- Born
- Died
- Birth nameErnest Coombs
- Nickname
- Canada's Mr. Dress-Up
- 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.- IMDb Mini Biography By: Kelly Wiebe (senhue@mts.net
- Ernie Coombs was born in Lewiston, Maine on November 26, 1927. He studied commercial art but an interest in theatre led to painting scenary. In the earlier part of his career, he worked with Pittsburgh Miniature Theatre, a touring children's theatre, and at WQED-TV. In 1963, he met Fred Rogers and came with Fred to Canada to work as a puppeteer on Mr Rogers. When Rogers returned to the United States the following year, Coombs hosted Butternut Square where he played the popular Mr. Dressup. In 1967, the CBC decided to give Mr. Dressup his own show which was a hit with children, airing every weekday morning for the next 30 years. Coombs became a Canadian citizen in 1994. He received the Earle Grey Award for excellence in TV in 1994, a Gemini award for best performance in a children's program, and the Order of Canada in 1996. Coombs retired from Mr. Dressup in 1996 where afterwards he performed charity work, appeared in theatrical productions for children and made personal appearances around the country for all his fans, young and old.- IMDb Mini Biography By: Anonymous
- SpouseMarlene(1961 - 1992) (her death, 3 children)
- Became a Canadian citizen.
- Arrived in Canada in 1963 to work with Fred Rogers on a children's show for the CBC. When Rogers went back to the USA, the CBC offered him a part in a new show, which became Mr. Dressup.
- Considered a Canadian cultural icon.
- He was awarded the C.M.(Member of the Order of Canada) on May 9, 1996 for his services to communications and broadcasting in Canada.
- After retiring from Mr. Dressup in 1996, he continued to make personal appearances and performed in Toronto in several Ross Petty productions for children -- Peter Pan, Cinderella and Aladdin.
Contribute to this page
Suggest an edit or add missing content