Is it just me or does....

[dmx10101]

.... Bert and Ernie sound just like Fozzie and Kermit???

 

[Censored]

.... Bert and Ernie sound just like Fozzie and Kermit???

Well, traditionally, they were performed by the same Muppeteers, Frank Oz and the late Jim Henson. Of course, with Ernie and Bert, Henson was the comedian and Oz was the straight man. With Kermit and Fozzie, it was reversed.

 

[jediX]

1) They're done (well, were) by Henson & Oz
2) Bert is essentially a non-throaty, higher version of the voice that can be lowered to be Animal, Grover, and so on (I can demonstrate this, as I pretty much have all low Oz voices down). I cannot establish a linking between the Bert voice and Fozzie when I try and duplicate them, so I can only assume that the (later--the early Foz was MUCH deeper) Fozzie voice can be linked to the Piggy voice, which might explain why I cannot do either voice.
3) Kermit is the high-end version of Ernie, which is a non-throaty, higher Rowlf. A ton of Jim and Frank voices were duplicated all the time. Even Beaker and Bunsen are beginning to sound a lot alike these days.

If you want a further explanation, I can do voice samples.

 

[dmx10101]

hmm, I didn't know that Frank and Jim did Bert and Ernie.

We you got me a bit confused there jedix. I don't exactly get what your saying.

 

[jediX]

Ok, lol, here's another stab at why they sound the same:

Most voices are very common, at least with Jim & Frank (those are the only two I've studied). For example, Kermit will sound like Ernie because Kermit is a higher version of Ernie. Bert will sound like Oz's other characters because he is roughly a higher version of the Yoda/Grover voice. That is why they sound alike.

Sorry if I confused you, its just really difficult to explain it unless you were here and I could demonstrate how the voices are all similar.

 

[dmx10101]

Ok I understand better now. Thanks.

 

[Drtooth]

There's a slight and subtle difference... Bert's slightly more monotone than Fozzie, and Ernie's a little lower than Kermit.

Of course, when they all started out they sounded a little more different....

My theory is that as time marched on, Jim and frank relaxed into the voices and they started sounding more similar... but that's just my theory...

 

[dmx10101]

Well thats a pretty good theory, I think.

 

[Pug Lover]

.... Bert and Ernie sound just like Fozzie and Kermit???

Indeed they do sound very much alike.

 

[D'Snowth]

It's not just Jim and Frank's voices that are easy to recognize...Martin P. Robinson has a pretty recognizable voice Like those counting flower segments where at the end the announcer says "yeah babe!", and that elephant from Monster Clubhouse. So does Kevin Clash, take that penguin in Big Bird's story about the singing penguin, you can just tell that's Kevin. David Rudman and Joey Mazzarion are recognizable too because they usually get duo characters with high-pitch nerdy voices (like Davey and Joey Monkey). Other recognizable voices are Jerry Nelson and the late Richard Hunt.