Ernie
Encyclopedia
Ernie is a fictional character
, a Muppet
on the Public Broadcasting Service
's long-running children's television
show, Sesame Street
. He and his roommate Bert form a comic duo
that is one of the program's centerpieces, with Ernie acting the role of the naïve troublemaker and Bert the world-weary foil
. Ernie's birthday is January 28.
Ernie is well known for his fondness for baths with his Rubber Duckie
, and for trying to learn to play the saxophone although he would not "put down the duckie." Ernie is also known for keeping Bert awake at night, for reasons such as wanting to play the drums, wanting to count something (like sheep), to observe something like a blackout, or even because he is waiting for his upstairs neighbor to drop his shoes. That happens also in Play with Me Sesame
.
He has a distinctive, chuckling laugh (a trait he shares with his baby cousin Ernestine). His appearance and clothing contrast noticeably with Bert, as he is the shorter and stouter of the pair, wears a shirt with horizontal stripes as opposed to Bert's vertical ones, and has a head that is wider than it is high. In addition, Ernie has no visible eyebrows, while Bert displays a unibrow
.
Many Ernie and Bert sketches involve Ernie wanting to play a game with Bert, who would much rather do something else (like read). Ernie keeps annoying Bert with the game until Bert joins in – and usually, by the time Bert starts enjoying the game, Ernie is tired of playing the game and wants to do something else. Other sketches have involved them sharing some food by dividing it equally, only for one of them to have a bit more than the other, leading Ernie to make it even by eating the extra piece.
Ernie has also frequently made appearances without Bert. He has regularly appeared in skits with Cookie Monster
, Sherlock Hemlock
and Lefty the Salesman
.
From season 33 (2002) until season 36 (2005), he and Big Bird
starred in a daily segment called "Journey to Ernie".
Ernie was one of the hosts of Play With Me Sesame
. One regular segment that he hosted was "Ernie Says", a variation of "Simon Says".
in September 1970.
Ernie has appeared in both of the Sesame Street movies. In Follow That Bird, he and Bert searched for Big Bird by plane. Ernie piloted the plane, and eventually, after they found Big Bird, he flew the plane upside-down, singing "Upside Down World". However, after they lost Big Bird, Ernie blamed Bert.
In The Adventures of Elmo in Grouchland
, Ernie and Bert served as hosts, interrupting the movie whenever it looks like something bad is about to happen.
Ernie reveals in Sesame Street episode 257 that his favorite activities include watching parades, circuses and going to birthday parties.
A typical Bert and Ernie
skit has Ernie coming up with a hare-brained idea and Bert trying to talk him out of it ending with Bert losing his temper while Ernie becomes oblivious to his own bad idea.
Ernie also appeared in the finales of The Muppet Movie
and The Muppets Take Manhattan
, in the last of which he got a line.
In Christmas Eve on Sesame Street
, Ernie decided to buy Bert a cigar box to store his paper clips in. However, as he did not have any money, he traded his own Rubber Duckie for it. At the same time, Bert decided to get Ernie a soap dish to put his Rubber Duckie in, so that it wouldn't keep falling into the tub, but had to trade his paper clips for it. However, Mr. Hooper
could tell that neither of them really wanted to give up their prized possessions, so Mr. Hooper gave them their things back as presents.
Ernie and Bert introduced a montage of Sesame Street clips in The Muppets: A Celebration of 30 Years
. Ernie also narrated a Christmas pageant, Twas the Night Before Christmas, in A Muppet Family Christmas
. In that same special, Ernie and Bert had a conversation with Doc, making them the only Sesame Street characters (not counting Kermit the Frog
) to have interacted with Doc.
In Sesame Street: 20 and Still Counting, he and Bert got a new video camera, and he talked Bert into using the camera to record footage of Sesame Street so that they could watch Sesame Street on television.
Jim Henson's original Ernie puppet is currently on display at the Center for Puppetry Arts
in Atlanta, Georgia
.
, Fozzie Bear
, Beaker
, and Bunsen Honeydew.
have been the subject of urban legends. Two of the most frequently mentioned urban legends concerning Ernie include:
Fictional character
A character is the representation of a person in a narrative work of art . Derived from the ancient Greek word kharaktêr , the earliest use in English, in this sense, dates from the Restoration, although it became widely used after its appearance in Tom Jones in 1749. From this, the sense of...
