Bert and Ernie are two Muppet characters who feature in several skits on Sesame Street, a long-running PBS/HBO children’s television show. The characters were created by Frank Oz and Jim Henson and are presently played by puppeteers Eric Jacobson and Peter Linz; Oz performed Bert until 2006.
Bert and Ernie have been pals for decades, but their long-running feud has just taken a new twist. In comments released this weekend, a former writer on the programme stated that he thought the two to be a gay couple and modelled their relationship on his own.
According to a book on the origins of “Sesame Street,” the two might have a different connection. It may be compared to Frank Oz’s friendship with Muppets founder Jim Henson. They played the roles for several years.
History
Don Sahlin created Bert and Ernie from a basic concept scribbled by Jim Henson, creator of The Muppets. Henson played Bert and Oz played Ernie at first, but after only one day of practise, they switched roles. The initial concept was to demonstrate that even if two individuals have very opposite personalities, they may still be excellent friends.
According to writer Jon Stone, Bert and Ernie’s bond mirrored Oz and Henson’s real-life connection. Although it is often assumed that their names were inspired by two minor characters in the Frank Capra film It’s a Wonderful Life, sources inside the Sesame Street production team claim that the names were coincidence.
Bert and Ernie were almost the only Muppets to appear in the Sesame Street pilot episode, which was screen-tested to a number of families in July 1969, according to A&E’s Biography. Because their brief presence was the only element of the pilot that tested well, it was determined that Muppet characters would not only be the “stars” of the programme, but would also interact with the human characters, which was not done in the pilot.
In a typical Bert and Ernie comedy, Ernie has a crazy notion and Bert tries to talk him out of it, generally leaving him furious and Ernie confused. If Ernie wants to do anything noisy while Bert is doing something peaceful, such as reading a book or the newspaper, Bert would educate him how to be quiet; yet, Ernie would still create some noise, causing Bert to lose his temper or leave the room.
Sesame Street Live vocalist Taylor Morgan noted in an interview that “I just kind of try to think like a six year old or a seven year old, since that’s how old Bert is.
About Bert
Frank Oz was the first to play Bert. Since 1997, when Oz withdrew from most Muppet duties to focus on directing, Muppeteer Eric Jacobson has gradually taken over as Bert’s principal performer. Bert is a “hand rod puppet,” which means that the puppeteer’s right arm is placed into Bert’s head to control the mouth, while the puppeteer’s left hand controls the puppet’s arms using rods. Bert has a unibrow, which is one huge brow.
About Ernie
Jim Henson initially played Ernie until his death in 1990. Ernie was played by Muppeteer Steve Whitmire from 1993 through 2014. Billy Barkhurst played Ernie from 2014 to 2017, and Peter Linz presently plays the part.
Ernie is a “live hand puppet,” which means that while manipulating the puppet’s head with his right hand, the puppeteer slips his left hand into a T-shaped sleeve, which is capped with a glove that matches the fabric “skin” of the puppet, thereby “becoming” the puppet’s left arm. The right arm is frequently supplied by a second puppeteer.
Relationship Between Bert and Ernie
Bert and Ernie do not identify as homosexual. Sesame Street confirmed the two characters’ relationship status in a Facebook post on Thursday. “Bert and Ernie are good friends.” “They were meant to educate newborns that individuals may make wonderful friends with those who are totally different from themselves. Despite the fact that they are classified as male characters and have many human attributes and characteristics (as do the majority of Sesame Street MuppetsTM), they are puppets and do not have a sexual orientation.
Saltzman, who wrote for “Sesame Street” from 1981 to 1990, stated the duo’s friendship was inspired by his own connection with film editor Arnold Glassman, who Saltzman worked with until Glassman died in 2003.
“Ernie was my name. I look more like Bert. And Arnie, as a film editor – wouldn’t Bert be wonderful if he had any job in the world? Bert, with his paper clips and neatness? And I was the clown “According to Saltzman.
Many fans have always questioned Bert and Ernie’s friendship. A petition to have the two characters marry on the programme gathered approximately 11,000 signatures in 2011. In 2013, Bert and Ernie appeared on the cover of The New Yorker when the Supreme Court ruled that the Defense of Marriage Act was unconstitutional (which defined marriage mainly as a legal relationship between a man and a woman). They were cuddled up together, watching a television that showed the Supreme Court Justices.
Parody and other uses
From March 30, 1997, through around 2002, the spoof website “Bert is Evil” featured Bert in a series of doctored images, accusing him of crimes ranging from the assassination of John F. Kennedy to those of Jack the Ripper. A similar image from another source, depicting Bert conversing with Osama bin Laden, was accidentally put on a series of protest placards in October 2001 and 2002 by a Bangladeshi print business.
Attik Kargar, who performed the puppets and provided the voice of Bernie, had a recurrent segment called Bernie und Ert on the German comedic sketch series Freitag Nacht News. Bernie and Ert are a spoof of Ernie and Bert, particularly as seen on Sesamstrasse.
The puppets had no noses, only one eye, and alternated hairstyles. Each comedy, which portrayed them as a dysfunctional homosexual pair of petty criminals (Bernie being a promiscuous bisexual), concentrated on traditionally mature topics such as criminality, drug addiction, masturbation, and Friday the 13th. Bernie and Ert were withdrawn from the series in February 2003 due to legal problems; however, previous episodes are still available on the internet.
Bernie and Ert also appeared in a skit called “Popo Club” in a Freitag Nacht News segment called Bullzeye. Bernie and Ert, dressed as Unknown No. 1 and Unknown No. 2, with another figure named Winfred, propagated weird sexual practises while wearing black masks and leather jackets.
This sketch was so successful that it inspired numerous “Popo Club” skits starring Unknowns No. 1 and 2, with occasional cameos by Winfred.
The adult-oriented Sesame Street spoof Avenue Q has characters named Rod (played by John Tartaglia) and Nicky (performed by Rick Lyon), who are parodies of Bert and Ernie, respectively. Rod is a conservative investment banker who is also a closeted homosexual, and Nicky is his lazy roommate who suspects Rod is gay.
