PEE-WEE’S
PLAYHOUSE
(CBS, September 13, 1986-November 10, 1990)
Pee-wee Pictures, Broadcast Arts Productions (season
1), Binder Entertainment (season 2-3), BRB Productions (season 2 reruns),
Grosso-Jacobson Productions (season 3-5)
MAIN CAST:
Laurence Fishburne
– Cowboy Curtis
Phil Hartman
– Captain Carl (season 1)
Lynne Marie Stewart –
Miss Yvonne, Yvona
S. Epatha Merkerson
– Reba the Mail Lady
Roland Rodriguez
– Tito (season 1)
Vic Trevino
– Ricardo (season 2-5)
Alison Mork
– Chairry, Magic Screen, Chicky Baby, Light Blue Dinosaur, Chandelier
John Paragon
– Jambi, Pterri (season 1 & 3-5)
George
McGrath – Globey, Dog Chair, Red Dinosaur, Flowers, Yellow
Fish, Cowntess, Zyzzybalubah, Pterri (season 2)
Ric Heitzman
– Mr. Window, Cool Cat, Blue Dinosaur, Flowers, Purple Fish, Salesman, Execise
Belt
Kevin
Carlson – Clockey, Pink Dinosaur, Floory, Conky 2000 (season
2-5), Knucklehead (season 2)
Gregory Harrison
– Conky 2000, Knucklehead (both season 1)
Wayne White
– Dirty Dog, Mr. Kite, Randy, Flowers
Avriel
Hillman – Penny
Johann Carlo
– Dixie (season 1)
Comedian Paul Reubens joined the Los
Angeles improvisational team The
Groundlings in the 1970s. In 1977, The Groundlings
staged a performance where their members would portray characters one might
encounter in a comedy club. Reubens decided to use his weakness of being unable
to remember punchlines or tell comedic stories in sequence to depict the one
guy everyone knew would never make it as a stand-up comedian. That character
would begin the slow evolution towards becoming Pee-wee Herman.
 |
| Pee-wee Herman. |
Pee-wee, named after a Pee-weiny herman brand miniature
harmonica and an energetic boy Reubens grew up with, was a fun-loving
child-like man with effeminate mannerisms and quirky facial expressions. Herman’s
traditional outfit consisted of a gray glen plaid suit that was first borrowed
from Groundlings director Gary Austin
and a red bow tie given to him by an acquaintance. The refined costume and his
persona were closely modeled after 1950s children’s television host Pinky Lee.
Reubens also added short black hair, pale skin, red rouge and red lipstick to
round out the appearance. Amongst Herman’s signatures were his distinctive
laugh and chuckle, and his go-to comeback “I know you are, but what am I?”
 |
| Pee-wee with Cheech Marin. |
In 1980, Pee-wee made his national
debut in a cameo role in Cheech
& Chong’s Next Movie.
That
same year, Reubens auditioned for the upcoming season of Saturday
Night Live, the first of the five infamous years
without showrunner Lorne
Michaels that almost ended the show, but lost out to Gilbert Gottfried.
Fearing his career was over, Reubens made one last ditch effort at success by
bringing Pee-wee to the stage. With $3,000 of funds partially contributed by
his parents, 60 people and his fellow Groundling and friend Phil Hartman (who
would go on to become part of SNL himself),
Reubens created the show with Dawna Kaufmann.
Debuting at the Groundlings theater
in 1981 before moving to the Roxy
Theatre in Los Angeles, The
Pee-wee Herman Show centered around Pee-wee hanging out with his friends in
his Puppetland playhouse in an homage to low-budget 1950s kiddie shows. Pee-wee
really wanted to fly after genie-in-a-box Jambi (fellow Groundling John
Paragon) grants him a wish, but Pee-wee decided to give that wish to Miss
Yvonne (Lynne Marie Stewart), “the most beautiful woman in Puppetland”, so that
she could make gruff-yet-shy sea captain Carl (Hartman) like her. HBO recorded one of the
performances and released it as a special later that year, while Fatima
Recordz released the cast recording on a 12” vinyl record.
While the show was successful in its own right, Reubens often credited his
character’s popularity to his appearances on Late
Night with David Letterman beginning
in 1982.
