Kermit and Herbert together?

[GonzoLeaper]

Here's a random question. When I logged into MuppetCentral.com today I was pleasantly surprised to see Herbert Birdsfoot show up as one of the icons, along with Kermit of course. Since I don't remember actually seeing too much of Herbert on Sesame Street when I was a kid (and though I have seen some sketches with him now), I was wondering. I've heard that he was kind of introduced to replace Kermit and do the whole lecture bit and all- but then later on Kermit was brought back and Herbert kinda faded out of the spotlight and pretty much out of the picture altogether.
So I was wondering- have Herbert Birdsfoot and Kermit the Frog ever shown up together in sketches or street scenes on Sesame Street?
Thanks for all the memory digging on the part of these loyal Sesame Street fans that know so way more much about it than I do!

 

[LittleJerry92]

Here's a random question. When I logged into MuppetCentral.com today I was pleasantly surprised to see Herbert Birdsfoot show up as one of the icons, along with Kermit of course. Since I don't remember actually seeing too much of Herbert on Sesame Street when I was a kid (and though I have seen some sketches with him now), I was wondering. I've heard that he was kind of introduced to replace Kermit and do the whole lecture bit and all- but then later on Kermit was brought back and Herbert kinda faded out of the spotlight and pretty much out of the picture altogether.
So I was wondering- have Herbert Birdsfoot and Kermit the Frog ever shown up together in sketches or street scenes on Sesame Street?
Thanks for all the memory digging on the part of these loyal Sesame Street fans that know so way more much about it than I do!

I don't think there have been though that'd be cool to see.

 

[minor muppetz]

Some users here have said that Herbert only appeared in new footage during the second season. I don't know how true this is, or if those people have sources regarding the fact that Herbert only appeared in new material for one year. The closest Kermit and Herbert have had to being togetehr was in the illustrated closing from seasons 3-5, where they are both illustrated (but never shown together in any of the same frames).

 

[Drtooth]

Comedically speaking, you can't really have 2 straight men together. You need one straight man and one jokester or something. it wouldn't have created any funny tension between the two, unless one was willing to act out of character. Which is why Grover/Kermit skits work beautifully. grover plays the fall guy and either makes the jokes, or gets attacked by them. I refer to the Teeth segment.

Herbert is the most boring SS character IMO. No wonder why Jerry abandoned him. he's fun to watch on old skits and everything, but he's just about the only character (and SAM too) that I am GLAD isn't around anymore.

 

[minor muppetz]

Comedically speaking, you can't really have 2 straight men together. You need one straight man and one jokester or something. it wouldn't have created any funny tension between the two, unless one was willing to act out of character.

What if two straight men were trying to give a lecture, and a third character appeared to cause something funny? Or two straight men could sing a serious song together.

 

[mikebennidict]

Herb might of been discontinued after 1 year but they did reuse segments of from years after he was dincontinued and I doubt Jerry Nelson or the other muppetteers would have say on who they operate. It was probably a decision on Henson or the CTW to discontinue Herbert.

 

[GonzoLeaper]

Hmm- so it would seem the answer is, as far as we know, probably no.

I wonder if they might shown up in group songs together perhaps? (You know, the kind where everyone on the Street comes together and starts singing "Sing" or something.)

I also think it would have been cool to see Herbert and Kermit working together to give a lecture and then have someone interrupt it- like Harvey Kneeslapper, Grover, SAM, the Two-Headed Monster- or anyone really- as someone suggested earlier.

And I know that they're both considered "straight men", but that doesn't mean they couldn't show up together in something. Though I wonder if this is the same reason why Kermit and Bert have rarely appeared together. (Other than their singing appearances like "Subway" and Bert's brief non-singing appearance in "Do De Rubber Duck")
- see, they're together now! It can work!

 

[LittleJerry92]

What if two straight men were trying to give a lecture, and a third character appeared to cause something funny? Or two straight men could sing a serious song together.

Well Herb isn't really a straight man when you look at some of his skits.He is more of in the middle.

 

[JLG]

You know, Herbert may appear to be a straight man, but if you actually watch him closely, he comes across to me more like a cheerfully friendly sadist. He doesn't bat an eye when his lectures cause somebody excruciating pain ("Over and Under" with Grover), or keep somebody waiting for ages ("The ET Family" with that UPS guy).
(Dig this exchange:
UPS guy: "Aw come on, fella! Charlie's in the truck there watchin' me! He's laughin' his head off!"
Herbert [cheerfully]: "Well, that doesn't matter!")

He strikes me as the type who pretends to be obliviously goal-oriented, but secretly enjoys driving people nuts.

Thus, it's not hard for me to picture a sketch where he and Kermit would be co-lecturing, but Kermit would somehow be made the unwitting goat, and end up flipping out at the the way our green friend is famous for doing.

 

[minor muppetz]

Did Herbert Birdsfoot appear in the finale scene from The Muppet Movie? I thought I've read that he is there, but I haven't been able to spot him.

There are, however, two different Cookie Monster sketches with similar plots, but one has Kermit, and the other has Herbert Birdsfoot. I haven't seen either of them, but I think both characters hide when Cookie Monster appears. In Herbert's sketch, Herbert has a special device where a Cookie is placed on a plate under a lid, and a special rope is tied to the lid, and Cookie Monster has to figure out how to get the cookie, and in the Kermit skit, Kermit has a cookie inside some sort of crane-like machine, which Cookie Monster has to figure out how to get the cookie out.