Bert
Encyclopedia
Bert is a fictional character
, a Muppet
on the Public Broadcasting Service
's long-running children's television
show, Sesame Street
. Bert was originally performed by Frank Oz
. Since 2001, Muppeteer Eric Jacobson
has been phased in as Bert's primary performer. Bert has made appearances within the Muppets
franchise, including The Muppet Show
and The Muppets Take Manhattan
.
He and his roommate Ernie
form a comic duo
that is one of the program's centerpieces, with Bert acting as the world-weary foil to Ernie's naive trouble-making.
While clearly adults who share an apartment, 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.
and watching pigeons. Producer Arlene Sherman has called Bert "everyone's idea of a blind date". In one sketch, Bert reads a book called Boring Stories and chuckles, "Wow! These boring stories are really exciting!" In the book Sesame Street Unpaved
, Frank Oz says, "I was never really happy with Bert's character until about a year in, when I realized... that he was a very boring character, and I'd use that weakness as a strength for him."
Bert's appearance and clothing contrast markedly with Ernie; he is the taller and thinner of the two, wears a turtleneck under a shirt with vertical stripes (as opposed to Ernie's horizontal ones), and has a head that is narrower than it is high. In addition, Bert has visible eyebrows (actually a unibrow
), while Ernie does not.
Bert has a pet pigeon named Bernice, and he created a dance called "Doin' the Pigeon". Bert serves as President of the National Association of W Lovers, a club
dedicated to the letter W
. Two conventions held by the W Lovers have been shown on the show. Bert has pet goldfish
, two of whom are named Lyle and Talbot
.
Bert's favorite number is 6 and his favorite instrument is the tuba.
A typical "Bert and Ernie
" skit has Ernie coming up with a hare-brained idea and Bert attempting to talk him out of it, ending with Bert completely losing his temper and Ernie remaining oblivious to his own bad idea.
Bert has a twin brother, Bart; a nephew, Brad; and an Aunt Matilda. Brad has a voice like Beaker
, but slightly deeper, and while he still made baby-like noises, he was able to talk. Ernie brought a toy shark with him in one skit; Brad was scared by it, not realizing it was a toy. Bart looks exactly like Bert, and Ernie once mistook Bart for Bert; but Bart wears a suit and fedora and is a salesman ("Bart's the name and selling's my game!"). Bart also tells several jokes and laughs at his own jokes and has combed hair. Bert's Aunt Matilda is never shown, but is often talked about
, usually concerning Bert buying presents for her for numerous reasons.
Bert is one of Mister Rogers's fans. In one sketch, Bert is trying to write a letter to Mister Rogers and Ernie turns on his electric fan and blows Bert's letters away.
chart with his song Rubber Duckie
.
i street protest was distributed by the Reuters
news agency. The photo included a protest sign that depicted Bert with Osama bin Laden
, an image that had been inadvertently placed there by the owner of a poster shop in Dhaka
.
Bert was also stated by Jon Stewart
on March 18, 2010 to be "A fastidious, pigeon-worshiping, felt tyrant. Whose draconian Sharia Law
allows for neither loud noise or rubber duckies. But yet, who spends his day in a children’s workshop telling our impressionable youth what to think." in an act 'spoofing' Glenn Beck
.
to issue a press release strongly insisting that the characters are asexual and denying that Bert and Ernie were meant to represent a gay couple.
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...
. Bert was originally performed by Frank Oz
Frank Oz
Frank Oz is a British-born American film director, actor, voice actor and puppeteer who is known for creating and performing the characters Miss Piggy and Fozzie Bear in The Muppet Show, Cookie Monster, Bert and Grover in Sesame Street, and for directing films, including the 1986 Little Shop of...
. Since 2001, Muppeteer Eric Jacobson
Eric Jacobson
Eric Jacobson is a puppeteer and Muppet performer, who has been the primary replacement puppeteer for Frank Oz's characters since 2001.-Career:...
has been phased in as Bert's primary performer. Bert has made appearances within the Muppets
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...
franchise, including The Muppet Show
The Muppet Show
The Muppet Show is a British television programme produced by American puppeteer Jim Henson and featuring Muppets. After two pilot episodes were produced in 1974 and 1975, the show premiered on 5 September 1976 and five series were produced until 15 March 1981, lasting 120 episodes...
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...
.
He and his roommate Ernie
Ernie
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...
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 Bert acting as the world-weary foil to Ernie's naive trouble-making.
While clearly adults who share an apartment, 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.
Characteristics
Bert, though kind and intelligent, is also grumpy, boring and easily frustrated. He enjoys activities such as paper clip and bottle cap collecting, cooking oatmealOatmeal
Oatmeal is ground oat groats , or a porridge made from oats . Oatmeal can also be ground oat, steel-cut oats, crushed oats, or rolled oats....
and watching pigeons. Producer Arlene Sherman has called Bert "everyone's idea of a blind date". In one sketch, Bert reads a book called Boring Stories and chuckles, "Wow! These boring stories are really exciting!" In the book Sesame Street Unpaved
Sesame Street Unpaved
Sesame Street Unpaved is a name used for numerous Sesame Street related productions.*Sesame Street Unpaved was a nationwide tour of ten United States colleges to mark the thirtieth anniversary of children's television show Sesame Street...
, Frank Oz says, "I was never really happy with Bert's character until about a year in, when I realized... that he was a very boring character, and I'd use that weakness as a strength for him."
