'Sesame Street': 'Gilmore Girls' alum Lauren Graham guest stars
- TV Show
Only in Hollywood: The same week that Gilmore Girls alum Lauren Graham was asked to appear on Sesame Street, she also got an offer to appear on RuPaul’s Drag Race.
“I was just marveling at the range of opportunities out there,” Graham told EW.
The Drag Race gig didn’t work out due to scheduling conflicts, but Graham did have a chance to visit Sesame Street last June during the show’s Celeb Week — when the Muppets and their puppeteers ship off to Los Angeles for a week to tape segments with celebrity after celebrity.
Graham’s segment teaches kids about the word “author” — an apt choice, since her debut novel Someday, Someday Maybe hit the New York Times Best Seller list last year.
As a kid watching Sesame Street, Graham loved Bert and Ernie’s banter and was a Cookie Monster fan as well. She also had an affinity for a certain trash can-dwelling green monster.
“I really loved Oscar the Grouch, partially because if I was having a crappy day, my dad would say, ‘Oh, you’re like Oscar the Grouch!’ I always thought that was sort of cool ’cause he was grouchy but also funny. I never took that as an insult,” the actress told EW on the set of Sesame Street.
Graham’s Sesame Street appearance is now on YouTube. Check it out below, and then read on for more details from the set.
When Graham misspoke a line while shooting the segment, Grover was quick to reassure her, “It’s OK — you’re still smart and cute.” But the blue, furry monster has a teasing side, too: That compliment got a bit of a sigh and a snort of laughter from Graham, to which Grover responded: “You make funny snorty sounds.” Cue more snorty sounds.
Graham wasn’t the only one to fudge up a line — the book in the segment did too, provoking Grover (puppeteered by Eric Jacobson) to call across set, “Can you get the Kindle in here?”
This “Word on the Street” segment appeared in the episode titled “Mi Amiguita Rosita,” which aired on PBS in October. Anaheim Angels first baseman Albert Pujols also taught kids a vocabulary lesson about his profession with his segment featuring the word “athlete” earlier this season. Other celebs who recently appeared on Sesame Street include Ginnifer Goodwin, Rutina Wesley and Hank Azaria.