, a Muppet
The Muppets
The Muppets are a group of puppet characters created by Jim Henson starting in 1954–55. Although the term is often used to refer to any puppet that resembles the distinctive style of The Muppet Show, the term is both an informal name and legal trademark owned by the Walt Disney Company in reference...
on the Public Broadcasting Service
Public Broadcasting Service
The Public Broadcasting Service is an American non-profit public broadcasting television network with 354 member TV stations in the United States which hold collective ownership. Its headquarters is in Arlington, Virginia....
's long-running children's television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
show, Sesame Street
Sesame Street
Sesame Street has undergone significant changes in its history. According to writer Michael Davis, by the mid-1970s the show had become "an American institution". The cast and crew expanded during this time, including the hiring of women in the crew and additional minorities in the cast. The...
. He and his roommate Bert form a comic duo
Bert and Ernie
Bert and Ernie are two muppets on the popular U.S. 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. Originated by Frank Oz and Jim Henson, the characters are currently performed by Muppeteers...
that is one of the program's centerpieces, with Ernie acting the role of the naïve troublemaker and Bert the world-weary foil
Foil (literature)
In fiction, a foil is a character who contrasts with another character in order to highlight particular qualities of another character....
. Ernie's birthday is January 28.
Ernie is well known for his fondness for baths with his Rubber Duckie
Rubber duckie
"Rubber Duckie" is a song sung by the Muppet character Ernie on Sesame Street. The song is named after Ernie's toy, a rubber duck affectionately named Rubber Duckie....
, and for trying to learn to play the saxophone although he would not "put down the duckie." Ernie is also known for keeping Bert awake at night, for reasons such as wanting to play the drums, wanting to count something (like sheep), to observe something like a blackout, or even because he is waiting for his upstairs neighbor to drop his shoes. That happens also in Play with Me Sesame
Play with Me Sesame
Play with Me Sesame is a children's television series spun off from Sesame Street, featuring Sesame Street characters such as Bert, Ernie, Grover, and Prairie Dawn. In the United States, from April 1, 2002 until September 2, 2007, the show has aired on the Nickelodeon-owned preschooler television...
.
He has a distinctive, chuckling laugh (a trait he shares with his baby cousin Ernestine). His appearance and clothing contrast noticeably with Bert, as he is the shorter and stouter of the pair, wears a shirt with horizontal stripes as opposed to Bert's vertical ones, and has a head that is wider than it is high. In addition, Ernie has no visible eyebrows, while Bert displays a unibrow
Unibrow
A unibrow is a "confluence of eyebrows"; that is, the presence of abundant hair between the eyebrows, so that they seem to converge to form one long eyebrow. The condition of having a unibrow is synophrys.-Beauty culture:...
.
Many Ernie and Bert sketches involve Ernie wanting to play a game with Bert, who would much rather do something else (like read). Ernie keeps annoying Bert with the game until Bert joins in – and usually, by the time Bert starts enjoying the game, Ernie is tired of playing the game and wants to do something else. Other sketches have involved them sharing some food by dividing it equally, only for one of them to have a bit more than the other, leading Ernie to make it even by eating the extra piece.
Ernie has also frequently made appearances without Bert. He has regularly appeared in skits with Cookie Monster
Cookie Monster
Cookie Monster is a Muppet on the children's television show Sesame Street. He is best known for his voracious appetite and his famous eating phrases: "Me want cookie!", "Me eat cookie!", and "Om nom nom nom" . He often eats anything and everything, including danishes, donuts, lettuce, apples,...
, Sherlock Hemlock
Sherlock Hemlock
Sherlock Hemlock is a former Muppet character on the children's TV show Sesame Street. His catchphrase is "Egad!" which he exclaims whenever he makes a discovery...
and Lefty the Salesman
Lefty the Salesman
Lefty the Salesman — commonly known as Lefty or simply The Salesman) was a Muppet character on the children's television program Sesame Street...
.
From season 33 (2002) until season 36 (2005), he and Big Bird
Big Bird
Big Bird is a protagonist of the children's television show Sesame Street. Big Bird, like many of the other Sesame Street characters, is a Muppet character. He is sometimes referred to simply as "Bird" by his friends....
starred in a daily segment called "Journey to Ernie".
Ernie was one of the hosts of Play With Me Sesame
Play with Me Sesame
Play with Me Sesame is a children's television series spun off from Sesame Street, featuring Sesame Street characters such as Bert, Ernie, Grover, and Prairie Dawn. In the United States, from April 1, 2002 until September 2, 2007, the show has aired on the Nickelodeon-owned preschooler television...
