Classic SESAME STREET: Bert and Ernie's "The Gift of the Magi"

Good googeley moogely... it's been ages since I posted any Sesame Street clips!!  I think maybe at least two years, maybe longer than that.  How in the world did I overlook such timeless material?  Shame on me!

Time to make up for it.  And boy howdy, do I get to make up for it...

I was waaaay young when this aired but I vividly remember it.  It was part of a Sesame Street Christmas special from... I think it was 1980?  The other part of it that's still in my head is Big Bird sitting on top of the apartment building waiting for Santa, and wondering how in the world would the big guy get into those tiny little chimneys.

But this is the real highlight of the show: Bert and Ernie in an adaptation of O. Henry's classic holiday tale "The Gift of the Magi", as only Bert and Ernie can.  And poignantly, it also features Mr. Hooper.  Played by Will Lee, who sadly passed away later on in 1982 and subsequently became the subject of a very moving episode where Big Bird tries to come to grips with Hooper's death.

So here it is: Bert and Ernie and Mr. Hooper, reminding us that the beauty of Christmas is not in the getting, but in the giving.  I present to you, dear readers, with a most wonderful take on "The Gift of the Magi":

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Classic SESAME STREET: "What time is it?"

Been a few months since I posted a classic clip from Sesame Street. I figure it's time for another great Bert and Ernie sketch :-)

This one is definitely from way back. For one thing you can hear Mr. Hooper (the actor who played him passed away in 1982) and for another, there's no way that a sketch like this would be broadcast on Sesame Street today. Ahhh those were the days...

So here is Bert and Ernie in "What Time Is It?"

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Classic SESAME STREET: It's not HDTV, it's H-TV!

The bloggin' might be sparse the next few days as I am going out of town on a mission of considerable import. So in the meantime...

It occurred to me this afternoon that I haven't posted a vintage Sesame Street clip in a good long while. The ones with Bert and Ernie seem to be especially popular. So here's one from the 1970s (way before the advent of 1080P) which finds Bert plagued with "H" all over his television screen...

I remember this sketch cracking me up bad when I first saw it as a pre-schooler! Thirty years later, it's lost none of its hilarity :-)

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Classic SESAME STREET: The Cookie Counter

Ernie should have just kept pointing!

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Classic SESAME STREET: Ernie "helps" Bert give Baby Brad a bath

One of my fellow cast members of The Best Christmas Pageant Ever - namely Eric Smith, who portrayed Reverend Hopkins - told me during the show's run this past week that he loves it when I post vintage Sesame Street sketches and whatnot on this blog.

So Eric, this one's going out to you especially :-)

This is one of the few appearances of Bert's adorable baby nephew Brad, who is staying with his uncle and about to get a bath. Of course, Ernie has to show up and... well, be Ernie.

The results? Hilarity!

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Classic SESAME STREET: Ernie's reminder(s)

Another classic sketch from Sesame Street. This is the one where Ernie has gone to great lengths (of string) to not forget something important...

Poor Bert. He probably wakes up every morning with quiet dread about what Ernie is going to do that day :-)

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Classic SESAME STREET: Bert and Ernie's appliance war!

Dang, it's been a long time since this blog has seen any vintage Sesame Street sketches! Here's one that just got hosted on the official Sesame Street YouTube channel. From the very first season: Bert and Ernie do battle with dueling appliances!

This show certainly was darker and more violent in its early days. I doubt we'd ever see a sketch like this produced circa 2009.

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SESAME STREET explains the Bernie Madoff scandal

Jimmy Kimmel Live! shared this educational clip from Sesame Street in which Ernie and Cookie Monster convey to little kids the intricate workings of Bernie Madoff's Ponzi scheme...

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More classic SESAME STREET: Ernie's Thunderstorm

I really need to post more vintage Sesame Street clips, especially the older Bert and Ernie skits. In this one, Ernie confronts his fear of thunderstorms... with hilarious consequences! By the way, this one mentions Olivia and David, who haven't been on the show since the 1980s, so that makes this sketch a clear product of its time...

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Bert, Ernie and Herry Monster in "No!"

How long has it been since I posted a classic Sesame Street clip? Especially one starring Bert and Ernie? Undoubtedly, not nearly often enough...

This sketch, which also features Herry Monster, is probably one of the few where Bert actually turns the tables on Ernie and gets the last laugh!

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TOO MANY people are WAY TOO TENSE right now

Look, I know that tomorrow is Election Day and many folks are feeling extremely anxious and even much worse. Personally, I'm sick of the whole damned thing. I've been an eager follower of politics all my life, but this is the first election ever that couldn't be a more dreary dull bore. And on the eve of what I keep hearing is "the most important election in our country's history" (except it's really not) I'm now more thankful than ever that I don't have a dog the McCain/Obama hunt (and I explained two days ago what I was doing regarding that).

So right now, I think most of us can agree: we need a good laugh.

I found this on YouTube not long ago and every time I watch it, it cracks me up hard! Someone took some clips of Bert and Ernie from Sesame Street and choreographed them to M.O.P.'s song "Ante Up". Watch this and see if you don't smile a lot too, no matter your political stripe...

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Classic SESAME STREET: Bert and Ernie go fishing

It's spring: the perfect time for a lazy afternoon of fishing down at the pond. Bert has his pole and Ernie... has his own methods.

Originally aired during Sesame Street in November 1982, here is the Bert and Ernie "Fish Call" sketch...

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More classic SESAME STREET: "Four People Fooled!"

It's been awhile since I've posted some vintage Sesame Street clips. Here's a short one, but it's ranks up there as one of the all-time greats: Ernie and a little blue "Anything Muppet" in "Four People Fooled!"

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Another SESAME STREET classic: "Ernie Counts Sheep"

The first time that I saw this Bert and Ernie sketch, I was maybe five years old and it seriously cracked me up! Every time that I couldn't sleep I would start thinking about sheep, then fire engines just like Ernie does. So here it is: the "Ernie Counts Sheep" skit...

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"I can't hear ya!"

One of the all-time funniest clips from Sesame Street:There was also a "sequel" to this where Bert finds Ernie, again with a banana in his ear. Bert asks why Ernie has the banana in his ear and Ernie replies "To keep the alligators away". Bert says that there are no alligators on Sesame Street. Ernie doesn't miss a beat: "You see, it's working!"

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