piddydb t1_iydj8qp wrote on November 30, 2022 at 4:32 PM

Reply to comment by KidNeuro in TIL the guy who played Nick the bartender in "It's a Wonderful Life," Sheldon Leonard, became one of the most successful TV producers in history, having created the Andy Griffith Show, Dick Van Dyke, among many others. As a tribute, the two main characters on "Big Bang Theory" were named after him. by latchkey_adult

Ah, I’ve always questioned that retort. I think technically, if they did it without permission AND admitted it was a direct inspiration, the producers of It’s a Wonderful Life could sue Sesame Street for it. By publicly saying “no, there’s no inspiration there, just a funny coincidence”, they covered their butts from legal liability. The idea that there’s two independent set of characters in broad American media named Bert and Ernie that interact with each other when those nicknames are pretty uncommon seems highly unlikely to me.