# Who's your favorite co-host on The Muppet Show?
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-your-favorite-co-host-on-the-muppet-show/705384
**Category:** Cafe Society
**Created:** [November 23, 2014, 2:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-your-favorite-co-host-on-the-muppet-show/705384 "2014-11-23T02:41:57Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@Deeg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Deeg)
#### Post date: [November 23, 2014, 2:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-your-favorite-co-host-on-the-muppet-show/705384/1 "2014-11-23T02:41:57Z")
While watching some DVDs of the show I learned recently that Debbie Harry (lead singer of Blondie) was a co-host on the Muppet Show. I find it highly appealing that a punk-ish rock singer at the height of her popularity took the time to sing [_Rainbow Connection_](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h0Hd3uWKFKY) with Kermit the Frog. I’m also pleasantly surprised that Henson would invite her.
The show starring Rudolf Nureyev is maybe even better with _Swine Lake_ [sic] and the duet with Miss Piggy singing “_But Baby it’s Cold Outside_”.
Who’s your favorite co-host?
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### Author:  [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)
#### Post date: [November 23, 2014, 2:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-your-favorite-co-host-on-the-muppet-show/705384/2 "2014-11-23T02:50:05Z")
Too many to have a favorite.
Favorite segment Harry Belafonte-[_Turn The World Around_](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PLqb64Pb9So).
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### Author:  [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)
#### Post date: [November 23, 2014, 2:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-your-favorite-co-host-on-the-muppet-show/705384/3 "2014-11-23T02:59:44Z")
For reference, here’s a list of the guests in [chronological](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_The_Muppet_Show_episodes) and [alphabetical](http://muppet.wikia.com/wiki/Category:Muppet_Show_Guest_Stars) order.
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### Author:  [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)
#### Post date: [November 23, 2014, 3:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-your-favorite-co-host-on-the-muppet-show/705384/4 "2014-11-23T03:01:41Z")
> [@Deeg](#):
>
> While watching some DVDs of the show I learned recently that Debbie Harry (lead singer of Blondie) was a co-host on the Muppet Show. I find it highly appealing that a punk-ish rock singer at the height of her popularity took the time to sing [_Rainbow Connection_](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h0Hd3uWKFKY) with Kermit the Frog. I’m also pleasantly surprised that Henson would invite her.
>
> The show starring Rudolf Nureyev is maybe even better with _Swine Lake_ [sic] and the duet with Miss Piggy singing “_But Baby it’s Cold Outside_”.
Have you forgotten the Queen of Nashville, Miss [Bev Sills](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xBdCVJAPoSk)?
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### Author:  [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)
#### Post date: [November 23, 2014, 3:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-your-favorite-co-host-on-the-muppet-show/705384/5 "2014-11-23T03:02:50Z")
I think my favorite was Glenda Jackson hijacking the Muppet Theater into a life of piracy on the high seas.
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### Author:  [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)
#### Post date: [November 23, 2014, 5:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-your-favorite-co-host-on-the-muppet-show/705384/6 "2014-11-23T05:27:08Z")
Not co-host, man, special guest star! 🙂
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### Author:  [@Les\_Espaces\_Du\_Sommeil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Les_Espaces_Du_Sommeil)
#### Post date: [November 23, 2014, 9:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-your-favorite-co-host-on-the-muppet-show/705384/7 "2014-11-23T09:54:26Z")
It’s a tie between **Rita Moreno** , **Vincent Price** , **Madeline Kahn** and **Rudolf Nureyev**.
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### Author:  [@NDP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NDP)
#### Post date: [November 23, 2014, 10:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-your-favorite-co-host-on-the-muppet-show/705384/8 "2014-11-23T10:05:06Z")
Off the top of my head, I remember liking best the shows hosted by Steve Martin and Peter Sellers.
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### Author:  [@bienville](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bienville)
#### Post date: [November 23, 2014, 10:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-your-favorite-co-host-on-the-muppet-show/705384/9 "2014-11-23T10:18:25Z")
As **ZipperJJ** noted: Guest Star
They were never billed as Co-Host
So many greats. I’d say that, _among_ my favorites, some noteworthy appearances:
[ul]
[li]Peter Sellers[/li]“It was to be a grand impersonation of Her late Majesty Queen Victoria whilst on vacation at Bognor Regis in the year 1888.”
