Kindness, creativity, inclusivity, and a touch of magic makes the world a brighter place. Explore the story and impact o | dG1fUG5YWEVoLVNfbFE
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Short filmTranscript
00:00 Oh, here you are.
00:02 You're here and we're here.
00:04 I've got a good bat costume here to show you.
00:06 Doesn't matter what race you were, what colour you were,
00:08 what religion you were, what language you spoke,
00:11 you watched Mr. Dressup.
00:12 Ernie Coombs, Mr. Dressup, I mean, he was just so kind and gentle.
00:16 Ernie never forgot a child within him,
00:20 and that informs everything that he does with children.
00:24 When you tell people that Fred Rogers and Ernie Coombs
00:27 came to Canada together, most people don't even realise
00:30 that they were very close friends.
00:32 4,000 episodes, 30 years.
00:36 There are not that many shows that last that long.
00:40 Tell us what the secret is to 30 years on the air.
00:44 I'm a child at heart.
00:45 It's all doing things that I always liked to do when I was a kid.
00:48 The tickle trunk was this magical, like, Pandora's box.
00:52 As soon as you opened that lid, something was going to happen,
00:55 something magical.
00:57 I'm tugboat captain Dressup.
00:58 Is he going to be a wizard? Oh, no, he's a dinosaur.
01:01 The endless possibility of that.
01:03 Oh, my, what a lovely day.
01:04 Judith was able to make Casey come completely alive.
01:08 I didn't know if Casey was a boy or a girl.
01:11 Way ahead of its time, not a little bit,
01:13 way ahead of its time.
01:15 Looking back on it now, I wonder,
01:16 how on earth did I manage to do it for so long?
01:19 And then how on earth have I managed to survive
01:21 so long after I finished?
01:23 Having been Mr. Dressup for 20 years
01:26 has probably made me a better person.
01:28 You assume that he comes home and kicks off his Mr. Dressup shoes
01:31 and becomes a different person when he's at home,
01:33 and that just simply didn't happen.
01:35 The kids tease me a lot because I laugh at his jokes.
01:37 That's why I married you, 'cause you're such a great audience.
01:39 I'm a good audience.
01:41 Of course, when Sesame Street came on,
01:43 they said, "Oh, that'll be the end of you."
01:45 There was a question whether the show would go on.
01:48 We were having a wrap party.
01:50 But then as time went on,
01:51 I think we were getting the sense that Ernie was getting concerned.
01:54 How could he possibly continue what he wants to?
01:57 You have made me what I am today.
01:59 You know that.
02:01 Hi, good to see you.
02:02 One of the reasons I became an actor
02:03 was because at a very early age,
02:05 this person on television--
02:06 an adult but not an adult--
02:08 taught me that it was okay to let my free flag fly.
02:11 Ladies and gentlemen, one of the great Canadians.
02:13 Let's give it up.
02:14 [cheers and applause]
02:16 piano plays softly
02:19 piano plays softly
02:22 (music fades)