8 Celebs Who Should Have Been Way Too Famous for Sitcom Cameos
It’s cute when celebrities cameo on your favorite sitcoms — Marisa Tomei flirted with George on Seinfeld! Bryan Cranston stopped by It's Always Sunny! Sheldon meets William Shatner on Big Bang Theory!
But while it’s fun to see famous faces on TV comedies, it can be jarring when the celebrity is too famous. “What the hell is Legendary Celeb doing here?” you might wonder. “Aren’t they supposed to be on a private island somewhere avoiding taxes on their billions?”
Check out these 8 ultra-famous celebrities who unexpectedly slummed it on sitcoms…
Brad Pitt
Okay, we get it. Brad Pitt was married to America’s Most Desirable Actress 2001 when he popped up on Friends as a guy who hated Rachel Green. It’s called “doing things together as a couple.” But that still doesn’t explain the baffling time he showed up on Jackass:
Or when he mocked a Chinese accent at gunpoint on Dave:
Just give the guy a sitcom already.
Frank Sinatra
“One of the greatest days of all time,” Tony Danza wrote on his Instagram. “The day I introduced my mother to Frank Sinatra, and he did a guest spot on Who's the Boss?”
Yep, I get that it was one of the greatest days of Danza’s career. But what kind of favors did he have to call in to get a visit from the Chairman of the Board?
Prince
His Royal Badness never guested on TV shows until, you know, he did. Why New Girl? “He said that he is a big fan of Nick and Jess’ relationship, and he wants to make them stronger as a couple, or something like that, which is awesome,” the show’s Jake Johnson told Vanity Fair. “The fact that Prince even watches our show is unbelievable.”
Taylor Swift
To be fair, 2013 Taylor Swift wasn’t quite TAYLOR SWIFT when she joined Prince as a New Girl guest. But still! The ubiquitous Jake Johnson told Entertainment Weekly that it was kinda gross how good Swift was. “She came in and is really nice,” he said. “She had, like, a little monologue and delivered it perfectly. Liz gave her alternative jokes and lines, she delivered them all perfectly. It was frustrating!”
John Wayne
The days of Hollywood’s biggest stars showing up on sitcoms goes all the way back to the days of I Love Lucy. Wayne wasn’t exactly known for his comedy, but he and Ball were real-life pals. They were introduced by Ball’s old roommate — frequent Wayne Western costar Maureen O’Hara. Were Wayne and Ball having an affair? This isn’t a gossip column — go sort through the dirty laundry somewhere else.
Muhammad Ali
The Greatest was a fabulous entertainer in the ring but made surprisingly few appearances in TV and films. Weirdly, he might have been responsible for the name of the one sitcom he appeared on. In 1966, he told the Great Bend Daily Tribune that he switched up fighting styles depending on his opponent: “Different strokes for different folks.” Sly and the Family Stone took the rhyme and ran with it before Diff’rent Strokes borrowed the phrase.
Joe Biden
Michelle Obama
Parks and Rec went the political route with its celebrity cameos, giving Leslie Knope an opportunity to meet her left-leaning heroes. For his part, Biden was game for some comedic improv, show creator Mike Schur told SF Gate. “I worked at SNL for seven years and anytime a politician or athlete hosted, the one thing we knew for sure was that they wouldn’t be nervous because they face scrutiny and pressure every time they talk,” he said.
As for the First Lady, The Guardian had some problems with her performance. “She wasn’t wooden, but she was way too on-message for it to feel effortless, integrating her Let’s Move campaign into the conversation like she was setting off fireworks in a bathroom stall.”
