Original: Ernest '' Ernie '' Arthur Coombs , CM ( November 26 , 1927 & ndash ; September 18 , 2001 ) was a children 's entertainer , best known for the long-running Canadian television series Mr. Dressup .
Simplified: After he retired from TV Coombs continued to work entertaining children and did a lot of work to raise money for many children 's charities .