By 1964, when Ernie Coombs began playing Mr. Dressup on a show called Butternut Square, I was in Grade 2 and, in theory at least, too cool to like a guy with puppets for friends and a trunk full of dress-up clothes.

However, few Canadians of any age could help but be touched by news of Coombs' passing yesterday after a sudden illness. He was 73.

"Somehow people just felt better in Ernie's presence," his old pal Fred Rogers said yesterday in a prepared statement. "My hunch is that that was because we who knew him sensed that he was truly 'pure in heart.' "

I only had a couple of occasions to speak with Coombs, who hung up his colourful Dressup costumes in 1996 (his show continues to air in reruns on CBC). On both occasions, he seemed exactly like the character I saw on television: Curious, open and friendly -- almost child-like, in the best sense of the word.

That's how several people remembered him yesterday. "Ernie was awesome," recalled Toronto musician Jaymz Bee, who recalled seeing Combs thrown on stage at a benefit with metal rocker Greg Godovitz. "In the middle of this rock concert, there's Ernie on stage singing, 'This is the way we drive the truck...' " Bee said. "There was this sweet, James Bond side to Mr. Dressup."

Coombs was the Iron Man of children's entertainers, clocking more consecutive years than even Bob Homme (The Friendly Giant) or Bob Keeshan (Captain Kangaroo). Only Fred Rogers, who retired earlier this year, had a longer run.

Unlike those other guys, Coombs was pretty quick with a pencil. His on-screen drawings were fast and precise, no small trick under a TV clock.

His legacy is profound. Today, there is more terrific pre-school programming produced in Canada than anywhere in the world.

Coombs, a New England native who became a Canadian citizen in 1994, would have waved off any credit. But he was, and is, an inspiration, especially to those of us who secretly wish we could be as cool and child-like again as Mr. Dressup.