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Before Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood came Misterogers on CBC

From 1961 to 1964, CBC-TV was home to Fred Rogers and his cast of puppets. One of his assistants was a young puppeteer named Ernie Coombs, who would go on to have a much-loved show of his own with Mr. Dressup.

Beloved PBS host first had a children's show on CBC-TV in the early 1960s

CBC Archives ·
Before his long-running program on PBS in the United States, Fred Rogers was host of a children's show called Misterogers on CBC-TV from 1961 to 1964. (CBC Still Photo Collection)

A neighbourhood trolley, a cast of puppets, and a gentle host named Fred Rogers to lead the day's activities. Sound familiar? 

Before these elements were part of a long-running U.S. program on PBS called Mister Rogers' Neighbourhood, they were the hallmarks of Misterogers, which aired on CBC-TV from 1961 to 1964.

Fred Rogers hosted a children's show on CBC-TV in the early 1960s. He is pictured here with one of the show's puppets, Daniel S. Tiger, who would follow him to his series for PBS in the United States. Daniel S. Tiger would go on to get an animated series of his own in 2012. (CBC Still Photo Collection)

Rogers, an ordained minister and holder of a bachelor's degree in music, first created a children's show called Children's Corner that aired for seven years in his hometown of Pittsburgh. A CBC press release in 1961 notes that Rogers "makes no attempt to hide himself or his lip movements as he talks for puppets in the TV screen."

Rogers' first puppet was a tiger named Daniel who proved so popular that Rogers created more puppets for his fantasy neighbourhood, eventually reaching 10 puppets. (Daniel S. Tiger's appeal was especially enduring; in 2012 he became the star of an animated children's series created by Fred Rogers Productions on PBS, which also airs on CBC.)

Among the puppeteers on Misterogers was a fellow American named Ernie Coombs, who went on to immigrate to Canada and host his own children's shows on CBC: first Butternut Square and then the long-running Mr. Dressup.

Ernie Coombs on his TV origins with Fred Rogers

24 years ago
Duration 1:26
In 2001, the beloved TV host known to generations of kids as Mr. Dressup tells a group of university students where he got his start.