No, It’s a Wonderful Life and Sesame Street Are Not Related

“It’s a Wonderful Life” is one of the best Christmas movies of all time – a brilliant, poignant film that doubles as a brilliant indictment of rampant capitalism. Although Frank Capra never expected this film to be so popularit has become an integral part of the holiday season for many American households throughout December, as well as a staple of classic cinema in general.

The film follows James Stewart’s idealistic George Bailey, a man who hates the idea of ​​living in his small home town doing nothing but serving the community… and yet, at every turn, he putting his own ambitions ahead in favor of helping. others, his dreams are constantly dashed as event after event sends him on a different path than he imagined. But when he falls on hard times and the desperate fist of capitalism threatens to destroy his life’s work, George’s suicidal thoughts prompt an actual guardian angel named Clarence (Henry Travers) to show George how he has affected the lives of the some around him through another universe. where he was not born.

Like many other films that are now considered classics, “It’s a Wonderful Life” initially struggled to find success, having famously bombed at the box office as well as becoming was the target of an FBI investigation for his “communist” leanings because of his portrayal of the banker. Potter (Lionel Barrymore) as a despicable villain. And yet, the film found new life when it started running on TV every Christmas and more people were exposed to this great legend. That’s why “It’s a Wonderful Life” wasn’t just Stewart’s favorite among his filmsbut it also became beloved among film lovers around the world.

Part of what makes “It’s a Wonderful Life” unique is how many memorable side characters it has, from members of George’s immediate circle to minor players such as Nick the bartender (Sheldon Leonard), Bert the policeman (Ward Bond) , and Bert’s friend. Ernie the cab driver (Frank Faylen). The latter two characters, as you no doubt noticed, have the same names as the iconic roommates Bert and Ernie from “Sesame Street,” which first appeared 23 years after “It’s a Wonderful Life” hit theaters. in 1946. But is that just a coincidence. or did Capra’s film directly inspire those two particular Muppets?

Popular belief is that Bert and Ernie on “Sesame Street” were, in fact, named after the characters in “It’s A Wonderful Life.” Unfortunately, as fun as that Easter egg sounds, it really isn’t. As Jerry Juhl, one of the original writers on “Sesame Street,” said The San Francisco Chronicle back in 1999, the rumor has persisted over the decades despite being clearly false. Granted, he was not present at the time the “Sesame Street” characters were named, but Juhl was nevertheless confident that “Sesame Street” co-creator Jim Henson had not done so on purpose. In his own words:

“Despite his many talents, Jim (Henson) had no memory of details like this. He knew the film (‘It’s a Wonderful Life’), of course, but he wouldn’t have remembered the (names of) cop and the cabdriver “.

Continuing, Juhl admitted that he “wasn’t able to confirm this” with Henson before he died. However, he spoke “shortly afterwards” with Jon Stone, the first producer and head writer on “Sesame Street” and “the man who is largely responsible for the format of the show (sadly, Jon is no longer with us ).” As Juhl recalled:

“(Stone) assured me that Ernie and Bert were named one day when he and Jim were studying the prototype puppets. They decided that one of them looked like Ernie, and the other looked like Bert. The names of the characters in the film are just a coincidence.”

So, it seems that it was all a coincidence—different the more recent reference to “Sesame Street” in “Inside Out 2” which is definitely a known tribute to the long-running children’s educational show.