Guest Stars: Who Enjoyed It & Who Didn't?

[SeanC]

Over the past month or so I've been watching the first three seasons again ( plus a couple of random 'Best of' discs with some seasons 4 & 5 material ), and as I've watched each ep I've been wondering which guest stars really enjoyed themselves and which ones were thinking "What am I doing on this silly puppet show?"
Sometimes you can clearly see who's loving it. When John Denver cracks up laughing at Piggy's expense, you can easily tell it's no act - he's really having a fit of giggles. Likewise, Mark Hamill seems to be having a whale of a time. A lot of guests fall into this 'obvious enjoyment' category, such as Harry Belafonte or Gilda Radner. I seem to recall reading that Alice Cooper considered his ep to be one of the best things he's ever done. Guests like this you can sort of detect the enjoyment behind their eyes.
But sometimes you can't help but feel that the guests were slightly uncomfortable. During his conversation with Kermit, Joel Grey's eyes keep glancing down towards Jim, as if he's not sure who he should be talking to. Liberace seems oddly detached from the rest of the episode and has very few backstage scenes - just the cold opening and a very brief "not long to go now" bit later on. I've read somewhere online that Lola Falana didn't enjoy herself at all and apparently there were problems with Zero Mostel.
So... who do you think loved it and who do you think couldn't wait to get home?

 

[Frogster]

Elton John didn't seem like he had fun to me. Also, if what I've heard about Peter Sellers is true, then he probably didn't care for doing the show. David Lazer actually says in an interview on 60 Minutes that they typically had problems with male comedians.

 

[Slackbot]

I'm guessing that Rudolf Nureyev enjoyed himself; I can't see anyone doing that sauna number otherwise. On the other hand, every time I see the Liberace episode I get the feeling he handed the writers one of his Vegas patter scripts and told them to write an episode around that, and for heaven's sake minimize his interaction with those silly puppets.

 

[BobThePizzaBoy]

I think we all know John Cleese had a ball being on the show. Considering the fact that he even co-write the episode he was in, I think that he might have been one of the ultimate Muppet Show guest stars.

 

[matleo]

I know Christopher Reeve and Carol Burnett have also spoken very highly of their time on the show as well.

--Matt

 

[SeanC]

I think we all know John Cleese had a ball being on the show. Considering the fact that he even co-write the episode he was in, I think that he might have been one of the ultimate Muppet Show guest stars.

Well, I think John Cleese did a wonderful job of pretending he didn't like it, even though he actually did

 

[SeanC]

Also, if what I've heard about Peter Sellers is true, then he probably didn't care for doing the show.

Probably true. From what I've heard, Sellers could be an absolute nightmare to work with. I'd imagine it's highly likely there was some tension with him behind the scenes on TMS. Then again, maybe he was utterly pleasant

 

[David French]

Liberace seems oddly detached from the rest of the episode and has very few backstage scenes - just the cold opening and a very brief "not long to go now" bit later on.

He did almost the entire second-half of the show by himself, what else would you expect him to do? Not all guest stars got involved in the backstage plots.

[snip]...and apparently there were problems with Zero Mostel.

Don't know how accurate that is, as there is a quote from Mostel on Muppet Wiki humorously saying this about Jim Henson - "He has the best possible actors. If you have a disagreement with them, you can always use them to wash your car."

As for Peter Sellers, have a read of his entry on Muppet Wiki - http://muppet.wikia.com/wiki/Peter_Sellers . Even Christopher Finch says in one of his books that TMS gave Sellers the opportunity to showcase his comedic talents.

 

[SeanC]

He did almost the entire second-half of the show by himself, what else would you expect him to do? Not all guest stars got involved in the backstage plots.

It's just the impression I got more than anything else. His interaction with the Muppets seems far less than any other guest, although this could simply be an illusion caused by the unusual structure of his episode. He did turn up again in 'Muppets Go Hollywood' so maybe he did enjoy himself after all.

 

[minor muppetz]

I'm pretty sure Harvey Korman didn't like it. Out of all the first season guest stars he seemed the most unhappy. He does act grumpy for most of the show, but his grumpiness seems more natural. And a member named Tim once posted a story about the episode that Eren Ozker told him, confirming that he really did't want to be on the show.

I wonder if Juliet Prowse didn't enjoy it. She didn't seem to be having fun, appearing more serious throughout. Of course she also didn't do much, but she seemed like a rather bored (and boring) guest.

I've read that once the show became popular demand to be a guest star was so big that there had to be a waiting list for guest stars. Considering that, I'd be surprised if any post-season 2 guest stars didn't enjoy it (then again it's possible that a guest wanted to be on the show and then saw that it wasn't as enjoyable as they'd expected).