Four (or Five!) Reasons Why

…Bert and Ernie Were Pioneers

1. Without Bert and Ernie, Sesame Street would not have existed as we know it today. According to A&E’s “Biography”, they were the only muppets to appear in the original pilot episode screen tested to a cross section of children and the only part that tested well. Prior thinking, as described in Malcolm Gladwell’s The Tipping Point, had the show separate all fantasy and real elements at the insistence of many child psychologists. In the end, Bert and Ernie were the catalysts for, as Gladwell notes, “What we now think of as the essence of Sesame Street - the artful blend of fluffy monsters and earnest adults…”

2. Despite being denied repeatedly by Sesame Workshop, some have suggested that the two were gay lovers since they shared a bedroom and a very close relationship. Regardless of whether this is true or not, the example set by the two may have shown young children that it was okay to be in a relationship that differed from “traditional” family values. While many thought that Ellen was the first prominent television character to come out of the closet, Bert and Ernie may have forged the path 20 years earlier.

3. Ernie was the first muppet (and presumably the first of many “puppet” musicians) to have a hit song. “Rubber Duckie” made its debut on the Billboard Top 40 chart in August of 1970 for pop/rock and stayed there for 7 weeks, peaking at number 16! As noted on Rubaduck, the rubber duck is considered a percussion instrument by the Boston Pops, which played the song under the conduct of Big Bird. It is noted that, “Apparently unwilling to pay musicians to play a ‘second instrument’, duck squeaking was limited to the percussion section when the cast played this song with the Boston Pops.”

4. Bert was the first geek. Some might say the alpha-geek. And he was, and still is, revered for it! His passions include reading “Boring Stories”, collecting paper clips and bottle caps, eating oatmeal, and studying pigeons. If Bert had been born into this world during the Internet era, who knows what he would have surrounded himself with. But he would have been super cool. And probably a dot-com bazillionaire.

Check out the Beatboxing Flute Sesame Street for a modern take on a trip down memory lane. And here for some classic Bert and Ernie skits.