Warner Bros.
took notice and brought Reubens in to write a script for a full-length Pee-wee
movie. Reubens initially planned to do a remake of Pollyanna, his favorite film,
but changed his mind when Warner Bros. gave him a bike to get around the studio
backlot at his request. Reubens became inspired and rewrote the film to become
a loose adaptation of The
Bicycle Thief;
dealing
with Pee-wee’s love of his bike and the lengths he’d go to to retrieve it when
it ends up stolen. He and the producers fell in love with the work of Tim Burton,
particularly Vincent and Frankenweenie, and hired him to
direct the film. The script was reworked between him, Reubens, Hartman and Michael Varhol
to become Pee-wee’s Big Adventure. The
film opened in 1985 and became a financial success, launching the career of
Burton and making Pee-wee a household name. That year, Reubens finally made it
to SNL--hosting
an episode as Pee-wee.
 |
| Pee-wee in his scooter helmet with Pterri and the outside of the Playhouse. |
After the film’s success, CBS approached Reubens about
turning Pee-wee into a cartoon for their Saturday morning line-up. Reubens, however,
wanted to honor the children’s programs of his youth that mixed live-action
with cartoons—Mickey Mouse Club, Howdy Doody, Captain Kangaroo—and
pushed to become the host of his own live-action program in a similar vein. CBS
relented and production began on Pee-wee’s
Playhouse, which would be similar to The
Pee-wee Herman Show with content toned down for a younger audience and
Pee-wee becoming the best role model for children possible. Reubens was given
full creative control (although they would request some changes down the line) and
an initial budget of $325,000 per episode.
 |
| Pee-wee with Reba and Cowboy Curtis. |
Reubens assembled most of his
supporting cast from The Pee-wee Herman
Show and the Groundlings. Hartman, Stewart and Paragon returned to their
respective roles, with Paragon serving as a regular writer with Reubens, Varhol,
George McGrath and Max
Robert. Joining the live actors were a pre-movie star
Laurence Fishburne as 1950s-esque Cowboy Curtis and a pre-Law
& Order S.
Epatha Merkerson as the sassy mail lady Reba. The Playhouse set was designed by
a troupe of artists including Wayne White, Gary Panter,
Craig Bartlett,
Richard
Goleszowski, Gregory Harrison, Ric Heitzman and Phil Trumbo
in a converted New York loft on Broadway. The Playhouse was a psychedelic blend
of art styles and motifs and filled with talking objects, furniture and
fixtures, as well as some non-flesh and blood characters.
 |
| Dixie introduces the King of Cartoons. |
Amongst the regular supporting cast
was the talking armchair Chairry; Magic Screen, which could show films and
allow Pee-wee to jump in to interact with the fantasy land inside her (both
Alison Mork); Pterri (Paragon and McGrath), a green Pteranodon who was afraid
of thunderstorms; Conky 2000 (Gregory Harrison and Kevin Carlson), a robot made
from various old electronics; bullying marionette Randy (Wayne White), who
liked to cause trouble around the Playhouse; Cowntess (McGrath), a talking cow
with an elegant accent; the King of Cartoons (Gilbert Lewis and William H.
Marshall) who would introduce the episode’s cartoon; Mr. Window (Heitzman), who
announced visitors to the Playhouse; Clockey (Carlson), a clock shaped as a map
of the United States who could sometimes manipulate time; and Globey (McGrath),
a globe with a French accent who helped teach Pee-wee about geography. There
was also a jazz-playing and rhyming puppet band comprised of Dirty Dog (White),
Cool Cat (Heitzman) and Chicky Baby (Mork); the weather-reporting Mr. Kite
(White); the Claymation Dinosaur Family; Pee-wee’s flowers and fish; and
Knucklehead (Harrison and Carlson), a large fist with googly eyes and lipstick
that told bad knock-knock jokes.
Pee-wee’s
Playhouse began on September 13, 1986 with a theme song composed by Mark Mothersbaugh.
Reubens’ friend Cyndi Lauper
performed the opening theme doing an impersonation of Betty Boop.
She was credited as “Ellen Shaw” since she felt the public couldn’t accept her
doing something silly at the same time as her releasing her serious-toned album
True Colors.
