Ernie Through the Years

The Evolution of Ernie (1969-present)

Image	As seen in	Year	Notes
	Sesame Street Season 1	1969-1970	The first Ernie puppet sports a purple and orange shirt, with yellow collar and cuffs (resembling that of a turtle neck shirt), and has a purple nose. During the pilot episodes, Jim Henson experimented with Ernie's eye focus; at one point he looked downwards instead of upwards.
	Sesame Street Season 2	1970-1971	Ernie wears a red-blue pattern sweater instead of a purple-orange one. His nose changes from purple to red.
	Sesame Street Season 3	1971-1976	Ernie's eye focus is improved, and he has a brighter orange skin tone.
	Sesame Street Season 8	1976-1982	Ernie's skin is now darker orange antron fleece, instead of blanket fleece. Also, his head is considerably rounder.
	Sesame Street Season 14	1982-1985	Ernie's head becomes taller making it slightly less football-shaped. His skin color reverts back to a more vibrant orange. The collar and cuffs of his shirt also change, making it look more like a regular shirt.
	Sesame Street Season 17	1985-1993	Similar to the previous design, except the eyes are somewhat separated apart, and his hair is thinner.
	Sesame Street Season 25	1993-1999	Ernie's skin becomes a light warm orange. He also has a fuller tuft of hair, making it appear somewhat longer.
	Sesame Street Season 31	1999-2002	Once again, Ernie has a rounder, more football-shaped head, closely akin to the 1976-1982 version.
	Sesame Street Season 34	2003-present	The structure of Ernie's head is much smoother and less bumpy than earlier puppets. There is less of his now thinner hair.
Predecessor Puppets and Planning
	Moldy Hay from Sam and Friends	circa 1960	Distinct from the papier-mâché humanoid characters like Sam, Moldy Hay's orange fleshy skin and wide-mouthed grin are traits that would later be refined into Ernie.
	Design sketches for Sesame Street	circa 1969	Early sketches bear a closer similarity to Moldy Hay, with messier hair and enormous ears. Contrast is established between Ernie's horizontal stripes and round-faced look and Bert's vertical stripes and leaner appearance.