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 experimented with Ernie's eye focus; at one point he looked downwards instead of upwards. This Ernie also had messy hair.
	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. He has a much "cleaner" hair style than before.
File:Erniemid70's.jpg	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. His ears have also gotten bigger. Ernie's nose is an ovel shape. His hair is messy again.
	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, looking more like such of a regular shirt. His eyes and ears are also smaller. His eyes are also closer. His nose is a sphere again.
File:Ernie1980's.jpg	Sesame Street Season 17	1985-1995	Similar to the previous Ernie puppet, except the eyes are somewhat separated apart, and his hair is thinner. His "clean" hair style returns and eyes and ear are bigger too. His nose is also an ovel like shape again. Ernie also is performed by Steve Whitmire, starting in 1990, due to the death of Jim Henson.
	Sesame Street Season 27	1995-2000	Ernie's skin becomes a light warm orange. He also has a fuller tuft of hair, making it appear somewhat longer. His hair is also pointing downwards and it's darker. His eyes are smaller and his ears are thicker. Ernie's nose is a sphere again.
File:Ernieearly2000's.jpg	Sesame Street Season 31	2000-2003	Once again, Ernie has a rounder head, closely akin to the 1976-1982 version. His hair is pointing upwards again but it's a little spikey.
File:Ernie2000's.jpg	Sesame Street Season 34	2003-present	The structure of Ernie's head is much smoother and less bumpy than earlier puppets. His hair is now thinner and his hair is even more spikey.
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.
File:Erniesketch.jpg	Design sketch for Sesame Street	circa 1969	Early sketches bear a closer similarity to Moldy Hay, with messier hair, and in some images, enormous ears. Contrast is established between Ernie's horizontal stripes and round-faced look and Bert's vertical stripes and leaner appearance.
File:Erniebertsketch.jpg	Design sketch for Sesame Street	circa 1969?	More early sketches of Ernie and Bert.

External links

• The Evolution of Ernie playlist at Sesamestreet.org.