Judith A. Lawrence CM is a Canadian puppeteer associated with the long-running CBC children's television program ''

Mr. Dressup ''Mr. Dressup'' is a Canadian children's television series, starring Ernie Coombs, a former understudy of Fred Rogers, in the title role. It originally ran on CBC from 1967 to 1996, soon becoming an iconic presence in Canadian media. Producti ...

''. Her best known characters were Casey and Finnegan, although she also created other occasional characters, such as Aunt Bird and Alligator Al. Judith was born in

Bairnsdale Bairnsdale () ( Ganai: ''Wy-yung'') is a city in East Gippsland, Victoria, Australia in a region traditionally owned by the Tatungalung clan of the Gunaikurnai people. The estimated population of Bairnsdale urban area was 15,411 at Ju ...

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

, Australia and grew up in Ballarat,

, Australia. She came to

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

at age 22, earning her living as a kindergarten teacher. She taught at Cockcroft Public School in

Deep River, Ontario Deep River is a town in Renfrew County, Ontario, Canada. Located along the Ottawa River, it lies about north-west of Ottawa on the Trans-Canada Highway. Deep River is opposite the Laurentian Mountains and the Province of Quebec. The name ''Deep ...

. After a successful audition, Lawrence started work for the CBC, where she soon created her most famous puppet characters for the ''

Butternut Square ''Butternut Square'' was a Canadian children's television series which aired on CBC Television between October 19, 1964 and February 10, 1967. The cast featured Ernie Coombs as Mr. Dressup, whose own landmark television series began production ...

'' TV series and they made the transition to ''Mr. Dressup''. Lawrence retired as the puppeteer of the show in 1989. Lawrence also wrote many books in ''The Young Canada Reading Series'' for Thomas Nelson publishers. Lawrence co-authored a series of books for D.C. Heath on women and work. In the 1960s she co-founded The Voice of Women. In the 1970s she was on the first

National Action Committee on the Status of Women The National Action Committee on the Status of Women was a Canadian feminist activist organization. History It was founded in 1971 as a pressure group to lobby for the implementation of the 167 recommendations made in the Royal Commission on ...

(NAC). She continued her peace and feminist views through newspapers like ''Broadside''. She was awarded the

Order of Canada The Order of Canada (french: Ordre du Canada; abbreviated as OC) is a Canadian state order and the second-highest honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit. To coincide with the cen ...

in 2001 for her work as both a puppeteer and an activist. After retiring, Lawrence moved from

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anch ...

Hornby Island Hornby Island of British Columbia, Canada, is one of the two northernmost Gulf Islands, located near Vancouver Island's Comox Valley, the other being Denman Island. A small community of 1,016 residents (as of the 2016 census), Hornby is home to ...

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...

where she became a strong community leader for the island, a designer of the recycling depot, and a farmer/environmentalist.

References

Canadian puppeteers Australian expatriates in Canada People from the Comox Valley Regional District Year of birth missing (living people) Living people Place of birth missing (living people) Members of the Order of Canada {{Canada-tv-bio-stub