Mr. Dressup: The Magic of Make-Believe

This feature-length documentary began as a passion project between myself and my good friend and often collaborator, Rob McCallum. Rob wrote and directed and I wrote and produced. I also appear on screen as a "Canadian Pop Culture Historian" and speak about the early life of Ernie Coombs before he became famous as TV's Mr. Dressup. It is a loving look back at the incredible history and cultural impact of Canada's most beloved TV show ever, Mr. Dressup. Mr. Dressup ran for 29 years, produced over four thousand episodes, and is known as the "Mr Rogers of Canada." It's a particularly accurate way to describe the show as Fred Rogers and Ernie Coombs (Mr Dressup), were, in fact, best of friends in real life and worked together for years before each went on to become legends within children's entertainment in two different countries. The production took five years to complete and evolved into a major collaboration between Rob's Pyre Productions, Marble Media (Canada's third-largest media company), the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (who owns the IP), and Amazon Studios. The film will be available on Amazon as an Amazon Original in the fall of 2023.