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-present | 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. | |
Predecessor Puppets and Planning | |||
File:Erniebertsketch.jpg |
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. |