Sesame Street Cred

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Just when you thought Tony Hawk couldn't get any more rad...

I think that the best things that came out of it were the chance to do Blanche and also I did a Sesame Street Big Bird video that was very satisfying to me. And I don't think I would have been asked to do that if I hadn't reached a little bit higher profile in the 'industry.' That was really rewarding.

Frances McDormand discusses some perks of winning an Academy Award

What well-known bands or actors acquire when they appear as themselves, or doing their instantly-recognizable acts, on a television program aimed at young children.

Like many things about modern kids' TV, the concept was pioneered on Sesame Street and subsequently became a staple of the many programs inspired by it. The basic idea is to make it easy and fun for parents/guardians to get involved in their kids' educational process; however, over the years, it has spun itself off into a unique celebrity cachet. An appearance on the Street—or nearby programming suburbs—has become almost as potent a sign of stardom as an appearance on Leno's or Letterman's couches.

May involve a certain amount of Bowdlerization to keep things kid-friendly and/or educational.

Mostly occurs in live-action shows, but an actor or band with a distinctive voice can provide the same effect in animation.

The serious older sibling of Parental Bonus. Also often related to So My Kids Can Watch. Can trigger Hey, It's That Guy!. For the inverse (with the Sesame Street cast only), see Muppet Cameo.

Note: When adding examples, please remember that not all animated series are aimed at young children. Rule of thumb: the closer the age of the show's target audience is to the age of the guest star, the less likely it is to be this trope.

Examples of Sesame Street Cred include:

Examples in fiction

Comic Books

Live-Action TV

  • In an episode of Murphy Brown, Murphy gets a guest appearance on a No Celebrities Were Harmed version of Sesame Street. It... doesn't go well.
  • The West Wing had a plot involving the First Lady filming a Sesame Street-based PSA, with Elmo and Big Bird appearing as themselves (the show goes to admirably great lengths to keep Muppet Kayfabe in case any kids are watching). A resulting sight gag comparing the statuesque Allison Janney with her nicknamesake, Big Bird, is funny and notable as this show rarely did gags like this.

Examples in real life

Film

Live-Action TV

  • As noted above, Sesame Street is the Trope Namer. Performers would sing a "kid friendly" version of one of their songs.
    • R.E.M. performed "Shiny Happy People" as "Furry Happy Monsters".
    • Feist performed "1234" as "I like counting up to four"
    • Ray Charles made multiple appearances, the most notable being a performance of the Alphabet Song with a number of other famous people singing various letters.
    • The B-52s.
    • James Taylor sang "Whenever I See Your Grouchy Face" to Oscar the Grouch.
    • Carol Channing sang about Sammy the Snake.
    • John Munch. Yes, you read right...a fictional character has Sesame Street Cred.
    • The 'kid-friendly' bit was totally subverted by Stevie Wonder, who performed Superstition not only straight (save for a Name Drop in the second verse), but as a balls-to-the-wall six-minute jam session.
    • Paul Simon tactfully left the last stanza—the one about how 'the radical priest come to get me released' -- off "Me and Julio Down by the Schoolyard" when performing it on the Street. This still left the bits about Mama spitting on the ground and Papa threatening 'the house of detention' intact, however.
    • Stephen Colbert starred in a Sesame Street straight-to-video special in 2005. Unfortunately, Sesame Street Cred is not legal tender at the Daily Show.
      • Jon already beat Stephen to this cred; he hosted and sang at Elmopalooza in 1998.
    • Robin Williams.
    • Jim Carrey
    • Ricky Gervais. He's said it was the coolest moment of his career.
      • The actual segment is also hilarious.
    • Herbie Hancock during the 80s. He played an electro-jazz version of the theme song and showed what electronic sound equipment can do.
    • Patrick Stewart shows his Shakespearean roots in this clip [dead link] from Sesame Street.
    • Bill Cosby and Richard Pryor also made numerous appearances (Pryor while obviously coked out of his ever-loving mind), but in Cosby's case he was practically a recurring guest host.
    • Indie rock band Tilly and the Wall is one of the most recent examples.
    • Neil Patrick Harris as the Sesame Street Shoe Fairy.
    • Jack Black shows children what an octagon is.
    • The Goo Goo Dolls turning a hit song about teen pregnancy into an encouragement to feel proud of yourself. Worth watching for the bassist's reactions to Elmo.
    • Siskel and Ebert do their critic exercises and argue about thumbs.
    • Perhaps the earliest Sesame example, Buffy Sainte-Marie [dead link] was a regular on the show's first decade, showing children that you didn't have to be white to be a successful singer. This was after her ability to get gigs and radio play in the US was compromised due to her protest music.
    • Johnny Cash sang "Nasty Dan" to Oscar the Grouch. And it was awesome.

Oscar: *as Cash leaves* That was my kind of guy!

Western Animation