Sesame Street - Ernie and Bert's debut

[danwat1234]

It should be their nightbut because it's time time in that scene.

[TheOnlineCandyCane]

This is their broadcast debut.

[Maestrojosh87]

And here's how it all started... (sigh)

[BonJoviFan96]

i can see frank oz's arm

[Putar1]

Is that a flat screen TV? Ernie was always ahead of the curve...

[TobyBeau]

Is it just me or are both of those jokes COMPLETE nonsense to anyone younger than...say, 30?

[kalimaganeshshivan]

Ernie sounds like Ed Norton from "The Honeymooners"!

[skeaneable]

ah yes my two favorite faggots Spongebob and Sqiudward!

[RetroLaydeh42]

Bert and Ernie are so hilarious! I love Sesame Street.

[stevenscottoddballz]

WHO is Solomun Grundy?

[zazelby]

@stevenscottoddballz Solomon Grundy is a nursery rhyme character. It starts "Solomon Grundy / Born on a Monday". (The DC comics character was named after the rhyme. The comic character is a gangster who came back to life as a zombie on a Monday, so his pals jokingly named him "Solomon Grundy" after the rhyme)

The Sesame Street version involves the character taking a bath, rather than being born, getting married, and dying. See video kJ8UOsUTd0Q

[stevenscottoddballz]

@zazelby

Thank you VERY much for replying & clarifying!

[MorgTheHarbinger]

Solomon Grundy ????

Did he just make a Marvel Character Reference? Or am I hearing things?

[KingPurplePimp]

@MorgTheHarbinger Actually a rhyme and a DC character.

[sweetlife031]

This sketch was on the LP Ernie's Hits....but it was shortened after Ernie said the punch line "ring around rosie".

[SonicThunderBYG]

Saw Frank Oz, I did!

[obliviouscandybar]

Bert reminds me of Squidward.

[mallyRIN]

Awwww true love ;)

[TheNatkidd]

1:01 I dont get it ?

[MarioZoneAlt69]

@TheNatkidd It leads to an animated segment about "Poor Solomon Grundy", who washes only one side of his body.

[02Voices01Song]

I call my bathtub... ROSIE! :D makes me laugh everytime!

[mcrrocks80]

I saw frank oz`s arm

[lionslicer9999]

Bert reminds me of squidward

[pyrogonegoth]

@lionslicer9999 Squidward reminds me of Bert

[aceattorney1989]

@pyrogonegoth I think your comment is backwards dude.

[pyrogonegoth]

@aceattorney1989 Bert came first

[aceattorney1989]

@pyrogonegoth Its just that u said Squidward reminds u of Bert but Squidward is not in this and I thought u got your comment backwards.

[tr763]

i don't remember ernie being mexican

[coolhayden37]

i saw frank oz



[856956sinewavetones]

a young frank oz is seen holding bert

[hornean]

I know that Ernie is the second Sesame Street Muppet to appear in the series and Bert is the third.

[archer1949]

Early Ernie sounded like Art Carney in the Honeymooners.

[ILL2DEF]

Was Ernie from Brooklyn??? Listen to that accent!!!!

[Ljeac]

Don't you think Joey and Chandler from Friends are a bit like Ernie and Bert, by the way?

[aiboluver]

Episode 1. because when u hold the mouse at the way beginning u can see the ending scene of Big Bird's debut

[ExplorerDS6789]

Solomon Grundy was the sketch that followed this.

[LOHY0017]

1969 wow... so old..............

[Futurevoiceactor]

Why did he make that obscure reference to Solomon Grundy? Was it hypothetical or has Bert been reading too many DC comics?

[Superstarseven]

@Futurevoiceactor Solomon Grundy was an old nursery rhyme before the comic book character.

[sheltv100]

1969

[aiboluver]

Bert sounds da same like 2day

[gtz1975]

Who the hell is Solamon Grundifowun?

[gtz1975]

Where's rubber ducky?

[evantrude]

at 0:18 to 0:20 you could see part of frank oz!

[jtomally9681]

I have not seen this one before.

[LiteracyLabyrinth]

I cant believe they allowed Franks arm to be seen, and his nose is there too! I guess in the 60s they didnt expect reruns

[hgwilt1]

Frank oz I saw him under Bert. Instead of both Jim and Frank behind the scenes. The performers aren't allowed to be seen.

[LuigiTheGam3r]

You can see Jim Henson arm and his glasses under bert. Also it is the debut of Ernie and Bert in Sesame Street. But before the show premired Ernie and Bert were seen in a commercial reminding young chiderne to watch Sesame Street.

[HeyButtahfly]

Frank Oz is the one seen under Bert... Henson did Ernie.

[tgilbo]

Bert and Ernie are my friends too!

[ThatsABiggon]

lol. you can see both puppeteers.

[nerdboy10]

Berts voice is is kinda deep and he acting like a BUM!!

[loikmg]

your right you can see the pupeteers arm and face a little

[jessburney]

I love the references to nursery rhymes in this. I love the story of Solomon Grundy. :D

[bgrasso5]

man wat the hell is ur problem. u hav somthin against ernie huh?? o i see now ur too scared to answer, u coward.

[bdguile]

i love how you can see the puppeteer's arm and later in the shot a small part of what i believe are his glasses in the bottom right hand corner.

[gtz1975]

@bdguile just remember one thing~INSIDE EVERY ANGRY PUPPET LIES A FIST!

[texasghost]

@bdguile

Actually..that's Frank Oz.

[pinkterior]

@texasghost kind of looks like dave goelz to me.

[JeffSigmund]

@bdguile I saw that too

[DogtoonMedia]

@bdguile I saw that as well, totally didn't care haha! :D

[texasghost]

@bdguile

Ya gotta cut them some slack though. It was public television in the 1960s. They barely had a budget for cameras.

[SlipknotTrueLover]

whoever said enrie is gay well then ur gay n pplz like u shouldnt be watchin this if u think its gay duhhh

[gvolpe1003]

HEY WHO EVER MAKES FUN OF ERNIE UR MAKIN FUN OF JIM HENSON!!!!!!!!!! TISK TISK SHAME AND SHUN THE NONEBLIEVIERS !SSHHUUN! SSSSSHHHHHUUUUUNNNNN na!!!:D

[UnholyTaker2008]

hes jackin off

[theonly1whomatters]

Bert and Ernie have always been fags and the gay message has been creeping into the minds of children for decades!!! It's time to stop the insanity

[iamreallyfree]

you are so sick hahaha!

[CadillacL]

WOW, what a piece of history.

[daveht2k]

Ernie rules!

[hermeeown]

Ernie and Bert? Incorrect.

[darkmarkrammstein]

this stuff is so funnny

[CapriUni]

Solomon Grundy was an animated character who took a bath every day of the week, but only washed one body part each time. By the end of the week, he was still half-dirty. (You can see the opening frame of the bit right at the end of this vid).

[imaniluva6]

Who solomon grundy

[soylentgreen666]

my father

[ErnieandBert1]

When Ernie is scrubbing himself at the beginning, you can also see Jim's arm.

[RabbitDance]

I love Ernie's over exuberant bathing!

I see OZ! ^ ^

[Hotshotter3000]

You know, it's been 40 years since the show's debut, and I have to say that Bert must have been made of something fierce to have endured all THAT annoyances and not having been demoralized at all in that period of time. :p

[emoviebuff87]

wow!!! a classic introduction!!

[madcapromanian]

In the corner it's somebody's glasses...probbably Frank Oz.

Even the angle Bert's on would suggest that the performers aren't 100% under the stage.

this seems a bit odd to me as Henson had a lot of time to perfect this as he was making "Sam and Friends" since 1955.

[vampirealdys]

I remember hearing this on an old cassette tape... good stuff!