“What went wrong?”
“I couldn’t remember what she looked like.”
[li]John Cleese[/li]“Every one of my contracts has a standard No Pigs Clause. I only work with the frog, the bear, and the ugly disgusting one who catches cannonballs.”
P.S. Gonzo: “Now I can’t tie my shoes!!!” is one of my favorite lines in the entire history of The Muppets.
[li]Gilda Radner[/li]Gilbert and Sullivan with a giant carrot!!!
[li]Alice Cooper[/li]Everything about this episode
[li]Madeline Kahn[/li]Because …well, she’s Madeline Kahn!!!
[li]Steve Martin[/li]In a booking error, Steve Martin is booked to be the Guest Star on a night when there is no show. Instead, Kermit has auditions scheduled for new acts. Steve hangs out anyway and plays banjo, juggles, and makes balloon animals.
[/ul]
My memories are strongest for seasons 1-3, because I have the DVD sets and have watched in recent years. I also remember loving the Christopher Reeve episode, but I haven’t seen it in years and can’t recall specifics. Ditto the Star Wars episode: Mark Hamill appeared as himself doing song-and-dance type performances, but he also appeared as Luke Skywalker in a B plot.
Also noteworthy is the 90s series _Muppets Tonight!_ which got poor ratings and therefore didn’t last long, but it was a great show. Michelle Pfeiffer, Billy Crystal, and Prince had very good episodes.
Can anyone refresh my memory of the Carol Burnett episode?
From the description on the Wiki page it looks great: She doesn’t like the show, doesn’t want to be there- I always love it when the Guests play it that way (John Cleese did it), rather than the obvious “I’m so happy to be here!”
And I remember there was something brilliant about the Asparagus Sketch (although, I have a suspicion that the brilliant bit was that they kept building it up but then never did it- is that right?).
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### Author:  [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)
#### Post date: [November 23, 2014, 12:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-your-favorite-co-host-on-the-muppet-show/705384/10 "2014-11-23T12:35:58Z")
In the chrono list, great to see Alice Cooper and Liberace share a fortnight.
I guess I didn’t watch it as often as I’d thought, because I only have memories of about 25% of those guests. I was 7-9 years old then, so I probably did see others, but didn’t know who they were, so no such memory was formed.
For whatever reason, the few that do stick in my head include Sandy Duncan, Victor Borge, and of course Rudolf Nureyev.
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### Author:  [@KCB615](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KCB615)
#### Post date: [November 24, 2014, 3:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-your-favorite-co-host-on-the-muppet-show/705384/11 "2014-11-24T03:28:03Z")
> [@bienville](#):
>
> As **ZipperJJ**
>
> Also noteworthy is the 90s series _Muppets Tonight!_ which got poor ratings and therefore didn’t last long, but it was a great show. Michelle Pfeiffer, Billy Crystal, and Prince had very good episodes.
To this day, my wife and I frequently drop the line “The lights! The lights! They’re melting the cheeses!” from _Muppets Tonight_. Dancing cheese wheels, melting as they flop on stage. Classic stuff.
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### Author:  [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)
#### Post date: [November 24, 2014, 3:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-your-favorite-co-host-on-the-muppet-show/705384/12 "2014-11-24T03:36:09Z")
Either Cleo Laine or Johnny Cash. I’m leaning towards Cash if only for his [rendition](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n5HRSmLlaiA) of “Ghost Riders in the Sky,” complete with Muppet-cows.
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### Author:  [@Aquadementia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aquadementia)
#### Post date: [November 24, 2014, 3:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-your-favorite-co-host-on-the-muppet-show/705384/13 "2014-11-24T03:46:16Z")
> [@bienville](#):
>
> Can anyone refresh my memory of the Carol Burnett episode?
