Mr. Dressup

Mr. Dressup is a Canadian children's television series, starring Ernie Coombs, a former understudy of Fred Rogers, in the title role.

The show aired every weekday morning, Mr. Dressup would lead children through a series of songs, stories, arts, crafts and imagination games, with the help of his puppet friends—a child named Casey and a dog named Finnegan—who lived with him and often played in the tree-house in Mr. Dressup's backyard.

The set for the show included the inside of Mr. Dressup's house, with scenes shot in the living room, kitchen and a playroom.

This included the Tickle Trunk (where costumes used in make-believe skits were stored) and a long counter where Casey and Finnegan often appeared.

They hired Karen Valleau (Chester the Crow), Nina Keogh (Truffles), Jani Lauzon (Granny), Ruth Danziger (Annie), Jim Parker (Alex), and Bob Dermer (Lorenzo the Raccoon).

Coombs spent most of the next few years touring college campuses giving talks about his time on the show aimed at students who grew up with his series.

Due to the long run of the series, several generations of Canadian children, as well as Americans growing up in northern United States regions that received the CBC signal, grew up watching Mr. Dressup and his adventures.

[11] Mr. Dressup: The Magic of Make-Believe, directed by Robert McCallum, premiered at the 2023 Toronto International Film Festival,[12] where it won the People's Choice Award for Documentaries.

In coverage of the documentary, McCallum claimed the significance of Casey as a pioneer of LGBTQ representation in children's television.

Photograph of the tree house set from Mr. Dressup in the foyer of the Canadian Broadcasting Centre , Toronto .