Bert's appearance and clothing contrast markedly with Ernie; he is the taller and thinner of the two, wears a turtleneck under a shirt with vertical stripes (as opposed to Ernie's horizontal ones), and has a head that is narrower than it is high. In addition, Bert has visible eyebrows (actually 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:...
), while Ernie does not.
Bert has a pet pigeon named Bernice, and he created a dance called "Doin' the Pigeon". Bert serves as President of the National Association of W Lovers, a club
Club
A club is an association of two or more people united by a common interest or goal. A service club, for example, exists for voluntary or charitable activities; there are clubs devoted to hobbies and sports, social activities clubs, political and religious clubs, and so forth.- History...
dedicated to the letter W
W
W is the 23rd letter in the basic modern Latin alphabet.In other Germanic languages, including German, its pronunciation is similar or identical to that of English V...
. Two conventions held by the W Lovers have been shown on the show. Bert has pet goldfish
Goldfish
The goldfish is a freshwater fish in the family Cyprinidae of order Cypriniformes. It was one of the earliest fish to be domesticated, and is one of the most commonly kept aquarium fish....
, two of whom are named Lyle and Talbot
Lyle Talbot
Lyle Talbot , born Lisle Henderson, was an American actor on stage and screen, best known for his long career in movies from 1931 to 1960 and for his frequent appearances on TV in the 1950s and '60s, including his decade-long role as Joe Randolph on television's The Adventures of Ozzie and...
.
Bert's favorite number is 6 and his favorite instrument is the tuba.
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 attempting to talk him out of it, ending with Bert completely losing his temper and Ernie remaining oblivious to his own bad idea.
Bert has a twin brother, Bart; a nephew, Brad; and an Aunt Matilda. Brad has a voice like 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....
, but slightly deeper, and while he still made baby-like noises, he was able to talk. Ernie brought a toy shark with him in one skit; Brad was scared by it, not realizing it was a toy. Bart looks exactly like Bert, and Ernie once mistook Bart for Bert; but Bart wears a suit and fedora and is a salesman ("Bart's the name and selling's my game!"). Bart also tells several jokes and laughs at his own jokes and has combed hair. Bert's Aunt Matilda is never shown, but is often talked about
Unseen character
In fiction, an unseen character is a character that is never directly observed by the audience but is only described by other characters. They are a common device in drama and have been called "triumphs of theatrical invention". They are continuing characters — characters who are currently in...
, usually concerning Bert buying presents for her for numerous reasons.
Bert is one of Mister Rogers's fans. In one sketch, Bert is trying to write a letter to Mister Rogers and Ernie turns on his electric fan and blows Bert's letters away.
Discography
As the duo often sing in their skits, several albums were released containing studio-recorded versions of their songs. Bert's best-known song is "Doin' the Pigeon". Additionally, he and Ernie both had their own video, The Best of Ernie and Bert, and their own album, Bert and Ernie's Greatest Hits. Only Ernie, however, has hit the U.S. 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...
chart with his song 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....
.
Bert Is Evil
A humor website called Bert Is Evil hosted digitally manipulated images and satiric articles as "evidence" of Bert being evil. The site drew worldwide attention in 2001 when a photo of a BangladeshBangladesh
Bangladesh , officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh is a sovereign state located in South Asia. It is bordered by India on all sides except for a small border with Burma to the far southeast and by the Bay of Bengal to the south...
i street protest was distributed by the Reuters
Reuters
Reuters is a news agency headquartered in New York City. Until 2008 the Reuters news agency formed part of a British independent company, Reuters Group plc, which was also a provider of financial market data...
news agency. The photo included a protest sign that depicted Bert with Osama bin Laden
Osama bin Laden
Osama bin Mohammed bin Awad bin Laden was the founder of the militant Islamist organization Al-Qaeda, the jihadist organization responsible for the September 11 attacks on the United States and numerous other mass-casualty attacks against civilian and military targets...
, an image that had been inadvertently placed there by the owner of a poster shop in Dhaka
Dhaka
Dhaka is the capital of Bangladesh and the principal city of Dhaka Division. Dhaka is a megacity and one of the major cities of South Asia. Located on the banks of the Buriganga River, Dhaka, along with its metropolitan area, had a population of over 15 million in 2010, making it the largest city...
.
Bert was also stated by Jon Stewart
Jon Stewart
Jon Stewart is an American political satirist, writer, television host, actor, media critic and stand-up comedian...
on March 18, 2010 to be "A fastidious, pigeon-worshiping, felt tyrant. Whose draconian Sharia Law
Sharia
Sharia law, is the moral code and religious law of Islam. Sharia is derived from two primary sources of Islamic law: the precepts set forth in the Quran, and the example set by the Islamic prophet Muhammad in the Sunnah. Fiqh jurisprudence interprets and extends the application of sharia to...
allows for neither loud noise or rubber duckies. But yet, who spends his day in a children’s workshop telling our impressionable youth what to think." in an act 'spoofing' Glenn Beck
Glenn Beck
Glenn Edward Lee Beck is an American conservative radio host, vlogger, author, entrepreneur, political commentator and former television host. He hosts the Glenn Beck Program, a nationally syndicated talk-radio show that airs throughout the United States on Premiere Radio Networks...
.
Alleged portrayal of homosexuality
Ernie and Bert are rumored to be a couple despite the fact that this has been denied by the producers. 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. The proliferation of the rumor prompted Sesame WorkshopSesame Workshop
Sesame 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...
to issue a press release strongly insisting that the characters are asexual and denying that Bert and Ernie were meant to represent a gay couple.
External links
- Tough Pigs Anthology Transcripts of Ernie and Bert sketches