For any of the Canadian readers out there (like you, Wendy! :) ), you might have grown up with "Mr. Dressup," a Canadian children's television series that originally ran on CBC from 1967 to 1996. As Mr. Dressup, actor Ernie Coombs would lead children through a series of songs, stories, arts, crafts and imagination games, with the help of his puppet friends Casey and Finnegan, Wikipedia says. This author's good friend Jim Wilson of Canada, whose fine art you've seen on this blog before -- art of "The Dukes of Hazzard," "Green Hornet" and more -- has now turned his creative eye to the beloved TV icon of his youth. He has crafted a replica of the treehouse featured on "Mr. Dressup" for his friend, Rob.
This is the treehouse where those puppets Casey and Finnegan lived, on the show. How fun! If you're sensing some "Mr. Rogers" vibes, those of you in the U.S., it might be because Coombs and Fred Rogers once knew each other as colleagues, and yes, they took very similar career paths.
Here's the real thing as seen on the show:
And here are shots of Jim's work on the replica:
Thanks, Jim, for sharing these photos with us! And congratulations, Rob (that's him below), on a one-of-a-kind piece! By the way, be sure to like Jim's new Facebook page to see more of his work!
Photos courtesy of Jim Wilson; please do not copy without permission.
I remember mr. Dressup. I liked his dog puppet Finnegan. Didn't know it ran till '96 that's a long run.
ReplyDeleteYea, this makes me want to find an episode online to watch!
ReplyDeleteOMIGOSH, this is EPIC!! :D True story: My best friend's husband's name is Casey -- and they named their dog Finnegan because of Mr. Dressup! I still sometimes put on an episode when I'm having a particularly rough day, you just can't go wrong with Mr. Dressup! And this treehouse looks -- appropriately enough for your page, Billie -- terrific! :)
ReplyDeleteSo cool -- I was hoping you would see this one, because I figured you were familiar with the series!
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