The Muppet's Best Cameos

Once upon a time, there was a brilliant young comedian named Steve Martin, and he was hilarious. If you ever wanted to see why, you could listen to his albums, watch The Jerk, or just check out this great cameo from The Muppet Movie.

Martin is at his irritated best here, serving Kermit and Miss Piggy one of "the finest wines of Idaho" on their big romantic date. Luckily they're too caught up with each other to see how much he totally hates them. But that's just Steve Martin. He hates everybody.

Richard Pryor's The Muppet Movie cameo is fun, but it's also very short. Not quite a blink and you'll miss it kind of short. More like, yawn and you'll miss it. So don't yawn.

Basically Pryor is a balloon salesman who talks Gonzo into buying his chicken girlfriend a whole bunch of balloons instead of just one. There's not much to it, but it's Richard Pryor. As Superman 3 taught us, a little Pryor goes a long way.

The El Sleezo Cafe may be a nasty place to hang out, but it's filled with celebrity cameos. Not only does James Coburn own the place, but inside you can find Paul Williams, Carol Kane, Madeline Kahn, and Telly Savalas.

It's Kahn and Savalas' brief turn that steal the show, however. Using a bit of her Blazing Saddles accent, Kahn hits on Kermit, which makes her boyfriend, played by tough-guy Savalas, jealous. Poor Kermit. On the other hand, lucky us!

Not all people who cameo in Muppet movies are actors; some, like John Landis, are awesome for other reasons. If you've ever seen Animal House, The Blues Brothers, or An American Werewolf in London, then you're familiar with Landis' work. It's a little unexpected that a director of his caliber would silently pop up in The Muppets Take Manhattan just to get talked at by Kermit for 30 seconds, but that's the kind of random magic that makes these films work.