The 15 Best Celebrity Guests On The Muppet Show

The variety sketch series The Muppet Show was a touchstone of popular culture during the 1970s and early 1980s that featured many incredible celebrity guests. While the Muppets have remained consistently popular due to subsequent TV series, movies, and one-off specials, the unique characters created by the Jim Henson Company were at the height of their popularity during this show’s run. With appearances from iconic actors, performers, singers, and rock stars, the guest stars of The Muppet Show truly were a who’s who of celebrity culture during the late 1970s.

By the time The Muppet Show ended in 1981, it had run for five successful seasons and amounted to 120 incredible episodes. With a litany of acclaimed guest stars, The Muppet Show kept itself interesting by leaning into the talents of its guest stars and being unafraid to take chances, give the celebrities a chance to make fun of themselves, and provide some good-natured family-friendly entertainment. Even though the original The Muppet Show has been off the air for more than four decades, many of its guest stars skits and songs have remained beloved by viewers of all ages.

15 Diana Ross

The Muppet Show: Season 4, Episode 24 “Diana Ross” (4 April 1980)

The Supreme’s star Diana Ross made a memorable appearance on the fourth season of The Muppet Show as her sweet and caring personality shone through when, after being booed off stage, she convinced Fozzie Bear to get back up and give his stand-up routine another shot. With a show-stopping rendition of “Love Hangover,” Ross’s innate star power and incredible charisma were perfectly paired with more zany aspects of the Muppets. Accompanied by an assortment of large Muppet birds, Ross was ever the professional as she danced and sang her way through the show.

14 Gene Kelly

The Muppet Show: Season 5, Episode 17 “Gene Kelly” (4 January 1981)

One of the greatest aspects of The Muppet Show was the sheer variety of its guests, as one week could feature an outrageous rock star while the next it was an icon of 1950s cinema like Gene Kelly. As an unmatched singing and dancing talent, a running joke throughout this episode was Kermit trying to convince a reluctant Kelly to perform “Singing in the Rain.” The episode even featured Kelly recreating Singing in the Rain’s most iconic scene as he walked through a reconstruction of the famous musical’s set with an umbrella.

13 Rita Moreno

The Muppet Show: Season 1, Episode 2 “Rita Moreno” (12 September 1976)

As one of just 21 people to achieve a competitive EGOT (Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony Award), actress, dancer, and singer Rita Moreno can also add an acclaimed performance on The Muppet Show to her impressive resume. Moreno’s memorable contribution was a rendition of the R&B classic “Fever” with an overexcited Animal on drums. This hilarious performance saw Animal unable to control his incredible energy as he let loose on the drumset and overtook Moreno’s performance.

Rita Moreno’s performance of “Fever” with Animal won her the Outstanding Continuing or Single Performance by a Supporting Actress in Variety or Music Award at the 1977 Primetime Emmys.

12 Vincent Price

The Muppet Show: Season 1, Episode 4 “Vincent Price” (19 February 1977)

The horror movie legend Vincent Price fit in perfectly among the over-the-top antics of the Muppets as he appeared in the ‘House of Horror’ sketch with Gonzo and Fozzie Bear. Price utilized his skill for playing sinister supernatural creatures as a vampiric, Dracula-like character accompanied by monstrous Muppets. It was a true joy seeing Price fully commit to the bit and proving himself an excellent, spooky, and esteemed temporary addition to the cast of The Muppet Show.

11 Mark Hamill

The Muppet Show: Season 4, Episode 19, “The stars of Star Wars” (29 February 1980)

Considering Star Wars’s Yoda was voiced and puppeteered by the Muppets’ own Frank Oz, it’s no surprise that the cast, including Mark Hamill, Peter Mayhew, and Anthony Daniels, joined for a Season 4 episode. Hamill showed off his sense of fun with an excellent Kermit the Frog impression, a ‘Pigs in Space’ sketch featuring C-3PO, R2D2, and Miss Piggy, where he reprised his role as Luke Skywalker. This episode was a real treat for Star Wars fans and signaled Hamill’s talent for children’s entertainment as he later voiced characters like the Joker and Fire Lord Ozai in Avatar: The Last Airbender.

10 Carol Burnett

The Muppet Show: Season 5, Episode 12 “Carol Burnett” (8 February 1981)

One of the funniest episodes of The Muppet Show featured the acclaimed comedian and singer Carol Burnett being incredibly frustrated by Gonzo’s dance marathon competition. As the star of the comedy variety show The Carol Burnett Show, Burnett proved herself well capable of keeping up with the energetic antics of the Muppets. Burnett even made Muppet history with her hilarious rendition of “I Was Made for Dancin,” which kept speeding up as she tried to knock contestants out to make way for her never-seen “Lonely Asparagus” act.

9 Julie Andrews

The Muppet Show: Season 2, Episode 12 “Julie Andrews” (25 December 1977)

Airing on Christmas Day 1977, Julie Andrews was the guest star for a very special episode of The Muppet Show, which featured her reunited with the Muppets after they’d already appeared together on The Julie Andrews Hour, Julie on Sesame Street, Julie: My Favorite Things TV special, and the One to One special. As a poignant and sentimental episode, a particular highlight was Andrews serenading Kermit with her “Song for Kermit,” where she beautifully sang, “I’ve loved you since you were a tadpole.”

