Happy Birthday Bert

You know him as the pigeon-loving, boring guy, sharing the basement apartment with the zany Ernie at 123 Sesame Street. According to Holidays for Everyone, today is his birthday.

A Much Maligned Muppet
Poor Bert is one of the most misunderstood of the muppets, second only to Oscar the Grouch. His serious demeanor and über-affinity for the mundane have made him the object of ridicule by many muppet fans. His best friend and roommate Ernie is always playing practical jokes on him.

Even Frank Oz, who was Bert’s muppeteer is said to have dissed him. The Muppet Wiki quotes the late Jim Henson (who performed Ernie), “He [Frank] felt Bert was too dull. But then after a while he realized that Bert’s dullness was really a lot of fun, and he got into this dullness thing and turned it into this wonderful personality.”

Bert Is (Not) Evil
In the late 1990s, Bert was maliciously maligned by a “Bert is Evil” campaign, which doctored photographs of Bert, combining them with photos of notorious historical figures.

After the September 11 bombings, one of these “Bert is Evil” photographs appeared on a poster in a pro-Osama bin Laden rally in Bangladesh. Those responsible for the “Bert is Evil” campaign realized the far-reaching impact of their prank and took down the photos from the web.

The Gay Rumors
Over the decades, rumors have persisted that Bert and Ernie are more than roommates, that they are in fact a gay couple. However, the good folks at Sesame Street have contested this, insisting that they are merely friends and that muppets have no sexuality (perhaps because they lack the parts).

While I would love for them to have turn out to be gay, I am personally happy to accept them for whoever and whatever they are.

Bert Trivia

• Along with Ernie, Bert is the only muppet to have appeared in the pilot episode of Sesame Street in July 1969.
• Bert has a number of pets, his favorite being his pigeon Bernice.
• He is the president of the National Association of W Lovers (the letter of the alphabet, not the former president).
• Bert has a twin brother Bart, who works as a salesman, and a nephew Brad.
• He was originally performed by Frank Oz. In 1997, Eric Jacobson took over as performer.
• Bert is a hand-rod puppet, which means his hands are moved by metal rods. Ernie on the other hand is a live-hand puppet.
• He is left-handed.
• He has 368 bottle caps in his collection, including his treasured Figgy Fizz.
• His favorite food is oatmeal (preferably without lumps).

Final Thoughts and Well Wishes
I find Bert inspiring. Sure, he needs to loosen up a bit, but his ability to find the extraordinary in the ordinary is a gift more of us should share. It’s so easy to get so caught up in our lives that we overlook the simple joys.

Thanks, Bert for reminding us of the beauty of the mundane. And Happy Birthday, big guy!