Oliver with Big Bird at the 2016 Annual Sesame Workshop Benefit Gala.
On The Not-Too-Late Show with Elmo.
John Oliver is a British comedian who became well known in the U.S. as a correspondent on The Daily Show and for his recurring role as Professor Ian Duncan on Community. He hosts his own series Last Week Tonight with John Oliver on HBO. Other acting credits include a small part in The Love Guru (with Mike Myers), and providing the voice for Vanity Smurf in The Smurfs.
Appearances[]
- 2012: Appeared at The Secret Policeman's Ball and shared banter with Statler and Waldorf. Addressing Oliver as Harry Potter, Waldorf wants to know what everyone in the audience is doing with their cell phones. Oliver explains what tweeting is, prompting the curmudgeons to find their calling.
- 2014: Appeared as co-anchor with Cookie Monster in "W-ORD Channel 7 News With John Oliver & Cookie Monster," a video distributed by Mashable in support of Sesame Workshop's "Words Are Here, There, and Everywhere" initiative.
- 2020: Appeared as a guest on The Not-Too-Late Show with Elmo, and also made cameos in episode 111 and 113 recorded from his Last Week Tonight set.
- 2020: Hosted the segment of the 2020 Global Citizen awards broadcast where Sesame Workshop received its Prize for Culture and Education.
- Oliver hosted the Sesame Workshop Benefit Gala in 2016 and 2017, and was a special guest in 2019, 2021, 2022, 2023, and 2024, where he also puppeteered a baby version of himself.
Muppet Mentions[]
- John Oliver's stand-up act was televised for the 2008 Comedy Central special Terrifying Times. He opens the show citing a disclaimer about his nationality; "Primarily, I've gathered you here this evening to tell you this: that, it's not easy being British... as Kermit so nearly sang."
- During his February 2024 appearance on the YouTube series Hot Ones, Oliver remarked, "I love the Muppets so much in many ways. Crazy as this might sound, we kind of modeled the show [Last Week Tonight] around the Muppets." He attempted to elaborate, but couldn't continue due to the severity of his most recently consumed hot sauce.