Ernie
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This article is about the muppet character. "Ernie" is also the former name of "The Piranha Club," a comic strip by Bud Grace, and "ERNIE" is an acronym for Electronic Random Number Indicator Equipment, used in the UK's Premium Bonds.
Ernie is a fictional character, a Muppet on PBS' long-running children's television show, Sesame Street. He and Bert form a comic duo that is one of the program's centerpieces, with Ernie acting the role of the naïve trouble-maker and Bert the world-weary foil.
Ernie is well known for his fondness for baths with his Rubber Duckie and for trying to learn to play the saxophone because he would not "put down the duckie."
Ernie was originally performed by Jim Henson. Vocally, Ernie strongly resembles one of Henson's other character creations, Kermit the Frog. Since Henson's untimely death in 1990, Ernie has been performed by Muppeteer Steve Whitmire.
Ernie is a "live hands puppet", meaning that while operating the head of the puppet with his right hand, the puppeteer inserts his left hand into a T-shaped sleeve, capped off with a glove that matches the fabric "skin" of the puppet, thus "becoming" the left arm of the puppet. A second puppeteer usually provides the right arm, although sometimes the right arm is simply stuffed and pinned to the puppet's chest. Other puppets of this type include Cookie Monster and The Muppet Show's Fozzie Bear, Dr. Teeth, and Rowlf the Dog.
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[edit] Urban legends concerning Ernie
Through the years, many Muppet characters on Sesame Street have been the subject of urban legends, stories that usually prove to be false. Two of the most frequently mentioned urban legends concerning Ernie include:
[edit] Ernie's "death"
An unfounded Internet rumor has been spread that Ernie will be dying in an upcoming episode [1]. Fueled by Jim Henson's death in 1990, Ernie was said to be facing his demise in one of two ways:
- From an illness (e.g., leukemia or AIDS); some stories even contended that a series of episodes were planned focusing on Ernie's failing health and impending death.
- After being fatally injured in a car accident, car-pedestrian accident, or by some other disaster (such as being trapped in a burning building).
The storyline supposedly would come to an end with the characters dealing with their emotions following Ernie's "death."
However, Sesame Street has already presented a story acknowledging the death of Mr. Hooper, the friendly grocery store owner played by actor Will Lee, who actually did die. Furthermore, Sesame Street simply wrote out the character of David when the actor playing him, Northern Calloway, died in 1990.
[edit] Sexual orientation
Ernie and Bert are rumored to be homosexual [2]. This rumor has expanded over the years to include the pending marriage of the pair. The source of this rumor is undetermined, although Snopes has attributed it to poor recollection of various media reports covering odd or strange urban legends. Sesame Workshop officials strongly insist the characters are asexual, and point out that they are made from cloth and other materials. (The Workshop issued a press statement formally denying that Bert and Ernie were gay or were meant to represent a gay couple. At the end of the statement, one of the Workshop executives asked in apparent exasperation "What's next? Are people going to start saying that Cookie Monster should enter a 12-step program for his cookie addiction?")
In the Broadway musical Avenue Q, the characters of Rod and Nicky are based on Bert and Ernie respectively. In acknowledgement of this rumor, the character of Rod is a closeted homosexual. Nicky is straight, and encourages the uptight Rod to come out of the closet.
[edit] International
Sesame Street is localised for some different markets, and Ernie is often renamed. For instance, in episodes that are aired in Portuguese, Ernie's name has been changed to Egas (although in Brazil his name is Ênio), in Spain he is renamed "Epi"
[edit] External links
- Tough Pigs Anthology Transcripts of Ernie and Bert sketches