. One regular segment that he hosted was "Ernie Says", a variation of "Simon Says".
Movies, songs and specials
Ernie sang about his affection for Rubber Duckie in a skit, which aired during the first season of Sesame Street. The song from that skit – titled "Rubber Duckie" – became a modest mainstream hit, reaching No. 16 on the Billboard Hot 100Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
in September 1970.
Ernie has appeared in both of the Sesame Street movies. In Follow That Bird, he and Bert searched for Big Bird by plane. Ernie piloted the plane, and eventually, after they found Big Bird, he flew the plane upside-down, singing "Upside Down World". However, after they lost Big Bird, Ernie blamed Bert.
In The Adventures of Elmo in Grouchland
The Adventures of Elmo in Grouchland
The Adventures of Elmo in Grouchland is the second theatrical feature-length film starring the cast of the popular U.S. children's series Sesame Street...
, Ernie and Bert served as hosts, interrupting the movie whenever it looks like something bad is about to happen.
Ernie reveals in Sesame Street episode 257 that his favorite activities include watching parades, circuses and going to birthday parties.
A typical Bert and Ernie
Bert and Ernie
Bert and Ernie are two muppets on the popular U.S. 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. Originated by Frank Oz and Jim Henson, the characters are currently performed by Muppeteers...
skit has Ernie coming up with a hare-brained idea and Bert trying to talk him out of it ending with Bert losing his temper while Ernie becomes oblivious to his own bad idea.
Ernie also appeared in the finales of The Muppet Movie
The Muppet Movie
The Muppet Movie is the first of a series of live-action musical feature films starring Jim Henson's Muppets. Released in 1979, the film was produced by Henson Associates, Children's Television Workshop and ITC Entertainment....
and The Muppets Take Manhattan
The Muppets Take Manhattan
The Muppets Take Manhattan is the third of a series of live-action musical feature films starring Jim Henson's Muppets, and also the final film before Henson's death. This film was produced by Henson Associates and TriStar Pictures, and was filmed on location in New York City during the summer of...
, in the last of which he got a line.
In Christmas Eve on Sesame Street
Christmas Eve on Sesame Street
Christmas Eve on Sesame Street is a Sesame Street Christmas special first broadcast on PBS on December 3, 1978.-Plot:The opening features the inhabitants of Sesame Street enjoying an ice skating party. Big Bird has trouble skating, but a child gives him a hand, and he ends up skating very well...
, Ernie decided to buy Bert a cigar box to store his paper clips in. However, as he did not have any money, he traded his own Rubber Duckie for it. At the same time, Bert decided to get Ernie a soap dish to put his Rubber Duckie in, so that it wouldn't keep falling into the tub, but had to trade his paper clips for it. However, Mr. Hooper
Mr. Hooper
Harold Hooper was a character on Sesame Street, played by Will Lee, who was the original proprietor of Mr. Hooper's Store, which still retains his name.-Biography:...
could tell that neither of them really wanted to give up their prized possessions, so Mr. Hooper gave them their things back as presents.
Ernie and Bert introduced a montage of Sesame Street clips in The Muppets: A Celebration of 30 Years
The Muppets: A Celebration of 30 Years
The Muppets: A Celebration of 30 Years is a 1985 one-hour special that aired on CBS starring Jim Henson's Muppets.-Plot:The Muppets, the characters from Sesame Street, the characters from Sam and Friends, Uncle Traveling Matt and Sprocket the Dog from Fraggle Rock, and other Muppet-related...
. Ernie also narrated a Christmas pageant, Twas the Night Before Christmas, in A Muppet Family Christmas
A Muppet Family Christmas
A Muppet Family Christmas is a 1987 Christmas television special starring Jim Henson's Muppets.This is one of the very few Muppet productions to feature Muppets associated with all four of the major Muppet franchises: The Muppet Show, Sesame Street, Fraggle Rock and Muppet Babies...
. In that same special, Ernie and Bert had a conversation with Doc, making them the only Sesame Street characters (not counting Kermit the Frog
Kermit the Frog
Kermit the Frog is puppeteer Jim Henson's most famous Muppet creation, first introduced in 1955. He is the protagonist of many Muppet projects, most notably as the host of The Muppet Show, and has appeared in various sketches on Sesame Street, in commercials and in public service announcements over...
) to have interacted with Doc.
