According to Kevin Clash, it was by default that he wound up as the voice of Elmo on 'Sesame Street.' But it was his performance that turned the character into an icon, though most people are still surprised when they see him and discover what he does.

On 'The Daily Show' (Weeknights, 11PM ET on Comedy Central), he shared a fun story about being asked by a flight attendant to speak to the children over the microphone on an airplane as it was landing. The best bit was that when he was finished, he said he saw people peeking into the aisles to see who it was. When he came through, they shook their heads in disbelief.

The upcoming 'Sesame Street' special 'Growing Hope Against Hunger' is introducing a new Muppet character to talk about the growing national child poverty rate. Her name is Lily, and she dropped by 'Early' (weekdays, 9AM ET on CBS) to talk about the issue.

"One of the most important things for me was not feeling like I was alone," Lily said. "The more I got involved with my community, the more I felt like I was helping other families." In the episode, Lily and Elmo will volunteer at a food pantry. "A lot of the time people don't talk about it, but once you do, you realize you just feel better, and people can find comfort in each other."

'Growing Hope Against Hunger' airs Sun., Oct. 9 at 7PM ET on PBS.

A gaggle of A-List celebrities -- including Mila Kunis, Sofia Vergara and Joel McHale -- won't have to ask "Can you tell me how to get to Sesame Street?" any longer: They're slated to appear in Season 42.

Along with the big name guests, 'Sesame Street' will spoof 'Glee,' 'Deadliest Catch' and the Broadway musical 'Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark.'

Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor will also guest star. The new season kicks off on Mon., Sept. 26 on PBS.

After the jump, check out a full list of scheduled guest stars.

If you thought the music videos of Lady Gaga were a mine-field of mind-f#*$ery, then you haven't seen them...on 'Sesame Street'.

Someone out there with a computer, a backlog of 'Sesame Street' tapes and way too much time on his hands mixed the rhythmic tones of Lady Gaga's "Telephone" with the Yip-Yips aliens from the popular children's show. You might want to put down some newspaper before you watch it or the impact of your brain blowing might ruin your carpet.

Jon Stewart did his best Glenn Beck impersonation on last night's episode of 'The Daily Show with Jon Stewart.'

In the clip, Stewart mocks the conservative pundit's lively persona with a hilarious breakdown of the term "conservative libertarian," which sheds some interesting light on Bert from 'Sesame Street,' among other things.

But don't take our word for it. Watch the clip after the jump.

I didn't think it was possible for Elmo from 'Sesame Street' to sound more ridiculous than he already does, but that's just because no one thought to put his high-pitched boyish tome to "auto tune"... until now.

The red-haired one appeared on a recent episode of 'The Wendy Williams Show' and performed her techno pop theme song complete with a set of backup dancers and an auto-tune machine that could make T-Pain proud. Mark my words: the two are already working on a duets album as we speak.



[via Buzzfeed]

There are few signs in this crazy business that you have become an indelible and beloved member of the pop culture lexicon than getting a cameo appearance on an episode of Sesame Street. Case in point: Gallagher, O.J. Simpson and Kanye West have yet to appear on an episode of Sesame Street.

Well, would you want West teaching your kids the difference between "near" and "far," things that are yellow and why George Bush hates black people?

Some upcoming episodes of the long running PBS kids' show will include appearances by Christina Applegate on Jan. 25, Hugh Jackman on Jan. 27, Debi Mazar and Sarah Jessica Parker on Feb. 16 and Paul Rudd and Eva Longoria-Parker on Feb. 18.

Since 2001, there has not been a video game based on the characters in Sesame Street. This is about to change as the Children's Television Workshop has licensed Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment to create games based on the franchise.

This is how my sick mind works. I'm envisioning "Call of Duty: Sesame Street" in which our beloved muppet characters have been stricken with a zombie plague and must be destroyed by a military platoon. The Count, being already undead, remains unaffected.

It's been weeks now, and still, President Barack Obama has had nothing to say about two of the greatest threats to American security.

We're speaking, of course, about Snooki and The Situation, from MTV's new series 'Jersey Shore.' Alas, according to First Lady Michelle Obama, it's a show the First Family does not watch. "I've heard about it," Mrs Obama tells People, in an interview all about the Obamas' TV viewing preferences. "Not seen it."

PBS is getting in on the ratings game.

According to the Hollywood Reporter, the network has announced that it will be signing up with Nielsen Ratings, providing a weekly -- but not daily -- outlook on its programs. This will be a first for the network, which launched back in 1970.

Alaina Reed Hall, who starred as Olivia on 'Sesame Street' and later set up shop at '227,' died Dec. 17 in Los Angeles after a lengthy fight with breast cancer, according to a report in the Springfield News-Sun. The Ohio native was 63.

Hall played Olivia, a kind-hearted photographer, for 12 seasons on the venerable children's show. She told the News-Sun in 2004 it was "the best job I ever had." While still working on 'Sesame,' Hall was cast in the urban sitcom '227' as Rose Holloway. That series ran from 1985 until 1990 and preceded other small parts on series' ranging from 'Blossom' to a recurring role as a judge on 'Ally McBeal.' Get more at PopEater.com

Another celebrity death has hit the world of the small screen.

Actress Alaina Reed Hall, probably best remembered for playing Rose on the sitcom 227 and Olivia on Sesame Street from the late 70s to the late 80s, passed away last week after a long battle with breast cancer. She was 63

Of course, her career stretches far beyond those two shows with parts on just about every major show in the last few decades including Friends, ER and Ally McBeal, but she was always Olivia to me. She was on the show and even the big screen spinoff Follow That Bird during my formative years, so her sweet and endearing demeanor performance as Olivia pretty much stuck her with the role.

I'm sure if I met her in person, I would accidentally call her Olivia at least four times and something tells me she would not have minded a bit.

There are a few definitive signs that you have become an icon in television news: getting a blog dedicated solely to your ties, winning an "Auto-Tune the News" award, and bringing the world the hilarious tale of an exploding whale.

Last week, Fox News' "No Spin" pundit Bill O'Reilly was cemented into fame when Sesame Street unveiled their "Spill O'Reilly," the newest talking head on the "Grouch News Network" that includes such greats as Walter Cranky, Dan Rather-not and Sally Messy Yuckayel.

This got me thinking...

Remember the brouhaha with Sesame Street over their alleged swipe at Fox News? Sesame Street has officially extended an olive branch.

Sherrie Westin, executive vice president of the Sesame Workshop, appeared on The O'Reilly Factor to explain the "Pox News" joke and unveil a new character that pays homage to "Papa Bear" as part of the show's long-standing Grouch journalism homages. Just so there's no confusion, the new Sesame Street character is the guy in the suit on the left, not the right, I think.

In my never-ending, tireless, four day quest to completely categorize Sesame Street (read my previous features here, here and here), it seems I have completely missed one.

Mental Floss Magazine has tapped a hidden but flowing resource of Muppets who have actually been fired from Sesame Street, characters I almost completely had erased from my memory like musician Don Music, Professor Hastings and Bruno the Trashman.

Who knew that Muppets could also fall victim to the horrors and uncaring hands of a mighty economic recession? I suppose that living in a garbage can makes you financially bulletproof.