The heartbreaking story behind Fred Penner and Mr. Dressup's 1992 duet

Mr. Dressup: The Magic of Make-Believe, a new documentary looking at the life and career of children's entertainer Ernie Coombs, premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival on Saturday, Sept. 9. Coombs, who is best known as Mr. Dressup, was a Canadian icon whose TV series Butternut Square and, later on, Mr. Dressup aired on CBC from 1967 to 1996. 

The film traces the origins of Coombs's career in children's entertainment, where he got his start working under Fred Rogers at WQED in Pittsburgh, up until his retirement in the '90s. Numerous Canadian celebrities are featured in the movie, including Bif Naked, the Barenaked Ladies, Beverly Glenn-Copeland, Eric McCormack, Michael J. Fox and Paul Sun-Hyung Lee, who recalls Mr. Dressup as a "kind and gentle" figure he looked up to growing up. 

Fans who may have only known Coombs as his character on television also got to learn more about Coombs's personal life, including his relationship with his wife, Marlene, and their two children. In 1992, Marlene was killed in a traffic accident; it happened on the day of a Mr. Dressup wrap party where Ernie had been eagerly waiting for his wife with a bouquet of flowers. 

While Marlene's death devastated Ernie, he soon returned to work and a few weeks later, appeared on the series, Fred Penner's Place. "We're fine cancelling," Penner remembers telling Coombs, "But he said, 'No, no,' he and his wife had talked about being on the show and he was excited so we proceeded." 

"We worked the whole thing through, all of the pieces were there," Penner continued, in the film. Then time came to sing their final number, a cover of Tom Chapin's song, "Together, Tomorrow." It was at that moment that Penner realized how emotional that song would be, with lyrics like, "I don't like to say goodbye/ I don't want today to end/ But we will be happy together tomorrow/ Together tomorrow again." 

"In all of the shows that I'd done, that was the most poignant moment I had ever experienced," Penner recalled. "That was powerful." 

When Ernie Coombs died in 2001, Penner told CBC News: "He will always be there. He is part of Canadian history and, in some ways, it is a time of celebration for his life and incredible work. But he will be missed." 

Mr. Dressup: The Magic of Make-Believe will be available on Amazon Prime Video on Oct. 10.