Bert and Ernie

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Ernie and his rubber duckie with Bert in Sesame Street

Bert and Ernie are two Muppets on the long-running PBS children's television show Sesame Street. The two appear together in numerous skits, forming a comic duo that is one of the centerpieces of the program. In the tradition of many movie comic duos, notably Abbott and Costello, the interplay forms between the mischievous innocent (Ernie) and the world-weary partner (Bert).

1 History of the duo
2 Rumors and myths
3 Trivia
4 Comedy routines
5 Internationally
6 See also
7 External links

[edit] History of the duo

Ernie and Bert were built by Don Sahlin from a simple design scribbled by Muppets creator Jim Henson. According to Frank Oz, Sahlin also defined their characters on the basis of their physical appearance.

Ernie was originally performed by Jim Henson until his death in 1990. Muppeteer Steve Whitmire inherited the character. Bert was originally performed by now-director Frank Oz.

When Henson died, Frank Oz commented that he "couldn't imagine doing Bert and Ernie without Jim." Eventually, however, Oz would perform Bert opposite Steve Whitmire's Ernie. Beginning around 2001, Eric Jacobson began to be phased in as Bert's primary performer, and Jacobson now primarily performs the character, though Oz still performs him a couple of times each year.

Ernie's rendition of the song Rubber Duckie was released as a single in 1970 and reached #16 on the Billboard charts.

[edit] Rumors and myths

Throughout the history of the duo, a number of rumors and urban legends have claimed that one (usually Ernie) would die somehow (whether by accident or illness). In parody, a number of websites claim that "Bert is Evil", and display him in a number of doctored photographs (implicating the hapless puppet in crimes ranging from the John F. Kennedy assassination to those of Jack the Ripper). An image in the same style as those from the Bert is Evil Web site (but not actually from it), featuring Bert conferring with Osama bin Laden, was mistakenly included by a Dhaka, Bangladesh print shop on a series of protest signs in late 2001 and 2002. [1].

Characters named Bert and Ernie appear in the film It's a Wonderful Life as a cop and a taxi driver, respectively, though the use of the names by Henson is said to be a coincidence.

Ernie and Bert share an apartment in the basement of 123 Sesame Street. Although they sleep in separate beds, this has led to the occasional suggestion that they are representations of gay lovers. This is denied by Sesame Workshop, the corporation that owns the show and the characters, but the idea is sufficiently widespread that it has been used as the basis of jokes by comedians or other TV shows. In an early episode of Saturday Night Live, in Chevy Chase's "Weekend Update" news satire segment, a picture of Bert and Ernie was displayed, and Chevy read from his script that "Bert and Ernie confirmed this week that they are practicing homosexuals." Whether this SNL joke was the source of this rumor, or was merely a reference to the rumor, is unclear.

Caricatures of Bert and Ernie in a episode of Family Guy.

In a Family Guy episode entitled Mind over Murder, the main character Peter Griffin, being cooped up in the house for too long, states that the TV shows are all meshing together into "Homicide: Life on Sesame Street", a parody of the real life show Homicide: Life on the Street, that depicts Ernie and Bert as a bickering gay married couple, with Bert playing the role of a gruff butch, alcoholic police detective and Ernie as a "nagging wife".

The characters Rod and Nicky, from the Broadway musical Avenue Q, were designed as a comic takeoff of Bert and Ernie. In the musical, Rod (based on Bert) is a closeted homosexual; Nicky (based on Ernie) is straight and encourages Rod to come out of the closet.

[edit] Trivia

Bert and Ernie are seen to have a number of relatives on-screen, with similar names:
- Bert's twin brother Bart, who resembles Bert in every physical way (including, as Ernie puts it, "the same pointy head, cucumbery nose and no-shoulders"), but has a diametrically-opposite personality, constantly making weak jokes and imitating a comedy-routine trumpet ("Bart's the name, selling's the game, waah-waah-waah!"). On one occasion Bert's absence from a skit is explained as a visit to his brother.
- Bert's quiet nephew Brad, whose bathtime is interfered with by Ernie and a number of bath toys.
- Ernie's young cousin Ernestine, whom Ernie encourages to speak by teaching her his own name. To his dismay, the first word she says is actually "Bert!".
Comedian Frank Caliendo refers to broadcasters and legends John Madden and Pat Summerall as "The Bert and Ernie of Football" and how they were broken up by the Broadcasting stations.
Ernie and Bert were parodied in a German comedy called Bernie und Ert. It is available on YouTube.
According to A&E's Biography, Bert and Ernie were the only Muppets to appear in the Sesame Street pilot episode, which was screen tested to a number of families in July 1969. As it turned out, their brief appearance was the only part of the pilot that tested well, and it was decided that not only should Muppet characters be the "stars" of the show but would also interact with the human characters, something that was not done in the pilot.

[edit] Comedy routines

A typical Bert and Ernie skit follows one of two similar patterns, both beginning with Ernie devising a hare-brained idea and Bert calmly attempting to talk him out of it. Usually this ends with Bert losing his temper and Ernie remaining oblivious to his own bad idea. Sometimes Ernie's dumb idea miraculously turns out to be correct, much to Bert's evident frustration.

An example Bert and Ernie skit is the banana in my ear joke:

Bert: "Hey, you've got a banana in your ear!"

Ernie: "What?"

Bert: "I said, YOU'VE GOT A BANANA IN YOUR EAR!"

Ernie: "What? I can't hear you; I've got a banana in my ear!"

[edit] Internationally

Mexico, Plaza Sesamo, Bert is "Beto", while Ernie is "Enrique".
Israel, Rechov Sumsum, Bert is "Bents", a common short-form for the name "Ben-Tzvi", and Ernie is "Arik".
Netherlands, Sesamstraat they are "Bert en Ernie". Paul Haenen provides Bert's voice, and Wim T. Schippers provides Ernie's.
Spain, Barrio Sésamo, Bert is "Blas", and Ernie is "Epi". Also, they're always referred to as "Epi & Blas", in the opposite order.
Norway, Sesam Stasjon, Bert is "Bernt", while Ernie is "Erling". Usually they are referred to as "Erling og Bernt"
Turkey, Susam Sokağı, Bert is "Büdü", while Ernie is "Edi". They are commonly referred to as "Edi ile Büdü".
Brazil, Vila Sésamo, Bert is "Beto", and Ernie is "Ênio". They're referred to as "Ênio e Beto".
Portugal, Rua Sésamo, Bert is "Becas" and Ernie is "Egas". They're referred to as "Egas e Becas", in the opposite order.
France, 1, Rue Sésame, Bert is "Bart" and Ernie is "Ernest". They're referred to as "Ernest et Bart".