Farewell to a friend
Ernie Coombs, Mr. Dressup, dies after stroke at age 73
Ernie Coombs, better known to generations of Canadians as Mr. Dressup, died yesterday in Toronto after suffering a stroke. He was 73.
"Ernie Coombs was Mr. Dressup," his old pal Fred Rogers said yesterday in a prepared statement. "On and off the air he was such a wonderfully artistic, whimsical man who never lost touch with the child within him."
Born in Lewiston, Me., in 1927, Coombs came to Canada in 1963 with Fred Rogers to launch the original Mister Rogers' Neighborhood on CBC. Rogers took his show to U.S. public television a year later, leaving Coombs to create Mr. Dressup on Butternut Square in 1964.
The series became Mr. Dressup in 1967 and remained in production until Valentine's Day, 1996. In all, Coombs logged 32 years and 4,000 shows as the the fun-loving character with his puppet friends Casey and Finnegan (performed by Judith Lawrence) and their Tickle Trunk full of colourful costumes.
Tributes
"He had a great rapport with little children," said Susan Sheehan, who produced Mr. Dressup during the 1990s. "But he had an even more profound effect on older teenagers and people in their 20s and 30s."
In fact, Jim Carey, Mike Myers, Michael J. Fox, Pamela Anderson, Ashley MacIsaac and members of The Barenaked Ladies were all fans. Several sent video tributes and letters when Coombs was feted at a Toronto retirement party in Unlike the late Bob Homme, who was very protective of his image as The Friendly Giant and never appeared in public for fear of disappointing younger fans, Coombs made many public appearances as his TV alter ego. His home east of Toronto was famous for his lavish Halloween displays and he was also well known in later years through his annual holiday stage appearances.
"He was really open to everybody," said Toronto musician Jaymz Bee, a big Dressup fan who threw an "avante-garde" party for Coombs around the time of his retirement.
"I have this great photo of Ernie from that night with a couple of drag queens," Bee said. "He had no idea, when he was dressing up, that he may have encouraged all kinds of other people to dress up."
Just before he retired in 1994, Coombs became a Canadian citizen and also received the Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television's prestigious lifetime achievement award. In 1996, he became a Member of the Order of Canada.
CBC executive vice-president Harold Redekopp remembered Coombs as "a gentle man with a big heart."
Coombs bravely carried on with his show after the tragic death in 1992 of his wife Lynn, who was killed instantly while standing outside a store on Yonge Street when a car sped off the road. She ran a child care centre where Coombs could often be found.
He is survived by a daughter, Cathy, and a son, Chris, as well as four grandchildren.
CBC still airs Dressup reruns and plans to re-air a Life & Times profile of Coombs Sept. 26 at 8 p.m. The network also plans to let children know this week that the man who played Mr. Dressup has passed away.
Not so fast, says Mr. Rogers.
"Ernie Coombs will live in the hearts of those of us who knew and loved him forever," he said.
THE END
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