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| The song and dance "Doin' the Pigeon" inspired an ] dance by ] ] ]. | The song and dance "Doin' the Pigeon" inspired an ] dance by ] ] ]. | ||
| ==External links== | |||
| * Transcripts of Ernie and Bert sketches | |||
| ] | ] | ||
Revision as of 04:22, 28 November 2005
For other uses, see Bert (Sesame Street) (disambiguation).
Bert is a Muppet character on the Public Broadcasting Service's long-running children's television show, Sesame Street.
He and his friend and roommate Ernie form a comic duo that is one of the program's centerpieces, with Bert acting the world-weary foil to Ernie's naïve trouble-maker. A characteristic physical feature of Bert is his monobrow.
Bert is intelligent but also grumpy, boring, and easily frustrated. He enjoys such dull activities as paper clip and bottle cap collecting, cooking oatmeal and watching pigeons. Bert has a pet pigeon named Bernice, and he created a dance called "Doin' the Pigeon".
Bert was originally performed by Frank Oz. Since 2001, Muppeteer Eric Jacobson has been phased in as Bert's primary performer.
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.
Frank Oz has said about Bert: "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 has a brother, Bart, a nephew, Brad, and an Aunt Matilda. Brad (presumed to be played by Richard Hunt) had 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 realising it was a toy.
The age of Bert and Ernie is regularly discussed on forums. Nothing official has ever been said, however most consider the duo adults, as they do not appear to be highly-dependent on others. Helping suggestions of the characters being young is a comment by Sesame Street Live performer Taylor Morgan. Morgan said to the Macon Telegraph that "I just kind of try to think like a 6-year-old or 7-year-old, because that's how old Bert is."
Bert's sexuality
Ernie and Bert share an apartment in the basement of 123 Sesame Street. Although they sleep in separate beds, this has led to the occasional suggestion that they are representations of gay lovers. This has been denied by Sesame Workshop, the corporation that owns the show and the characters.
Bert in culture
A humor website "Bert is Evil" hosted digitally manipulated images and satiric articles as "evidence" of Bert being evil. The site depicted the Muppet consorting with Adolf Hitler, Osama bin Laden, and the KKK. It drew worldwide attention in 2001 when a photo of a Bangladeshi street protest was distributed by the Reuters news agency; the photo included a protest sign that depicted Bert with Osama bin Laden. The website owner then took down the site, but mirror sites still exist.
The song and dance "Doin' the Pigeon" inspired an end zone dance by San Francisco 49ers defensive back Merton Hanks.
External links
- Tough Pigs Anthology Transcripts of Ernie and Bert sketches