Mr. Dressup

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Mr. Dressup
Ernie Coombs as Mr. Dressup with co-stars: Casey and Finnegan
Genre	Children's television series
Running time	?
Starring	Ernie Coombs (Mr. Dressup) Judith Lawrence (puppeteer)
Country of origin	Canada
Original channel	CBC
Original run	1967–1996

Mr. Dressup was a Canadian children's television series which was produced by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation from 1967 to 1996.

The series starred Ernie Coombs (an American who later became a Canadian citizen) as Mr. Dressup, a character who had started on the earlier series Butternut Square. The show aired every weekday morning, and each day Mr. Dressup would lead children through a series of songs, stories, arts, crafts and imagination games, with the help of his friends Casey and Finnegan, a boy and a dog who lived in a treehouse in the back yard. Judith Lawrence was the puppeteer who brought Casey and Finnegan, along with other occasional puppet visitors like Alligator Al and Aunt Bird, to life. The set for the show included the inside of Mr. Dressup's house, with scenes shot in the living room, kitchen, and a kind of play room that included the Tickle Trunk (where costumes used in make-believe skits were stored) and a long counter where Casey and Finnegan often appeared. Sometimes, the action moved outside to Casey and Finnegan's treehouse.

Photograph of the Treehouse set from Mr. Dressup; currently on view in the foyer of the Canadian Broadcasting Centre, Toronto.

Mr. Dressup's most famous segment involved reaching into the Tickle Trunk to pull out a costume for a skit or play. It might be an animal costume, or a policeman's or fireman's uniform, or some other outfit in which he could dress up and play whatever role was suggested by the costume.

Mr. Dressup would usually create some kind of drawing or craft and sing a song with the puppets, such as "Down by the Bay".

In later years, Judith Lawerence chose to retire from the show. Rather than cast a new puppeteer in the roles of Casey and Finnegan a team of new puppeteers were brought in, including Karen Valleau (Chester the Crow, Annie), Nina Keogh (Truffles) and Trish Leeper (Lorenzo the Raccoon). The new characters would visit Mr. Dressup, Casey and Finnegan and over time became the lead characters as Casey and Finnegan appeared less and less in the show until they quit appearing altogether. This was done gradually so children wouldn't notice the absence of Lawrence's beloved Casey and Finnegan characters upon her retirement.

The final episode of Mr. Dressup was taped on February 14, 1996. However, repeats can still be seen on the CBC. Coombs died of a stroke on September 18, 2001, in Toronto, Ontario at the age of 73.

CBC has announced that it has begun to gradually phase out re-runs of Mr. Dressup -- effective July 3, 2006, the program will be relegated to Sunday mornings only, with the final repeat telecast scheduled for September 3, 2006. The CBC plan on continuing releasing select episodes on DVD. When the series leaves the CBC for good, it would've already been in reruns for 10 1/2 years. [1] There is currently a petition up to try and save the show. [2]