BERT AND ERNIE
Ernie and Bert are two roommates 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.
Bert and Ernie 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 an orange and
Bert was a banana.
According to A&E's Biography, Ernie and Bert were the only Muppets to appear in
the Sesame Street pilot episode, which was screen tested to a number of families
in July 1969. Their brief appearance was the only part of the pilot that tested
well, so 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.
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
Ernie and Bert without Jim." Despite this, Steve Whitmire took over performing
Ernie. Beginning around 2001, Eric Jacobson took over as Bert's primary
performer, although Oz still occasionally performs Bert.
Ernie's rendition of the song Rubber Duckie was released as a single in 1970 and
reached #16 on the Billboard charts.
Ernie and Bert are two roommates 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.
Bert and Ernie 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 an orange and
Bert was a banana.
According to A&E's Biography, Ernie and Bert were the only Muppets to appear in
the Sesame Street pilot episode, which was screen tested to a number of families
in July 1969. Their brief appearance was the only part of the pilot that tested
well, so 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.
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
Ernie and Bert without Jim." Despite this, Steve Whitmire took over performing
Ernie. Beginning around 2001, Eric Jacobson took over as Bert's primary
performer, although Oz still occasionally performs Bert.
Ernie's rendition of the song Rubber Duckie was released as a single in 1970 and
reached #16 on the Billboard charts.