Neil Patrick Harris

Neil Patrick Harris is an actor who first gained note for playing the title role in Doogie Howser, M.D. (1989-1993) and more recently has appeared on Broadway, and on the sitcom How I Met Your Mother, as the womanizing Barney. In 1990, Harris appeared in character, as Dr. Howser, on The Earth Day Special, which also included an appearance by the Muppets.

In 1993, Harris was one of the hosts for the Disney Channel's pediatric AIDS benefit For Our Children; Baby Sinclair was another co-host.

More recently, in the TV Guide column "What I'm Watching," Harris expressed his admiration for Jim Henson, in answer to the question "Who's your all-time TV hero?": "Jim Henson. He taught me how to be funny and how to share and communicate, and he did it all with felt and cut-up Ping Pong balls. Between the Fraggles, the Muppets, and Sesame Street, he entertained and educated an entire generation. I hope to do a children's show like that someday."

On the February 15, 2008 episode of Late Night with Conan O'Brien, Neil announced that he had recently filmed a segment for Sesame Street, and would be playing a "Fairy Shoeperson" in a musical number. He and Conan O'Brien also talked about Neil's love of the Muppets and his admiration of Jim Henson, when Neil shared that the only fan letter he had written as a child was to Henson.