[MrNateSauve]

You can see the arm that does Bert. LOL

[NinjaMuffinMaster]

From 0:27 onward, what's that thing at the edge of the screen?

I don't get the ending reference?

<3 I love these old scenes.

[rikiki]

Can see the hand, that's a first. ^^

[June300c]

IT's weird when you see his arm there and start thinking that's not so hard until you try it yourself and see it's not just moving a head and arms. You have make it seem expressive

[elvischainchomp41]

You can see a person when bert goes down

[SnugglySara]

I've always wondered if Jim Henson was the lead singer of Canned Heat. Listen to "Goin' Up the Country" and you hear traces of Kermit the Frog!

[cbsteffen]

I think it's silly that Ernie would name a bathtub Rosie (or Rosy). He sort of anthropomorphized that tub!

[carson08022000]

look at bert go down then you`ll see his person

[deimos2k6]

lol true!!!

[Joker2One]

For some odd reason, now that I can see the arm which is doing Bert, I think it makes thing 3x Cuter. ^w^;;

[kungfujiapple]

Taken from the premiere episode on November 10, 1969.

[folkypoet]

I had the audio of this exact skit on an album when I was a kid, but I don't remember them saying Soloman Grundy. I think that, since there was no other reference to S.G. on the album, they must have dubbed over the very end. Seems like Bert's last line was "Me."

[Aydee2020]

so both of them must be old now huh...

[ZoidTheMaster]

You can also see part of Jim Henson's arm, whenever Ernie moves his left hand.

[KingofPepsi]

Ha, HA, HA!!! It's hilarious how they didn't care that the puppeteer was in shot back then.

Also, I always thought Squidward from "Spongebob Squarepants" sounded like Bert, especially when he was angry.

[Pooleman96]

Guess that's how the art of Jim Henson's puppetry evolved, the puppeteers grew more skilled in hiding and making their Muppets more lifelike as time went by.

[jackmanslightpepper]

Wow, Bert is way too mellow! It's almost as if he's on something.

[soylentgreen666]

hey this was the 60s man. lol

[MonsterTruckManiac]

You can achually see Bert's puppet holders hand.

[Purplesubmariner]

oh WOW look at bert! this must be when Sesame Street first started!

[Ynnepchan]

XD Oh yes.

[giantsean]

Jeez Bert was even MORE of a stiff in the sixties. However Ernie was definitely smoking something to get nice with David and Luis behind the alphabet board.

[setheurovision94]

It's a kid's show, for crying out loud!

[gajda1984]

kheekheekheekhee!

[FatalNFelony07]

LMAO!! you can see the person holding Beart in the right corner

[StarlightHaven]

Yeah! I saw Frank Oz too!

[SnugglySara]

@StarlightHaven At :56, you can see his horned rimmed glasses.

[jadewarlock]

@FatalNFelony07 To be fair, in 1969 they did a lot of one take shots, hence a lot of continuity errors such as this one with Frank Oz. That said, it IS funny given how careful everyone whose ever worked a puppet on "Sesame Street" is to not do this.

[coolhayden37]

@FatalNFelony07 you spelled bert wrong

[OhGodIPooed]

lol i like the rubber duckie song

[Johnny2071]

A DC character in Sesame Street?

[gilbertpinson]

Solomon Grundy is a nursery rhyme. DC just used his name. And story. But Sesame Street is allowed to make cultural references.

Though, when you think about it, would it not be awesome if random DC supervillans showed up to join a Bert and Ernie sketch?

[madhat2k]

Solomon Grundy want pants too!

[brianklick]

Good stuff

my my how the show has changed

[kiMMeLive]

"Ernie, get out of the tub"

"Why?"

"Uhm...*blushes*"

[zxy009]

if u pull back the thing to 0 u c the guy and the girl

[D0MZ08]

were they gay or what. this brings back memory's sesame street was a rocking show

[patrickballoonman]

This is probably the only bath Ernie took on the show without his rubber duckie. Maybe because the song hadn't been written yet.

