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Ernie Coombs with Casey and Finnigan
Ernie Coombs
Ernie Coombs
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On February 13, 1967, Mr. Dressup premiered
on CBC Television, enthralling children with his magical world
of make-believe. He developed a more intimate long-lasting
one-on-one connection with his young audience by talking directly
to the camera. Children watching were encouraged to put their
imaginations to use as Mr. Dressup pulled colourful costumes
from his Tickle Trunk and showed them how to make fun crafts
from ordinary household items.
"There's a certain segment of 20-to 35-year-olds that have
one thing in common - they all watched Casey and Finnegan
and Mr. Dressup," says Susan Sheehan, Mr. Dressup producer.
"It's kind of a nice warm fuzzy link between a lot of people
who live across the country, and I don't think it will ever
happen again."
Coombs chose to retire himself and his Tickle Trunk on February
14, 1996, but couldn't manage to stay away form his beloved
fans for long. He travelled from coast to coast entertaining
new fans and his original fans, their parents, on a live tour
and also returned to CBC Television for a holiday special.
In 1994, Coombs was presented with the Academy of Canadian
Cinema and Television's prestigious lifetime achievement Earle
Grey Award, honouring excellence in Canadian television. In
1996, he was honoured for his many years of bringing quality
programming to Canadian children when he became a Member of
the Order of Canada.
The program features interviews with some of his closest
colleagues, including Fred Rogers (Mr. Rogers Neighbourhood),
Fred Penner (Fred Penner's Place) and puppeteer Judith Lawrence.
Original Air Date - September 26, 2001
Links
Ernie
Coombs (CBC.ca)
Ernie
Coombs (Canadians.ca)
Ernie
Coombs (fan page)
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