Bert Through the Years

The Evolution of Bert (1969-present)

Image	As seen in	Year	Notes
	Sesame Street early Season 1	1969	The original Bert had an immobile unibrow and his hair appeared to be unkempt in some sketches.
	Sesame Street later Season 1 - Season 2	1969-1971	Bert's head shape is more refined, with a more flexible neck. He can scrunch his mouth. His eyebrows do not cover his eyes.
	Sesame Street Season 3	1971-1976	Bert gets an eyebrow mechanism, allowing his brow to move up and down. His eyes become slightly smaller, and his colors are more vibrant. By Season 4, his eyebrow becomes considerably thinner.
	Sesame Street Season 8	1976-1982	Bert's skin changes from blanket fleece to a darker antron fleece.
	Sesame Street Season 14	1982-1989	Both skin and clothing colors are brighter. Also, Bert's nose is smaller.
	Sesame Street Season 21	1989-1997	Bert's head is slightly wider with even smaller, more separated eyes.
	Sesame Street Season 29	1997-1998	This version of Bert is much tidier than the past puppets, therefore making Bert's contrast with Ernie more evident. For instance, Bert's head is taller, his hair is often combed upward rather than messy like Ernie's hair, and he has a more rounded eyebrow.
	Sesame Street Season 30	1998-2001	Bert's head is shorter and rather thicker than the previous version. His eyes are positioned closer together.
	Sesame Street Season 33	2002-2011	Once again, Bert's head is taller, much like the 1997-1998 puppet, and his nose is longer and more red-orange in color. His antron fleece skin appears smoother and lighter yellow.
	TomTom promo	2011-present	Bert's head becomes thinner and his eyes are farther apart.
Predecessor Puppets and Planning
	Design sketches for Sesame Street	circa 1969	Early sketches immediately established the contrast between Ernie's horizontal stripes and general look and Bert's vertical stripes and leaner appearance.