Celebrities appearing as guest stars on Sesame Street have been a staple on the show since its inception. Joan Ganz Cooney first pitched the idea in her report titled "Potential Uses for Television."[1] While the target audience of the show may not recognize a famous face, celebrities provide an additional incentive for parents watching with their children.
To date, there have been approximately 949 celebrities who have appeared in episodes of Sesame Street. A comprehensive list can be found at Category:Sesame Street Guest Stars, with additional guests listed in categories for home video productions, TV Specials, and online content.
This page serves as a collection of guests appearing under unique circumstances.
Playing characters[]
Typically, a celebrity will appear as themselves (or a version of) on the show. On occasion, actors will play an original character created for the episode or segment, or a version of a character they had previously established elsewhere.
Original characters[]
- Will Arnett as Max the Magician
- Elizabeth Banks as Bird-Lady
- Samantha Bee as Mother Goose
- Zazie Beetz as Dr. Sparrow
- Tom Bergeron as Johnny Gotcha
- Blair Brown as Jane
- Kerry Butler as Ms. Camp
- Stephen Colbert as Letter Z
- Alan Cumming as Mucko Polo
- Jane Curtin as Cinderella
- Danny DeVito as Vincent Van Grouch
- Peter Dinklage as Simon
- Doug E. Doug as Doug the Barber
- Rachel Dratch as Museum Guard
- Charles Durning, Jim Gaffigan, and Kevin James as Santa Claus
- Jimmy Fallon as Wild Nature Survivor Guy
- José Ferrer as Tio José
- Tina Fey as Bookaneer Captain and Mother Goose
- Harvey Fierstein as The Easter Bunny
- Judah Friedlander as Inspector 4
- Josh Gad as Vincent van Stop
- Teri Garr as Amelia Adams
- Charles Gibson as Charles Blitzen (voice)
- Donald Glover as LMNOP
- Whoopi Goldberg as Prairie Dawn's Fairy Godmother
- Jeff Goldblum as Minneapolis Johnson
- John Goodman as Tough Guy Helpline Operator
- Gilbert Gottfried as Denny the Distractor
- Seth Green as Vinny
- David Alan Grier as Aladdin
- Charles Grodin as Chaz
- Tim Gunn as William "Bill" Ding
- Tiffany Haddish as Dr. Birdwhistle
- Julie Hagerty as Dr. Matthews
- Neil Patrick Harris as The Shoe Fairy
- Phil Hartman as Mover from ABC Moving Company
- Gregory Hines as Gregory the Great
- Bill Irwin as Smell Plant Removal Service Representative and Professor Television
- Judith Ivey as Mother Goose
- Victoria Jackson as Sid
- Michael Jeter as Michael Tweeter
- Jason Jones as Nikola Messla
- Shirley Jones as Mrs. Goose
- Madeline Kahn as Madeline the Birdwatcher and Commissioner of Fun and Games
- Carol Kane as Nina the Nice
- Taran Killam as Professor Buck Awe
- Richard Kind as Fairy Balloon Person and Mr. Disgracy
- Robert Klein as Doctor
- Kevin Kline as Nick Chicken
- T.R. Knight as Private I
- Jane Krakowski as Ms. Goodwitch
- Zoe Kravitz as Galactic Gail
- John Leguizamo as Captain Vegetable
- Zachary Levi as the Kindness Kid
- Mark Linn-Baker as Barkley's Veterinarian
- Lucy Liu as Cinderella
- Blake Lively as Delivery Person
- Julia Louis-Dreyfus as Kathie Lee Kathie
- Macklemore as Mucklemore
- Zosia Mamet as Bella
- Julianna Margulies as Dr. Berger
- Cheech Marin as Genie
- Andrea Martin as Pirate Edna and Cinderella's Fairy Godmother
- Jack McBrayer as Usher
- Audra McDonald as Zookeeper and Caroler
- Frances McDormand as Frances, ABCD Mart Employee
- Michael McKean as Virgil von Vivaldi
- Kate McKinnon as Mother Goose
- Lin-Manuel Miranda as Freddy Flapman
- Rick Moranis as Minnesota Shorts
- Bobby Moynihan as Quacker Duck Man
- Laraine Newman as Little Flo Peep
- Rosie O'Donnell as Oscar's Fairy Grouchmother, Postal Worker, and Good Hope Fairy
- Sandra Oh as Cookie Monster's Fairy Cookie Person
- Mandy Patinkin as Officer George Patinkin
- Joe Pesci as Ronald Grump
- David Hyde Pierce as Commander Chiphead
- Rhea Perlman as The Old Woman Who Lives in a Shoe
- Natalie Portman as Natalie
- Paula Poundstone as Animal Shelter Clerk
- Dennis Quaid as Uncle Tommy
- Issa Rae as Queen
- Ryan Reynolds as Big A
- Caroline Rhea as Gilda the Great
