Bert: We met through mutual friends, Susan and Gordon. Ernie: Yeah, they’re sort of our landlords. of course, we don’t actually pay rent. Post: It must be a very rent-controlled apartment.

Man, was that scene rough. The masonry on the dingy brownstone at 123 Sesame St., where the closeted Ernie and Bert shared a dismal basement apartment, was deteriorating. Cookie Monster was on a ...