Announcing the Great Muppet Guest Star Caper!

The Muppet Show was de rigueur for a lot of people in the seventies and eighties, and over forty years later it still holds up wonderfully well. For those who haven’t seen it, it was a variety show with songs, dances, recurring sketches, and wall-to-wall schtick, including box seat commentary from perennial hecklers Stanley and Waldorf. Produced by Lew Grade, the show originally ran from 1976 until 1981 and was a big hit in both the United States and the UK.

One of the biggest draws of the show, besides the Muppets themselves, were the guest stars, and there were one-hundred thirty-nine in all. These folks were a diverse bunch==everyone from Debbie Harry to Bob Hope to Ben Vereen to Mark Hamill to Lena Horne to Señor Wences took a turn matching wits with Kermit the Frog and his fellow Muppets, and my co-host, the lovely Gill of Realweegiemidge Reviews and I thought it would be fun to celebrate them and we hope you’ll join us. 🙂

The Rules

1. Pick a Muppet Show guest star (find a complete list of guest stars here) and review a movie or show they starred in or write about their appearance on the show (Maybe both?). Leave a comment either here or on Gill’s blog letting us know which star you’ve picked, including your blog’s name as well as your Twitter and Instagram handles (if you have them) so we can promote your post. You can also send your choices to us via our respective Contact pages.
2. Since there are so many choices, duplicates are verboten, although you may write about the same film or show if your first choice’s guest star also appeared on The Muppet Show. Please give us your first choice and an alternate just in case your first choice is already taken.
3. The blogathon will take place between January 30th and February 1st. Posts can be sent to either Gill or me on or around those days, either in our comment sections, via our Contact pages, Twitter (@TakingUpRoom and @realweegiemidge), my Instagram (@TakingUpRoom), or other various social media platforms (find Gill’s here). Since she and I are in different time zones, you may see your post appearing on different days on our respective blogs.
4. New material only, please. Nothing derogatory will be accepted.
5. Participants are limited to two posts.
6. Grab a banner and advertise the blogathon!

The Roster

Taking Up Room: Valerie Harper in The Great Mom Swap (1995)

Realweegiemidget Reviews: Mark Hamill in The Village Of the Damned (1995)

The Sound of Vincent Price: Vincent Price’s appearance on The Muppet Show (1977)

Dubsism: Alan Arkin in Glengarry Glen Ross (1992)

The Stop Button: Peter Ustinov in Hot Millions (1968)

Poppity Talks Classic Film: Tony Randall (His third wheel movies with Rock Hudson and Doris Day)

18 Cinema Lane: Big Bird in Follow That Bird (1985)

A Shroud of Thoughts: Alice Cooper’s appearance on The Muppet Show (1977)

Crítica Retrô: Bob Hope in My Favorite Brunette (1947)

Whimsically Classic: Florence Henderson in The Brady Bunch (1969-1974)

Hamlette’s Soliloquy: Gene Kelly in An American In Paris (1951)

Beyond the Stars: Rich Little on The Rich Little Show (1975-?)

Cinema Shame (James): Roger Moore in The Wild Geese (1978)

A Scunner Darkly: Cheryl Ladd on Charlie’s Angels (Season 4, Episode 19)

Diary of A Movie Maniac: Murder by Death (1976) (Peter Sellers, Nancy Walker, James Coco) and The Cheap Detective (1978) (James Coco, Madeline Kahn, Paul Williams)

Up On the Shelf: Dom DeLuise’s appearance on The Muppet Show (1977)

The Banners