- Kelly Ripa as Letter Carrier Kelly
- Adam Rodriguez as Detective Alfie Betts
- Paul Rudd as Prince Charming and Mr. Earth
- Susan Sarandon as Bitsy
- Jason Schwartzman as Super Chef
- Amy Sedaris as Snow White
- Kyra Sedgwick as Camouflage Carla
- Amanda Seyfried as Natalie Neptune
- Molly Shannon as Natalie
- Ben Stiller as Stiller the Elf (voice)
- Nicole Sullivan as Letter A
- Robert Townsend as Speedy Van Gough
- Travis Tritt as Cowboy Travis
- Tracey Ullman as Masha, Sacha, and Trasha
- Denzel Washington as Henry Wadsworth Wrongfellow
- Walt Willey as Adventurer
- Allison Williams as Sanitation Worker
- Noah Wyle as Dr. Coleburn
As their characters from other media[]
- Candice Bergen as Murphy Brown (Murphy Brown)
- Corbin Bernsen as Arnie (L.A. Law)
- Dan Blocker as Hoss Cartwright, Lorne Greene as Ben Cartwright, and Michael Landon as Little Joe Cartwright (Bonanza)
- Ruth Buzzi as Gladys Ormphby (Laugh-In)
- Sid Caesar as The Professor (Your Show of Shows)
- John Candy as Yosh Shmenge (SCTV)
- Billy Crystal as Ricky (Saturday Night Live)
- Anthony Daniels as C-3PO (Star Wars)
- Fran Drescher as Fran Fine (The Nanny)
- Morgan Freeman as Easy Reader (The Electric Company)
- Matt Frewer as Max Headroom (Max Headroom)
- Margaret Hamilton as The Wicked Witch of the West (The Wizard of Oz)
- Ron Howard as Richie Cunningham and Henry Winkler as Arthur "Fonzie" Fonzarelli (Happy Days)
- Gordon Jackson as Hudson the butler and Jean Marsh as Rose the maid (Upstairs, Downstairs)
- Arte Johnson as Wolfgang (Laugh-In)
- Andrea Martin as Edith Prickley and Wanda Falbo (SCTV)
- Rita Moreno as Millie the Helper (The Electric Company}
- Mike Myers as Wayne Campbell (Wayne's World)
- Paul Reubens as Pee-wee Herman (Pee-wee's Playhouse)
- Martin Short as Ed Grimley (SCTV and Saturday Night Live)
- Lily Tomlin as Ernestine the Telephone Operator and Edith Ann (Laugh-In)
Sans Muppets[]
Celebrity guests who appeared on Sesame Street without any Muppets.
Early seasons[]
In the earliest seasons, it was common for celebrities to appear on the show without any interaction with the Muppet characters. This is partially due to Big Bird and Oscar the Grouch most often being the only Muppets appearing in street scenes. Standalone segments were more common and pairing guests with Muppets would not happen until later.
- Arthur Ashe
- Carol Burnett (taped from the set of her own show)
- Tim Conway
- Bill Cosby (during a summer rush, a studio had to be re-opened to shoot his inserts off set)[2]
- Walt Frazier
- Mahalia Jackson
- Arte Johnson
- James Earl Jones
- Burt Lancaster
- Listen My Brother
- Lou Rawls
- Jackie Robinson
- Flip Wilson
Later seasons[]
After a certain point, it became much more commonplace for celebrity guests to appear with the Sesame Street Muppets. So much so that it might be considered unusual for the pairing not to happen.
- George Benson
- Matt Frewer
- Rosey Grier
- Herbie Hancock
- Gordon Jackson
- Whitman Mayo
- Zero Mostel
- OK Go
- Richard Pryor
- Jeff Redd
- Helen Reddy
- Paul Reubens
- Paul Simon
Off-screen[]
The following celebrities did not appear with any Sesame Street Muppets on the show, but photographic evidence exists somewhere on set, or outside the confines of the show.
Other off-set situations[]
- Ron Howard and Henry Winkler (inserts taped from the set of Happy Days)
- Michael Landon, Lorne Greene, and Dan Blocker (inserts taped from the set of Bonanza)
- Paul Reubens (inserts taped from the set of Pee-wee's Playhouse)
see also: Season 38 "Word of the Day" segments
Visits[]
Celebrities who visited the set of Sesame Street, but did not appear as guests on the show or any associated production (web video, special, etc).
- Steve Burns
- Lea DeLaria
- Evangeline Lilly
- Meredith Salenger
- Wil Wheaton and Anne Wheaton
- Ann Harada
See also[]
- People whose children have appeared on Sesame Street
- Celebrity song montages on Sesame Street
- Celebrities with connections to The Muppets and Sesame Street
Sources[]
- ↑ Sesame Street: A Celebration - 40 Years of Life on the Street page 112
- ↑ Old School: Volume 1 booklet, page 7