When youre 52 and watching a man who died over 20 years ago, you KNOW he made a difference in life, . HAIL Ernie Combs, Mr. Dressup. I want to say more, for sure, but I would just cry. He was so loved.
I saw Mr. Dressup live as a 5 year old in 1977. A highlight of my life, even though Casey and Finnegan were not there. Mr. Dressup explained that they had school that day as well.
I've heard that when kids asked Mr. Dressup whether Casey was a boy or girl, he'd ask them, "well, what do you think?" And then tell them they were right. A class act all the way.
Your idea of "class" is rather misplaced. Casey was ALWAYS a boy. Mr. Dressup referred to Casey as "him" several times in the show. No one gave a crap about 'gender' back in the 60s - 80s. It's a non-issue.
I liked Casey's distinctive laugh. As a kid, I always thought he had a different accent and I just found out Judith Lawrence was from Australia so that finally explains it.
We must thank our American cousins for both Ernie and Bob Homme, AKA Friendly Giant. They provided the best kids' shows ever. Sesame Street is great, no question, but these two shows really last in the memory.
My roommate was a guest on that show several times and often sat in the audience. He tells me that Mr. Ernie Coombs was an extremely gentle man who just eminated a very peaceful and loving aire about him. He will be missed but thank God for his show as I was growig p. Everytime I heard the theme song as an adult,I was taken back to my childhood and I remember the care-free lifestyle of being a kid.How things have changed. Now we must constantly be worried about Global Thermal Nuclear War!REPENT!
Being from southeast Michigan I grew up watching this on CBC Winsor 9. Everyday during the summer break this would be nestled between Fred Penner and Sesame Street. It's as charming and cute as it ever was. When I was a child I kind of was more sarcastic toward it. Now, being an adult I can see why it lasted so long. Side note: Ernie Coombs aka, Mr. Dressup, was born in the U.S. and didn't become a Canadian citizen until 1994.
Long after the show ended, Ernie Combs did a university tour across Canada. He told the universities and his handlers he figured he'd be lecturing about his life and times as Mr Dressup to empty auditoriums on his tour. On his first stop on his tour, the auditorium was so full, people were sitting on the steps in the aisles and standing and leaning against the walls. He couldn't believe it.
I heard the puppeteer say that she didn't intend it this way but it was ironic that Casey's mouth didn't move but he or she talked, whereas Finnegan's mouth did move but he didn't talk!
I don't know what episode it was of Mr. Dressup. Can someone help me, please? I am looking for the episode where Casey and Finnegan dreamed they were on the Friendly Giant. That was the only crossover between the two episodes that I have ever seen. Does anyone know what episode it was?
When I watched this as a kid I was like what the heck ? Mr Dressup has a studio in his house and these guys live there in a fake treehouse? how strange
@@chrisbeaudin4421 Yes, the owl Mr. Dressup used to talk to in a picture on the wall. Sadly, no episodes with the owl are uploaded to YT. It's a travesty that the run of the show couldn't have been preserved and committed to VHS or DVD. I'm sure plenty of devoted fans would love to have it for their own children and grandchildren. A piece of Canadian history lost.
You wouldn't happen to have the opening animation from this episode? The only MR. DRESSUP opening animation there seems to be on RU-vid is the more cartoony opening from later in the 1980s with everyone carrying the Mr. Dressup flag.
Oh I hated that Casey so much he was such a whiney little nerd. Finnigan on the other hand was such a great loyal friend who never barked & always agreed with you.
How dare you spread those lies! Casey and Finnegan were only ever played by Judith Lawrence, NO niece took over. Judith Lawrence did NOT demand more money from the producers of the show, she simply retired (after all, she had played Casey and Finnegan since the 1960s) in 1989 - that's all. The producers of the show couldn't imagine anyone other than Judith Lawrence playing the roles of Casey and Finnegan, so they created new puppets that were used on the show after Judith Lawrence retired.
Agree. It's rather sad that people feel the need to come onto YT and spread baseless rumours and utter lies. It's a form of narcissism. This show's merits and its creators and actors will never be tarnished.
Sorry buds but can't old a torch 2 da original Misterogers Neighborhood! Fred just was more daring & enduring 2 his auidence. He dealt with death divorce war hate anger exc. Not a shy man!
MsPandaRosa Just looked these two shows up. 1. Yes, the two men were friends. 2. Mr. Dressup was actually Fred's understudy. 3. This show actually came first, but it was created by Rogers as Rogers was up in Canada at the time. 4. Many of the songs used on the early Mr. Dressup shows were reused on Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood since Fred wrote them.
If anyone cares to reply to my comment, well first of all, about Casey, the puppet never had an offically stated gender. It was done that way so that Casey could be whatever the young viewers believed him or her to be, and children of either gender could relate to the puppet. So, did you imagine Casey as a boy or girl? I imagined him as a boy.
Casey was a BOY. There was NEVER any question of that. Ernie himself perhaps didn't want to emphasize it, but Mr. Dressup refers to Casey as 'him' several times during the run of the show. I think it's beyond ludicrous that people are _so_ fixated on this. People who are old enough to remember the show and were fans didn't care then OR now.
The owner of Casy and Finnegan died,she was the original voice of Casey and was the puppeteer of both puppets and then her niece took over. She apparently tried to demand more money from the producer's of this show. Obviously they turned her down. It was like she was trying to extort more money by using Casey & Finnegan as hostages. It was pathetic how someone could ruin a canadian icon because of greed. They wound up creating new puppet characters to replace Casey & Finnegan. They'll be missed!
pretty disappointed i was to young to ever see an episode with casey in it..... seeing a nonbinary character (who was my age!) on the screen as a kid would have been cool.
