Mr. Dressup Documentary
Mr. Dressup was an institution in Canada like Mr. Rogers was in the U.S. In fact, they were sister shows: Fred Rogers and Ernie Coombs (Mr. Dressup) traveled from Pittsburgh where they had worked together on a show called “The Children’s Corner” to Toronto, where the CBC encouraged Fred to step out from behind the camera to host his own show, “Misterogers.” Afterwards, Fred moved back to Pittsburgh to create a show based on that, “Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood.” Fred suggested that Ernie host his own show in Canada, which eventually became “Mr. Dressup.”
Both were gentle, educational shows starring a genial host with puppets that encouraged children to use their imaginations. They both ran for over 30 years in their respective countries, navigating budget cuts to public television and a changing landscape in children’s television. Coombs gained his Canadian citizenship in 1994.
There’s an excellent documentary on “Mr. Dressup” on Amazon Prime: https://youtu.be/PnXXEh-S\_lQ