Osceola Middle School's Mike Rivera named most hilarious teacher in America by ABC's The View

He only got a quick few minutes at the end of today's episode of The View, waving to the crowd after an hourlong program welcoming back host Barbara Walters after a six-week absence.

Still, Oceola Middle School teacher Mike Rivera earned the opportunity of a lifetime today, as the show pronounced him the most hilarious teacher in America, first among five educators with comedy skills who performed stand up sets last week on the show. His prize: appearing on the program again, performing another set during co-host Joy Behar's Comedy Corner feature this Friday.

He even had a wisecrack ready when asked if he would be nervous: "I teach seventh grade middle school, so...pretty much nothing makes me nervous nowadays," said Rivera, 51, of Largo.

During his first performance Friday, Rivera joked about how someone at a recent PTA meeting said he didn't look like a Puerto Rican. "I'm like, 'Dad, we've been through this before,'" he said, drawing laughs.

The show also made a bit of news, welcoming back Walters from a long absence after she contracted chicken pox and fainted while working in Washington D.C., sustaining a concussion that required weeks of bed rest. Walters, who was greeted with flowers from New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg and talk show host Regis Philbin, said she got the illness from visiting a famous actor with shingles (who she wouldn't name), passing out at the British ambassador's house (yes, she even gets sick glamorously).

Read the Times first feature on Rivera's quest by clicking here. And look below to see his routine from Friday's The View: