This is a list of official billings for the Muppet pair of "Bert and Ernie" (or "Ernie and Bert"), which has been the subject of much debate and variation over the years. Unlike the comedy pairs of Abbott and Costello or Laurel and Hardy, there is no consistent billing order for the pair.
Bert and Ernie[]
Production titles[]
Album titles[]
Book titles[]
- Bert and Ernie On the Go
- Bert and Ernie See the World
- Bert and Ernie: Soft and Loud
- Bert and Ernie Work Together
- Bert and Ernie's Apartment
Video titles[]
- Bert & Ernie's Word Play
- Bert and Ernie's Great Adventures: Pirates and Other Stories
- Bert and Ernie's Great Adventures
Other[]
- The predominant naming convention is that the straight man gets top billing and the funny man gets end billing, thus: "Burns and Allen," "Stiller and Meara," "Edgar Bergen and Charlie McCarthy." It could be argued that "Bert and Ernie" would follow that tradition.
- Gordon wonders what "Bert and Ernie" are doing based on the racket he hears from their apartment in Episode 0010.
- At the beginning of Episode 0666, when Count von Count counts lights that go on, he counts "Bert and Ernie's lights."
- On the album The Count Counts (later adapted for Episode 1045), the Count mentions "Bert and Ernie" in a list of people Big Bird is dedicating the next song to. He then plays "Candy Man".
- In Sesame Street at Night?, host Gene Shalit asks Grover about the whereabouts of "Bert and Ernie."
- An early Sesame Street watch offers a custom street sign, reading "Bert & Ernie."
- On the album David, Daydreamin' on a Rainy Day, during the song "David's Circus," he imagines Bert and Ernie (listed in that order) feeding the elephants candy.
- In A Walking Tour of Sesame Street, host James Earl Jones mentions "Bert and Ernie" in a list of the residents who live on Sesame Street.
- The duo's name is printed as "Bert and Ernie" on the "Grown-Up Friend's Hand" card seen in a sketch spoofing American Express commercials.
- In Follow That Bird, when Maria is telling Miss Finch about the various types of people living on Sesame Street, she mentions that the street includes "Bert and Ernie."
- In The Muppets: A Celebration of 30 Years, The Count introduces them as "Bert and Ernie."
- In the introductions to Shalom Sesame shows 1 through 5, Bert is given top billing in the pair (both his English and Hebrew name).
- In a commercial for the album The Wonderful World of Sesame Street, the announcer lists them as "Bert and Ernie."
- In Letters, Oscar refers to them both ways. In the re-release, Telly addresses them just as "Bert and Ernie."
- In Numbers, Elmo notices the player choosing to visit "Bert and Ernie."
- On the album Sing the Alphabet, the track "La, La, La" gives Bert top billing.
- In Elmo's World: The Street We Live On, Elmo tell us that Dorothy is thinking about "Bert and Ernie", which then leads to "Dance Myself to Sleep."
- The Old School box sets and 40 Years of Sunny Days always give Bert top billing when the two are mentioned in chapter stop and bonus sketch titles.
- In Episode 4150, Bert is given top billing when his and Ernie's wading pool is mentioned.
- In Sesame Tree episode 104, Potto notices his picture of "Bert and Ernie" and wonders how they both get along living together.
- Sesamestreet.org uses "Bert & Ernie" in their titling of sketches, clips, songs, playlists, and games.
- Michael Davis noted at the 2009 event "Sesame Street at 40: A Night of Celebration with the Legendary Cast" that the straight man from classic comedy duos is traditionally listed first. To settle the question, Davis asked Frank Oz which was the right order. After a brief pause, Oz answered "Bert and Ernie."
- The Sesame Street Online Store lists the pair as "Bert and Ernie" in their character directory.
- The official Bert and Ernie Facebook page gives Bert top billing.
- Their clip section in the video Best of Friends introduces them as Bert and Ernie.
- The Bert and Ernie of Sesame Street viral video gives Bert top billing in the title as well as in dialogue a few times, though the other billing gets used as well (see "Ernie and Bert" section below).
- In A Swingin' Sesame Street Celebration, Big Bird introduces the pair as Wynton Marsalis's co-hosts, giving Bert the top billing.
- HBO Max's character page for the duo lists them, and the clips featuring the pair, as "Bert & Ernie."
- Foley introduces the pair as "Bert and Ernie" in the Foley & Friends episodes "Family" and "Instruments". Mikee also addresses them this way in the episode "Hair".
- In the online game "Duckie Dispute", Chris begins his narration with "Bert and Ernie" getting ready to play in the community center.
