I'm going to confess right now, I love the Muppets, I got hooked on the Muppet show, it was quirky and fun with a lot of awesome characters that have become a real historical part of pop culture.
From Sam the Eagle, to the failed comedian Fozzy the Bear to Sandler and Waldorf, the Muppets created these incredibly vibrant and original characters that a lot of us can remember even today.
I also remember that when Jim Henson died that it was the end of an era and they did this incredible show where they tried to get past the death of their creator and get on with the job of making people smile.
What made the show work is that the guests just came in and had a complete blast and let down their hair to hysterical results.
So I thought I would put together a list of some of the top guest stars from the Muppet show.
So in no particular order here we go
1) The Cast of Star Wars - You knew I was going to go there, in this episode Luke Skywalker, R2D2 and C3PO show up on the set looking for Chewbacca, and Luke is constantly mistaken for Mark Hamill and refuses to perform, however Luke's cousin is more then willing to ham it up with the Muppets. Some of the highlights include a hilarious Pigs in Space skit and the cast singing when you wish upon a star which is somewhat ironic considering that Disney would eventually end up owning Star Wars
2) Peter Sellers - One of the greatest character actors of all time, Peter Sellers had a blast running through different characters and admitting that he had his personality removed surgically. A skit where he imitates his Doctor Strangelove character while giving Link a massage was a highlight.
3) Buddy Rich - One of the best drummers that the world has ever seen, but he turned out to have some serious comedy skills as well as he uses the muppets has drums and then completely owns Animal in a drumming competition. This episode showed the brilliance of Rich.
4) Elton John - We could argue that Elton John was at his flamboyant heights when he appeared on the Muppet Show, however he begged Kermit to let him have a night where he's not wearing zany outfits and huge glasses but does it anyways. What stands out were him singing Crocodile Rock with Crocodiles and Don't go breaking my heart with Mrs Piggy
5) Alice Cooper - Pretty much was considered an agent of evil in the late 70's and early 80's which is why this guest spot works so well as they add a horror element in to the show as Alice is a agent of Satan trying to steal souls, The episode pretty much ends with Alice and the cast singing Schools out for Summer with the reveal at the end. Alice just cut loose in this episode and was hilarious.
6) John Cleese - Bought his frenetic brilliance to the show by playing a somewhat annoyed guest star. He plays a brilliant pirate on Pigs in Space and tortures poor gonzo, and then refuses to sing in the finale, this episode was actually co-written by Cleese and was gut busting funny
7) Rita Moreno - was more well known as a Broadway Star and she played up her diva image to great exaggeration, including losing her tempo while performing Fever with Animal the Dummer, eventually smashing his head with a pair of symbols.
8) Steve Martin - He was so great in the episode that they didn't add a laugh track because the audience was laughing out of control backstage. There was even a scene where Waldorf and Sandler were on stage getting heckled by Fozzie. In the meantime Martin was completely out of control and did skits around things like making balloon animals and then showed off his banjo playing skills by playing "Dueling Banjos"
9) Johnny Cash - Was mainly a show to really show off Cash's musical chops but there were some great comedy moments. But I've always been partial to Cash and his rendition of Ghost Riders in the Sky was fun to watch.
10) Harry Belefonte - Most of the creative forces behind the Muppets have mentioned this show as their favorite. While it had some comedy and a drum duel with Animal and Belefonte singing Banana Boat. What made this episode memorable was the performance of Turn the World Around, a not well known song about togetherness, and the whole cast joins in.
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Last edited by CaptainCrunch; 01-20-2018 at 09:26 AM.
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Fun fact: Uncle Deadly makes his first appearance as Vincent Price's muppet doppelgänger in this bit. A character that was sparsely used until the 2011 film reboot The Muppets where he plays the henchman to Tex Richman. Now he seems to be a mainstay in the Muppet Universe as he was a go to character in the recent Muppet series that ended far too soon.
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New List . . . . best Muppet Show Guests
