The iconic children’s television show Sesame Street is turning a half-century old this year, but Sesame Street might as well have been renamed Hollywood Boulevard with all the special celebrity guests that have dropped by over the years to sing songs with Elmo, to learn how to count numbers with The Count, to learn about letters with Big Bird and more. Here are some notable celebs who appeared on Sesame Street.
Whoopi Goldberg
Actress, comedian, author and EGOT winner Whoopi Goldberg showed everyone that you’re never too old to learn something new when Elmo taught her how to play a musical instrument such as the drums when she paid a visit to Sesame Street. In fact, Goldberg has appeared quite a few times on the popular television show and helped tackle important topics such as skin color with Elmo, how to control one’s emotions with Baby Bear and body positivity with Hoots.
“My second best memory is with you when we were trying to explain to young people about skin color,” Goldberg recently told Elmo when asked about her favorite Sesame Street memory. “And that it didn’t matter, and that it was OK because we love each other no matter what kind of skin we have.”
Adam Sandler
“This is a song about Elmo, who likes to play and yell-mo.”
Actor, comedian, screenwriter, film producer and musician Adam Sandler appeared in Sesame Street a couple of times with him singing a song about Elmo with Elmo in 2009 and learning about the word ‘crunchy’ while Cookie Monster furiously started eating cookies while Sandler was trying to talk.
B.B. King
“I’m a monarch who loves B words, so they call me B.B. King.”
Singer-songwriter, guitarist, and record producer B.B. King was featured on Sesame Street with his guitar in hand to sing about the letter ‘B’ with Big Bird, Ernie, Baby Bear and others. In 1987, King was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and is one of the most influential blues musicians of all time earning him the nickname “The King of the Blues.” Performing tirelessly throughout his musical career, King appeared at more than 200 concerts per year into his 70s while still making the time to drop by Sesame Street.
Katy Perry
“You don’t really want to play, no, you just really want to go.”
Singer songwriter Katy Perry appeared on Sesame Street in 2010 to sing with Elmo a new rendition of her hit song “Hot N Cold,” but her appearance didn’t come without some controversy. Four days before its televised airing, Sesame Workshop announced that in light of the feedback they received on Perry’s appearance, they decided to not air the segment on television, but instead put it up on their YouTube channel inside. The reasoning behind pulling the plug? Perry’s cleavage was too inappropriate for preschoolers.
Joseph Gorden-Levitt
“Now, it’s hammer time!”
Actor, filmmaker, singer and entrepreneur Joseph Gordon-Levitt explained the word ‘reinforce’ to Murray Monster, who ultimately decided to smash Gordon-Levitt’s watch with a mallet in order to fully understand the word during his appearance on Sesame Street. Gordon-Levitt also had the distinct honor of hosting Sesame Street’s 50th Anniversary Celebration special, which premiered on Nov. 9 on HBO and will premiere on PBS on Nov. 17.
