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A search on "bert ernie sesame street names" led us to Muppet Central. There we found a page of frequently asked questions about the lovable characters much of the world has grown up watching. The page tackled the hard-hitting inquiry, "Do the names of Ernie and Bert come from It's a Wonderful Life?" Apparently, a theory popular among movie buffs and Muppet fans is that the duo was named after Bert the cop and Ernie the taxi driver in the classic Christmas film. According to Jon Stone,
a writer for Sesame Street, it is merely a coincidence. Unfortunately, the official Sesame Workshop web site does not say where the names come from. We tried to contact our Muppet friends directly, but their handlers are very picky about what you can ask Bert and Ernie. Sadly, the origin of their monikers was not on the list of "approved questions." We can only conclude that the names of the pair sprung from the vivid imagination of their gifted
creator, Jim Henson. Henson created Bert and Ernie in 1969 when Sesame Street first aired. The pair's constant bickering and playful skits soon made them two of the most popular Muppets on the show. Henson played Ernie until his death in 1990; Bert was played by veteran Muppeteer Frank Oz from 1969 to 2000. No strangers to rumor or controversy,
Bert, Ernie, and friends are back in the news with the announcement that they will soon be joined by a new character who will help them address some serious issues.
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