighborhood. Rogers moved back to the United States three years later, but Coombs decided to stay in Canada, joining a new TV series called Butternut Square. Butternut Square ran from 1964 to 1967. During the run, Coombs appeared as the character in a stack show at the Poor Alex Theatre.
After Butternut Square ended, Coombs developed Mr. Dressup, which became one of English Canada's longest-running and most beloved children's programs. As Mr. Dressup, he presented arts and crafts, songs, stories and games for children with his friends Casey and Finnegan, a child and a dog who lived in a treehouse in Mr. Dressup's back yard. Casey was given a unisex name intentionally, because the character's childlike voice left Casey's gender ambiguous. Over the years, when viewers would ask Coombs whether Casey was a boy or a girl, he would ask, "What do you think?" However the questioner responded, he would say, "You're right!"
Later in the series, when the show's principal puppeteer, Judith Lawrence, retired, Casey and Finnegan were replaced by a small cast of anthropomorphic animal puppets. Coombs believed in gentle, wholesome children's programming that encouraged kids to use their creativity and imagination. In each episode, Mr. Dressup would dress up in a costume from his Tickle Trunk, and lead children in an imagination game. Many times his puppets would appear in costume as well.
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