In Sesame Street: 20 and Still Counting, he and Bert got a new video camera, and he talked Bert into using the camera to record footage of Sesame Street so that they could watch Sesame Street on television.
Jim Henson's original Ernie puppet is currently on display at the Center for Puppetry Arts
Center for Puppetry Arts
The Center for Puppetry Arts, located in Atlanta, is the nation’s largest organization dedicated to the art form of puppetry. The Center focuses on three areas: performance, education and museum. It is one of the only puppet museums in the world. The Center is located in Midtown, the city's arts...
in Atlanta, Georgia
Georgia (U.S. state)
Georgia is a state located in the southeastern United States. It was established in 1732, the last of the original Thirteen Colonies. The state is named after King George II of Great Britain. Georgia was the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution, on January 2, 1788...
.
Performing Ernie
Ernie is a "Live-Hand Muppet," 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 MonsterCookie Monster
Cookie Monster is a Muppet on the children's television show Sesame Street. He is best known for his voracious appetite and his famous eating phrases: "Me want cookie!", "Me eat cookie!", and "Om nom nom nom" . He often eats anything and everything, including danishes, donuts, lettuce, apples,...
, Fozzie Bear
Fozzie Bear
Fozzie Bear is a Muppet, created by Jim Henson. He is an orange, particularly fuzzy bear who works as a stand-up comic and has a catchphrase, "Wocka Wocka Wocka". Shortly after telling the joke, he is usually the target of rotten tomatoes and ridicule, especially from hecklers Statler and Waldorf...
, Beaker
Beaker (Muppet)
Beaker is a Muppet character from The Muppet Show. He is the shy, long-suffering assistant of Dr. Bunsen Honeydew, and is likewise named for a piece of laboratory equipment, although his shape more closely resembles an Erlenmeyer flask....
, and Bunsen Honeydew.
International
Sesame Street is localized for some different markets, and Ernie is often renamed. For instance, in episodes that are aired in Portugal, Ernie's name has been changed to Egas, in Brazil his name is Ênio, in Spain he is renamed "Epi", in Latin America his name is "Enrique", on Egyptian Alam Simsim (Sesame World) Ernie's name is given as "Shadi" (rhyming with Bert's which is "Hadi"), in Russia he also known as Yenik (Еник), in Turkey he is named "Edi", in Israel he is called "Arik" (אריק) and in Norway he is known as "Erling".Urban legends and controversies concerning Ernie
Through the years, some Muppet characters on Sesame StreetSesame Street
Sesame Street has undergone significant changes in its history. According to writer Michael Davis, by the mid-1970s the show had become "an American institution". The cast and crew expanded during this time, including the hiring of women in the crew and additional minorities in the cast. The...
have been the subject of urban legends. Two of the most frequently mentioned urban legends concerning Ernie include:
- "A rumor spread that Ernie will be dying in an upcoming episode." The rumor began shortly after Henson'sJim HensonJames Maury "Jim" Henson was an American puppeteer best known as the creator of The Muppets. As a puppeteer, Henson performed in various television programs, such as Sesame Street and The Muppet Show, films such as The Muppet Movie and The Great Muppet Caper, and created advanced puppets for...
death in 1990. Several reasons are cited – including no one else being available to assume the role and helping children learn the concept of death and dying – with several plotlines detailing how he would die. However, Steve WhitmireSteve WhitmireSteven Whitmire is an American puppeteer who works for The Jim Henson Company, Sesame Workshop and Disney's The Muppets Studio. He has been the performer of two signature Muppets - Kermit the Frog and Sesame Street's Ernie - since the death of their creator and original performer, Jim Henson, in...
took over the role of Ernie.
- "It is claimed that Ernie and Bert are a couple". A further rumor is the pending marriage of the pair, indeed an Internet petition advocated this possibility. Sesame WorkshopSesame WorkshopSesame Workshop, formerly known as the Children's Television Workshop , is a Worldwide American non-profit organization behind the production of several educational children's programs that have run on public broadcasting around the world...
however issued a press release accepting that Bert and Ernie were never intended to be a gay couple.
- Ernie and Bert have no visible means of support and no reference is made to any form of employment, income, or attempts to find work.
See also
- Bert (Sesame Street)
- Bert and ErnieBert and ErnieBert and Ernie are two muppets on the popular U.S. 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. Originated by Frank Oz and Jim Henson, the characters are currently performed by Muppeteers...
External links
- Tough Pigs Anthology Transcripts of Ernie and Bert sketches