Ernest Coombs was natural within Lewiston, Maine, USA, and chased the career within youngsters's amusement. As an standby to Fred Rogers, he came to Canada around 1963 to work for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation on an early version of ''Mister Rogers' Neighborhood. Rogers draw back to the United states the charted month, however Ernest decided to stay inside Canada, joining a freshly indicate known as Butternut Square.

Inside 1967, Butternut Square evolved into Mr. Dressup'', which became one of Canada's longest-heading & virtually all dear kids's software download. Ernest believed super strongly inside gentle, wholesome kids's programming that encouraged children to utilise their creative thinking & imagination. When Mr. Dressup, he presented arts & crafts, songs, stories & games for tikes using his friends Casey & Finnegan, the son & the mutt world health organization sleep within the treehouse in Mr. Dressup's back front yard.

Around both episode, Mr. Dresshigher would dress up (hence his title) inside the costume from either his Tickle Trunk, & lead babies inside an imagination game.

A series ran until 1996, when Coombs retired. the equivalent season, he was known as a Member of the Order of Canada. He continued to operate as an entertainer, swimming roles within personal-oriented Toronto stage productions like Peter Pan, Cinderella and Aladdin, and acted as a spokesman for tikes's charities.

Ernest died of the stroke on September 18, 2001, in Toronto, Ontario.