15 Famous People Who Guest Starred On ARTHUR - Warped Factor - Words in the Key of Geek.

Home Top Ad

Post Top Ad

15 Famous People Who Guest Starred On ARTHUR

Hey, it's a wonderful kind of day.


With 480 segments across 246 episodes to date, the PBS Kids animated series Arthur shows no sign of stopping. Debuting on October 7th 1996,it is the second longest running animated series in the US (only The Simpsons is ahead of it) and almost a quarter of a century later the lives of eight-year-old Arthur Read, an anthropomorphic aardvark, his friends and family, and their daily interactions with the residents of the fictional American city of Elwood City, are still entertaining audiences young and old around the world where it has aired in 83 countries.

As one of the most popular shows on PBS Kids, Arthur has commanded audiences of up to 10 million viewers weekly. Perhaps its because Arthur has never shied away from important issues families face such as asthma, dyslexia, cancer, diabetes, and autism spectrum disorder. It also encourages reading and relationships with family and friends by explaining that people have different personalities and interests, and included a same sex marriage in the opening episode of its 2019 season.

With so many episodes to date and such longevity it's no surprise that many famous people have lent their voices to characters in the series, but maybe you've missed them over the years? So, here are 15 famous people who have guest voiced characters on Arthur. How many of them did you know?...


1. Matt Damon
Playing himself, or rather his anthropomorphic animal counterpart, Matt Damon appeared in the eleventh season of Arthur in the episode The Making Of Arthur.


2. Backstreet Boys
Oh my god they're back again! Or at least the Backstreet Boys guest starred in the hour long Arthur special titled It's Only Rock 'n Roll.


3. Fred Rogers
It's always a beuatiful day in Arthur's neighbourhood, and it was made extra special when Fred Rogers made a surprise visit to Elwood City in the second season episode Arthur Meets Mister Rogers.


4. Jane Lynch
As beloved teacher Mr. Ratburn's older sister Patty, Jane Lynch guest starred in the opening episode of the twenty second season of Arthur, titled Mr. Ratburn and the Special Someone. The Glee and Party Down star was there to officiate her younger brother Patrick's wedding to Nigel.


5. Art Garfunkel
Known primarily as one half of Simon & Garfunkel and a successful solo music career, Art may have peaked in his career when he landed the coveted role of "the singing moose" in Arthur's third season episode The Ballad of Buster Baxter.


6. Alex Trebek
Yes, they even have Jeopardy! in Elwood, and its long running host Alex Trebek portrays a version of himself named Alex Lebeck in the season 5 episode Arthur and the Big Riddle. The character reappears in the seventh season centenary celebration episode Elwood City Turns 100! but does not speak.

And on that 100th episode, this happened...



7. Larry King 
In a special version of CNN's Larry King Live the cast of Arthur were interviewed by King. Who, interestingly, was not animated.


8. Neil Gaimen
The Good Omens, Stardust, Sandman and Coraline author played himself in the fourteenth season episode Falafelosophy.


9. Lance Armstrong
Leading the pack is seven times Tour De France winner Lance Armstrong, perhaps it's down to those performance enhancing drugs? Before he was stripped of all his titles, Armstrong appeared as himself in the 2008 episode Room To Ride, when he arrives in town for the bike-a-thon. Armstrong returned the following year in the episode titled The Great MacGrady to help Francine deal with cancer.


10. Joan Rivers
The late Joan Rivers appeared as Francine's grandmother Bubby in both season 12's Is That Kosher? and season 15's Grandpa Dave's Memory Album.


11. Philip Seymour Hoffman
Possibly looking more like Philip Seymour Hoffman than even Philip Seymour Hoffman did, his anthropomorphic animal counterpart, Will Toffman, appeared in the fifth episode of season 13 of Arthur, No Acting Please.


12. Alan Cumming
Appearing in the first episode of Arthur's seventeenth season, acclaimed star of stage and screen Alan Cumming voiced the poodle Sebastian Winkleplotz in Show Off.


13. Idina Menzel
Best known as the voice of Queen Elsa in the Frozen films, Idina Menzel also lent her dulcet tones to that of Dr. Paula, a therapist who helps Brain with his anxiety in the 2014 Arthur episode Shelter from the Storm.


14. B.J. Novak
Writer, Executive producer and star of The Office, B.J. Novak voiced hipster Mike "MC" Cramp in the 2016 Arthur episode The Last Day.


15. John Lewis
In the 21st season of Arthur, John Lewis, the American statesman and civil-rights leader who served in the United States House of Representatives for Georgia's 5th congressional district from 1987 until his death earlier this year, guest starred as himself in the aptly titled Arthur Takes A Stand.

The episode finishes with Lewis saying,
"There's nothing more important than following your conscience. If you can do that, you're always going to sleep well."
Wise words indeed.

And there you go, fifteen famous people who guest starred on Arthur. Did you know them all? And can you name any more? Let us know in the comments below and we'll update the list.

No comments:

Post a Comment

Post Top Ad