Just before the theme played a prelude showing Pee-wee entering the Playhouse
set to an interpretation of Les
Baxter’s “Quiet Village”.
Other composers for the series included The Residents,
Todd Rundgren,
Danny Elfman,
Mitchell Froom,
Van Dyke Parks,
George S. Clinton,
Dweezil Zappa
and Scott Thunes
(as Scott Tunis). Mothersbaugh also contributed music throughout episodes, once
stating that he would be sent an episode to score and return it within four
days before it went to air.
 |
| "Wish? Did someone say 'wish'?" |
Each episode consisted of several
recurring gags. At the start of each episode, Conky would tell the audience the
day’s “secret word” and that everyone should scream loudly upon hearing it. Naturally,
the word would be said several times including when Pee-wee departed the
Playhouse at the end of the episode. Jambi would also grant Pee-wee a wish per
episode with the words “Mecca lecca hi, mecca hiney ho”, though they would
never turn out exactly as Pee-wee planned. Dixie the cab driver (Johann Carlo)
would introduce the King of Cartoons, who would then play all or part of a
public domain cartoon from the Golden Age of Cartoons. Several segments
featured Claymation, including shorts starring Penny (Avriel Hillman), a little
girl with American pennies for eyes, and the Dinosaur Family, as well as the
intro prelude. Some of the Claymation was rendered by Goleszowski and Nick Park,
the creators of Wallace & Gromit. Episodes would end with Pee-wee launching
himself and his scooter out of the Playhouse and riding along footage of
various roads and highways as the credits played. Both Penny
and Pee-wee
would appear in PSA commercials.
 |
| Cooking with Miss Yvonne. |
The show didn’t talk down to
children and had enough adult-oriented jokes for parents that the series became
a hit with all audiences. As a result, it was easily renewed by the network. For
the second season, the show moved production to Los Angeles; receiving a larger
set and new designs for the puppets. Several cast members changed as well: Captain
Carl was retired when Hartman stayed in New York for SNL; William H. Marshall replaced Gilbert Lewis as the King of
Cartoons; the recurring character of lifeguard Tito (Roland Rodriguez) was
replaced by coach Ricardo (Vic Trevino); and Carlson took over Harrison’s
roles. After the second season, the recurring characters of The Playhouse Gang,
a group of children who visited Pee-wee, were removed.
 |
| Pee-wee shares the word of the day with Cher. |
In 1987, Reubens was approached to
make another Pee-wee movie by Paramount
Pictures. Production on Big
Top Pee-wee, coupled with the 1988
Writers Guild of America strike, resulted in the third
season being comprised of only two episodes and a primetime Christmas special. The
special featured a collection of celebrity guest-stars, including Annette Funicello,
Frankie Avalon,
Grace Jones,
k.d. lang,
Dinah Shore,
Little Richard,
Cher,
Zsa Zsa Gabor,
Whoopi Goldberg,
Oprah Winfrey,
Joan Rivers,
Magic Johnson
and Charo.
Other celebrities who have appeared during the regular show included a mixture
of unknowns (at the time) and established talent, such as Natasha Lyonne,
Sandra Bernhard,
Jimmy Smits,
Bernard Fox
and Calvert
DeForest. Behind the camera, some of the crew would also go on
to have prominent careers: in particular a production assistant named Robert
Cummings (or maybe you know him as Rob
Zombie) and security guard John Singleton.
 |
| The Playhouse with Chairry, Clockey, Dog Chair, Mr. Window, and Magic Screen. |
Reubens and CBS mutually agreed to
end the show after the fifth season due to Reubens feeling burnt out from all
the work involved and wanting to pursue other projects. The fourth and fifth
seasons were filmed back-to-back without the usual break in between and the
series officially ended on November 10, 1990. During the show’s run, it was
nominated for 22 Emmy Awards
and won 11 of them. Pee-wee also received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
CBS kept the show going in reruns and planned to do so until the fall, but Reubens’
arrest for indecent exposure in July of 1991 caused
them to pull the show shortly after as did Toys ‘R Us
with any Playhouse merchandise.
Many of Reubens’ friends, co-stars and fans came out in support of the star and
protested CBS’ cancellation of the planned reruns. Pee-wee would make two final
post-arrest appearances at the 1991 MTV Video Music Awards
and a 1992 Grand Ole Opry
tribute to Minnie
Pearl.