[earthtoryan]

the solomon grundy thing refers to an animated segment that came before (or after) this about the days of the week and how dirty a kid named solomon grundy got.

[MondoBeno]

I knew two guys at a Synagogue who were like that. One was like Ernie; short, swarthy, and eccentric. The other was like Bert; tall, pale, skinny, and always pissed off about everything.

[TEHGAM0RX]

looks like a yellow squidward

[ginaandsavionfan39]

lol is do look squidward but sound like it

[TINKERBELL7770]

HAHA!!

[300589389]

i see your arm and face jim henson and frank oz!

[13eds]

nope, just Frank Oz.

[bassman5588]

pause it at 18 seconds. you can see Frank Oz's arm coming out of bert.

[WillWatchAnything]

yup thats something you would not have seen in 1969 'cause all the screens then had rounded corners so that part would not have shown up.

[whatsup87]

LOL u can also see his head a little bit.

[setheurovision94]

I don't get it: Solomon Grundy? What's an obscure supervillain got to do with Ernie's bathtub?

[WillWatchAnything]

It was a segway to the next segment.

[clothesthedryer]

remember when Ernie had to put the goldfish in Bert's cowboy hat so Bert had to wear a pot to

Ride-Em-Cowboy!

[ZippZapp]

Uhh...Bert? Some guy's arm is going up your arse.

[sands111]

i youtubed solomon grundy. (name mentioned at the end) he is now an obscure supervillian!

[sabbkbk]

We are looking for the episode where Oscar is yellow and and where the wicked witch (Margaret Hamilton) visits sesame street.

[Pimp479]

I can't believe that these pictures of Ernie and Bert from the 60's and 70's could look so good.

[Phykus]

Ernie is masturbating

[hollisterlova18]

Stuff like that are the types of things that could get kids really freaked out! I know it freak me out when I saw it!!!! :]

[hollisterlova18]

You can totally see an arm brushing ernie at 0:05 seconds

[Marbles471]

wtf what?

[acidtones1]

Also notice the arm that is attached to Ernie's arm?

[jewgirl43]

I always wondered about Burt and Ernie. Where they adults or just ol kids, and what were they to one another?

[mrsgreen2007]

Hi Rosie!

[DoctorVAdvise]

Solomon GRUNDY? As in... the evil superman? Wants to take a bath in rosie? ....yyyyeahhh.....

[MrBertstown]

I saw Oz's arm.

[shortyblackwell]

they haven't changed much, have they?

[loveutoto]

Bert and Ernie's bathroom looks a lot like their living room...with a tub added! LOL

[LincolnHeightsrocks]

I think this was how their bathroom looked originally. During the first Season. Their bathroom has taken on a few different looks over the years. But the earliest one, which would be this one right here, was just the same set as their livingroom with a tub added.

[tpirman1982]

Yeah, me, too! I see Frank's arm and his glasses.

[RabbitDance]

Nice glasses Frank. *<8oI

Kheheehehehe

[barringtonbelinda]

Superb debut by two great Muppets !

[raakone]

Nice, it's funny. And it shows how at one time it was more common for either muppets or someone on the street to "introduce" the next cartoon or short piece or Raposo song.

~Ra'akone

[Marbles471]

I'm glad that didn't last long---a couple of years later they'd stopped doing it almost completely. I like it much better when things just pop up.

Recently they started doing it again, though, to a degree.

[WillWatchAnything]

Take a look at the lower right hand corner of the screen and you can see the Muppeteer controlling Bert. Obviously they didn't know about full framing in 1969.

[Shadowhawk28]

Correction you can also see Frank Oz's Glasses as well.

[Marbles471]

It seems they rather dramatically polished their operation between this first year and just a couple of years in. By the third season they probably would have caught a framing issue like that. Plus, the puppet designs got more sophisticated very quickly. A lot of the Muppet extras from the first year look very crude, but that look disappeared pretty fast.

[acidtones1]

Also notice the arm that is attached to Ernie's arm?