International items[]
- Bert en Ernie, LP
- Bert en Ernie's Fanbox, CD box-set
- Bert und Ernie bekommen Besuch, book
- Het Beste van Bert en Ernie, CD
- Kerstfeest met Bert & Ernie, LP
- Uit Je Bol met Bert en Ernie, CD
- Zomerkriebels met Bert en Ernie, CD
- Sesamstrasse Bert & Ernie, poster
Ernie and Bert[]
Album titles[]
Book titles[]
- A Day in the Life of Ernie & Bert
- The Adventures of Ernie & Bert at the South Pole
- The Adventures of Ernie & Bert in Twiddlebug Land
- The Ernie and Bert Coloring Book
- The Ernie & Bert Book
- Ernie and Bert Can... Can You?
- Ernie and Bert Present Finish the Story
- Ernie & Bert's Delivery Service
- Ernie and Bert's Different Day
- Ernie and Bert's Flashlight Adventure
- Ernie and Bert's New Kitten
- Ernie and Bert's Summer Project
- Ernie and Bert's Toy Book
- What Ernie and Bert Did on Their Summer Vacation
- The Importance of Being Ernie (and Bert)
Video titles[]
Other[]
- The child voiceovers during the opening of Episode 0276 call them "Ernie and Bert."
- In two 1973 PBS promos, Oscar the Grouch mentions "Ernie and Bert" in a list of who viewers can meet on Sesame Street.
- Kermit the Frog introduces the pair as "all the way from Sesame Street, here they are now, the two and only, Ernie and Bert" in The Muppet Show episode 102.
- In a commercial for the album 25 Greatest Hits, the announcer lists them as "Ernie and Bert."
- On the album "Numbers!", during the song "One and One Make Two," Ernie refers to their pairing as "Ernie and Bert."
- In Inside Sesame Street, Big Bird takes us into 123 Sesame Street and introduces his buddies, "Ernie and Bert."
- In A Muppet Family Christmas, Ernie introduces himself to Doc, saying, "We're Ernie and Bert." Also in A Muppet Family Christmas, when listing the sleeping arrangements, Emily Bear says that "Ernie and Bert will bunk out with the lizard."
- Big Bird asks about "Ernie and Bert" when a fire occurs in 123 Sesame Street in Episode 2689.
- Shows 6 through 11 of Shalom Sesame mention Ernie's Hebrew and English name before Bert's.
- On the album Sing the Alphabet, Ernie gets top billing under the track "The R Machine" (though Bert gets top billing elsewhere, see above).
- Don Pardo introduces the two this way in a 1996 PSA for Sony Theaters.
- In Episode 3715, Maria explains to Stinky that they can love each other as friends, one of the examples she lists are "Ernie and Bert."
- The section on the two in Sesame Street Unpaved is titled "The Importance of Being Ernie and Bert."
- In Sesame Street Goes to the Doctor, when Elmo and Gina enter the waiting room, Elmo notices some of his friends there as well, including "Ernie and Bert."
- In a Suzie Kabloozie segment (first seen in Episode 3854), one of the upcoming segments could feature "Ernie and Bert."
- The combination "Ernie und Bert" is the standard in Germany, while "Bert und Ernie" is almost unheard of. "Ernie und Bert" is present on close to every Sesamstrasse product and in every production featuring the two characters, whether translated or dubbed from American content, or newly produced for the international co-production (see "International items").
- In A Sesame Street Christmas Carol, Rhubarb the Grouch introduces to Oscar "Gift of the Magi" starring "Ernie and Bert."
- In the video Count on Sports, the pair compare the chemistry of various things to how well math and sports work together. Ernie mentions math and sports go together like "Ernie and Bert".
- Though "The Bert and Ernie of Sesame Street" viral video uses the other billing in most instances, at the end, Ernie refers to them under the other billing.
- Foley introduces the pair as "Ernie and Bert" in the Foley & Friends episode "Music". However, Foley and Elmo later address them using the other billing.
- The "first season show content" files found at the CTW Archives list many sketches with the two with the prefix "E&B".
International items[]
- Ernie, Bert, Hiphop & Co., CD
- Ernie & Bert Märchensongs, Sesamstrasse mini-series
- Ernie & Bert Show, Sesamstrasse segment
- Ernie & Bert Songs, Sesamstrasse mini-series
- Ernie und Bert im Land der Träume, TV show
- Ernie und Bert im Land der Träume DVD 1, DVD
- Ernie und Bert im Land der Träume DVD 2, DVD
- Ernie und Bert im Land der Träume DVD 3, DVD
- Ernie und Bert im Land der Träume DVD 4, DVD
- Ernie und Bert in ihren lustigsten Geschichten, DVD
- Ernie und Bert machen Ferien, CD
- Ernie und Bert singen ihre schönsten Lieder, CD
- Geschichten mit Ernie & Bert, book
- Picknick mit Ernie und Bert, book
- Weihnachten mit Ernie und Bert, TV special