> From the description on the Wiki page it looks great: She doesn’t like the show, doesn’t want to be there- I always love it when the Guests play it that way (John Cleese did it), rather than the obvious “I’m so happy to be here!”
> And I remember there was something brilliant about the Asparagus Sketch (although, I have a suspicion that the brilliant bit was that they kept building it up but then never did it- is that right?).
They had a dance contest through the entire episode. She had to speed things along by playing disco until they all dropped so she could get time to do her Lonely Asparagus sketch but her plans were undone by robot dancers.
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### Author:  [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)
#### Post date: [November 24, 2014, 4:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-your-favorite-co-host-on-the-muppet-show/705384/14 "2014-11-24T04:14:52Z")
> [@KCB615](#):
>
> To this day, my wife and I frequently drop the line “The lights! The lights! They’re melting the cheeses!” from _Muppets Tonight_. Dancing cheese wheels, melting as they flop on stage. Classic stuff.
Sandra Bullock was my favorite guest on _Muppets Tonight_, between the “Phenomenon” sketch and Andy & Randy Pig referring to her as “Sandra Buttocks.”
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### Author:  [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)
#### Post date: [November 24, 2014, 4:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-your-favorite-co-host-on-the-muppet-show/705384/15 "2014-11-24T04:39:21Z")
> [@bienville](#):
>
> [ul]
> [li]Steve Martin[/li]In a booking error, Steve Martin is booked to be the Guest Star on a night when there is no show. Instead, Kermit has auditions scheduled for new acts. Steve hangs out anyway and plays banjo, juggles, and makes balloon animals.
> [/ul]
I always like episodes where they relocate, so that everyone is out of their comfort zone and there’s a new dynamic. There was another Muppet Show episode where they do the whole show [in a railway station](http://muppet.wikia.com/wiki/Episode_308:_Loretta_Lynn), with Loretta Lynn as the guest star.
Anyway, my favourite guest star was [Chris Langham](http://muppet.wikia.com/wiki/Episode_519:_Chris_Langham), because he was a complete unknown and was utterly bonkers. (He was in fact one of the writers of the show)
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### Author:  [@Deeg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Deeg)
#### Post date: [November 24, 2014, 4:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-your-favorite-co-host-on-the-muppet-show/705384/16 "2014-11-24T04:47:28Z")
I was largely unimpressed with the Steve Martin skits outside of the balloon animals.
Gonzo riding a cow during Cash’s “Ghost Riders…” was brilliantly bizarre.
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### Author:  [@Tblue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tblue)
#### Post date: [November 24, 2014, 4:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-your-favorite-co-host-on-the-muppet-show/705384/17 "2014-11-24T04:56:40Z")
> [@running\_coach](#):
>
> Too many to have a favorite.
> Favorite segment Harry Belafonte-[_Turn The World Around_](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PLqb64Pb9So).
Gave me chills to even read that - that is one of the first and strongest memories I have, too.
But as for favorite co-host/guest star, there are far too many to choose!
The Rudolf Nureyev one was certainly up there near the top though. 😃
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### Author:  [@Hypno-Toad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hypno-Toad)
#### Post date: [November 24, 2014, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-your-favorite-co-host-on-the-muppet-show/705384/18 "2014-11-24T16:02:12Z")
Looking over the episode list. You know, just reading the phrase, “Eskimo pigs sing Lullaby of Broadway” makes me laugh.
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### Author:  [@SykoSkotty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SykoSkotty)
#### Post date: [November 24, 2014, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-your-favorite-co-host-on-the-muppet-show/705384/19 "2014-11-24T16:06:08Z")
[Buddy Rich Vs Animal Drum Battle](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jHOej4eG9i0)
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### Author:  [@Face\_Intentionally\_Left\_Blank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Face_Intentionally_Left_Blank)
#### Post date: [November 24, 2014, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-your-favorite-co-host-on-the-muppet-show/705384/20 "2014-11-24T16:23:22Z")
John Denver seemed to host a lot and enjoy it. [Always a lot of music in those episodes, of course.](https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=john++denver+muppets) They even put out a successful Christmas album together.
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