The AFU and Urban Legend Archive TV ernie is dying Select a topic - - - - - - - - Home Searches AFU FAQ - - - - - - - - AFU Animals Books Celebrities Classic Collegiate Death Disney Drugs Food GIF Language Legal Medical Misc Movies Politics Products Religion Science Sex Songs TV - - - - - - - - Other sites

From: F1.RCP@isumvs.iastate.edu (BOB PEDERSEN)
Subject: FAQ 1.0 (at last!)
Date: Mon, 14 Dec 1992 18:40:17 GMT

ALT.TV.MUPPETS FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS VERSION 1.0 Assembled and edited in December, 1992, by Bob Pedersen with help from many others.

Q1. IS ERNIE DYING? [Abstract: No.]

Several times a year, this group receives a panic-stricken posting from a new reader who has heard the rumor that the beloved Sesame Street character Ernie is dying. It is even rumored that Jim Henson's will requires that Ernie no longer be used after his death. This is not the case: several members of this group have gone so far as to contact Henson Productions and Children's Television Workshop, and been ABSOLUTELY ASSURED that this is not the case.

For those of you who need it from a published source, here is a quote from "Surely, no one believes the rat in the soda bottle story," written by Rachel Jones of Knight-Ridder Newspapers. (Des Moines [Iowa] Register, Dec.1, 1992, p.3T. Thanks to Lore Guilmartin for sending it along.) The story concerns 'urban legends,' stories that spread like wildfire with little or no basis in fact.

        ...But some rumors are just too bizarre to figure.
        One of the most recent urban myths is one claiming
        that Ernie, Bert's roommate on "Sesame Street", is
        dying of leukemia.

        "Oh no, not again," groaned Ellen Morgenstern,
        spokeswoman for Children's Television Workshop in
        New York, when asked about Ernie's health.  "Ernie
        is not dying of AIDS; he's not dying of leukemia.
        Ernie is a puppet."  The Ernie stories have
        circulated for the past year, Morgenstern says.  But
        the furor is sort of flattering.

        "It's amazing that a rumor like this could send
        shock waves throughout the country,"  Morgenstern
        says.  "It's an indication of how much Ernie is
        loved.

So, no: ERNIE IS NOT DYING!