8 Elton John

The Muppet Show: Season 2, Episode 15 “Elton John” (8 January 1978)

The over-the-top theatricality of rock music icon Elton John paired perfectly with the campy entertainment of The Muppet Show. As a fun-loving rock ‘n’ roller, John committed entirely to the bit as he performed memorable versions of “Bennie and the Jets,” “Goodbye Yellow Brick Road,” and “Don’t Go Breaking My Heart” with Miss Piggy. However, the greatest aspect of John’s appearance was his rendition of “Crocodile Rock,” complete with a backup chorus of singing Muppet crocodiles.

7 Paul Simon

The Muppet Show: Season 5, Episode 5 “Paul Simon” (22 February 1981)

The famed singer-songwriter Paul Simon found a protegee during his appearance on The Muppet Show, as Gonzo wanted his help in becoming a songwriter. However, despite Simon’s excellent Renaissance-themed version of Simon & Garfunkle’s “Scarborough Fair” and an energetic rendition of “50 Ways to Leave Your Lover,” Gonzo’s best lyrics amounted to lines like, “For you, I’d wash my hair with stinky glue, I’d fry my legs and eat them too.” Despite Gonzo’s lack of songwriting talent, Simon still gave his all to his appearance with many memorable moments and skits.

6 John Cleese

The Muppet Show: Season 2, Episode 6 “John Cleese” (21 October 1977)

Monty Python star John Cleese embodied all that was great about his sardonic comedic persona as he complained his way through his The Muppets Show appearance. Disappointed at the presence of pigs and monsters, Cleese tried to have a private word with Kermit and told him many of the show’s plans went against his contract. While Cleese was even reluctant to finish the show with the closing song “The Impossible Dream,” after the Muppets eventually coaxed him into participating, he hilariously announced his new musical career and an album titled John Cleese: A Man and His Music.

5 Peter Sellers

The Muppet Show: Season 2, Episode 14 “Peter Sellers” (1 January 1978)

In typical Peter Sellers fashion, audiences never actually get to see Seller’s playing himself on The Muppet Show, and instead, he embodied many of his most famous characters. From a cold open with Gonzo throwing knives at Sellers’ Inspector Clouseau to embodying a version of Dr. Strangelove, this appearance was a real treat for lovers of Sellers’ incredible comedic characterizations. To top it all off, Kermit even sang a rendition of his signature song, “Bein’ Green,” making this an absolute must-watch episode.

4 Liza Minnelli

The Muppet Show: Season 4, Episode 10 “Liza Minnelli” (28 December 1979)

Liza Minnelli’s appearance on The Muppet Show took the series in a new direction as Kermit led a murder mystery special. With Minnelli as an actress whose production is being terrorized by a killer, Kermit as the PI, Strangepork as the murder victim, and Fozzie Bear as the cop, this episode was made even better due to Minnelli’s showstopping renditions of classic songs like “Copacabana.” As a truly memorable guest star, it’s no surprise that Minnelli was asked to reunite with the Muppets on the big screen in The Muppets Take Manhattan.

3 Alice Cooper

The Muppet Show: Season 3, Episode 8 “Alice Cooper” (24 November 1978)

The “talented but frightening” Alice Cooper set an eerie mood for his appearance on The Muppet Show, as the shocking rock star revealed himself to be working for the Devil and offered the Muppets “fabulous riches and worldwide fame” in a Faustian exchange for their souls. With a theme revolving around “ghoulies and ghosties and long-legged beasties and things that go bump in the night,” Cooper kept things interesting with renditions of “Welcome to My Nightmare” and closing the show with “School’s Out.” Already known for his theatrical live shows, Cooper was perhaps the Muppets’ most outrageous guest.

2 Harry Belafonte

The Muppet Show: Season 3, Episode 15 “Harry Belafonte” (5 January 1979)

It’s no surprise that Harry Belafonte singing his signature song, “Day-O (The Banana Boat Song),” was one of the best moments in The Muppet Show history. As a truly chaotic episode where Fozzie Bear decided the normally spontaneous show required scripts, all hell broke loose as he tried to write the show as it was happening. Belafonte jumped head first into the spirit of the Muppets as he partook in a drumming battle with Animal and closed with a show accompanied by African masks singing “Turn the World Around.”

1 Steve Martin

The Muppet Show: Season 2, Episode 11 “Steve Martin” (9 December 1977)

American comedian Steve Martin was at his wildest during the 1970s, which made him the ideal unhinged guest for a highly memorable episode of The Muppet Show. However, Kermit forgot to tell Martin that they had scheduled that show for auditioning new Muppets and forgot to tell him. Furious at being taken for granted, Martin doesn’t leave as he sticks around to perform his balloon act, rambling guy performance, juggling, and dueling banjos from Deliverance in what amounts to the very best episode of The Muppet Show.