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Who comes first?

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[]

BertErnieSingAlong

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  • 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.
  • 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 introductions to Shalom Sesame shows 1 through 5, Bert is given top billing in the pair (both his English and Hebrew name).
  • 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."
  • In Episode 4150, Bert is given top billing when his and Ernie's wading pool is mentioned.
  • Sesamestreet.org uses "Bert & Ernie" in their titling of sketches, clips, songs, playlists, and games.
  • 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).
  • 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".

International items[]

Ernie and Bert[]

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  • The child voiceovers during the opening of Episode 0276 call them "Ernie and Bert."
  • In a commercial for the album 25 Greatest Hits, the announcer lists them as "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.
  • In Letters and Numbers, Big Bird lists "Ernie and Bert" as people the player can call on his phone.
  • 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 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 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[]

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