Judith Lawrence

Judith Lawrence is an Australian-born Canadian puppeteer, author, and activist who was best known for her work on Mr. Dressup (as Casey and Finnegan). Her characters started off on the Butternut Square TV series before transitioning to Mr. Dressup. Judith has been performing opposite of Ernie Coombs from the beginning to 1989, the year she retired from puppeteering on the show. Lawrence also wrote many books within The Young Canada Reading Series as well as a series of books for D.C. Heath. But she is perhaps most well known for being an activist too, for she co-founded The Voice of Women in the 1960s. She continued her peace and feminist views through newspapers. But perhaps the biggest achievement of Judith Lawrence was being awarded the Order of Canada in 2001 as both a puppeteer and activist. It's a pity she retired from Mr. Dressup in 1989, for she was doing wonderful as Casey and Finnegan over the years. Her characters were retired as well and replaced with newer puppets until the show's conclusion in 1996. Judith could have worked with the puppeteers for those characters such as Nina Keogh, Bob Dermer, Jim Parker, and Ruth Danziger. But Lawrence chose to retire from the show taking her characters with her, which I personally think was best for her. She was last seen in a 2023 documentary film called Mr. Dressup: The Magic of Make-Believe. This shows she'll always remember performing on that show as well as the man who played the title character. Judith Lawrence, you are a wonderful puppeteer, author, and activist too. It's no wonder you're one of Canada's greatest women that ever lived. I hope that your legacy will go on forever when the time comes for you. In the meantime, take a well deserved rest Judith. You've definitely earned it after all that hard work Lawrence!