As the 90s went on, Reubens came out
of his self-imposed exile and took various on-camera and voice-over jobs. It
wouldn’t be until 2007 that Pee-wee would return to television on Spike TV’s 2007 Guys’ Choice Awards.
Pee-wee began making the rounds on the talk show circuit, starring in shorts
and even appearing
on WWE
Raw leading
up to the revival of The Pee-wee Herman
Show. The stage show featured most of the same cast and crew as the
original production, with the notable exception of Cowboy Curtis replacing
Captain Carl and being played by Phil
LaMarr. As far back as 1999
during promotion for Mystery
Men, Reubens
announced plans for a third Pee-wee movie. After two different ideas, Reubens
settled on a story set in the real world similar to the 1980s films and
released Pee-wee’s Big Holiday on Netflix in 2016.
During the show’s run, a wave of
merchandise filled the store shelves featuring the title and characters.
Amongst them were a line of action
figures and a fold-out Playhouse
playset by Matchbox,
lunchboxes,
dolls,
bed
sheets, party
favors, trading
cards, watches
and other knickknacks. From 1988 to 1990, Hi-Tops Video released
13 episodes to home
video, along with the Christmas special and two collections
containing several episodes. Hi-Tops also released two-episode collections and
the special to laserdisc. In 1996, MGM/UA
Home Video released 16 two-episode volumes
to VHS, along with the special on both VHS and on laserdisc.
In 2004, Image
Entertainment released the entire series on two
DVD volumes and the special
on a separate DVD. In 2010, the special was combined with
the two volumes and released as The Complete Collection. In 2014, Shout! Factory
released The Complete Series to remastered
Blu-ray, as well as re-released
remastered versions of Image’s previous DVDs. In 2011, for
the show’s 25th anniversary, ECW
Press published Inside Pee-wee’s Playhouse: The
Untold, Unauthorized, and Unpredictable Story of a Pop Culture Phenomenon by Caseen Gaines.
EPISODE GUIDE:
Season 1:
“Ice
Cream Soup” (9/13/86) – Captain Carl ends up lost on the way to some fun in the
pool, and Pee-wee makes the gang some ice cream soup when the rain spoils their
fun.
“Luau
for Two” (9/20/86) – Pee-wee wins a dinner for two and he can’t decide who to
take.
“Rainy
Day” (9/27/86) – A rainy day has Pee-wee bored inside until Randy talks him
into prank calling strangers.
“Now
You See Me, Now You Don’t” (10/4/86) – Pee-wee impresses the gang with his
ability to make himself disappear, but finds he can’t make himself reappear.
“Just
Another Day” (10/11/86) – Cowboy Curtis and Pee-wee show each other how to do
routines in their respective lives.
“Beauty
Makeover” (10/18/86) – Mrs. Steve becomes the unwitting target of Miss Yvonne’s
desire to give someone a makeover.
“The
Restaurant” (10/25/86) – Pee-wee makes believe he runs a restaurant that only
serves peanut butter and jelly sandwiches while Dixie has a bad day.
“Ants
in your Pants” (11/1/86) – The ants escape and trample all over everyone on
their way to steal cake from the Dinosaur Family’s home.
“Monster
in the Playhouse” (11/8/86) – A giant, one-eyed monster arrives at the
Playhouse.
“The
Cowboy and the Cowntess” (11/15/86) – Cowntess attempts to help Cowboy Curtis
overcome his jitters about his pending date with Miss Yvonne.
“Stolen
Apples” (11/22/86) – Randy steals Mrs. Steve’s apples and she asks Pee-wee to
help her find them.
“The
Gang’s All Here” (11/29/86) – Pee-wee invites everyone over to sketch him, and
after he gets stuck in a mouse hole Jambi shrinks his head to help him escape.
Cartoon: Smile, Darn Ya, Smile!
“Party!”
(12/6/86) – Pee-wee throws a party at the Playhouse and everyone’s invited.
Cartoon: Bunny Mooning
Season 2:
“Open
House” (9/12/87) – Pee-wee tricks his friends into doing all his chores and
they make new friends in the process.
“Puppy
in the Playhouse” (9/19/87) – Cowntess shows off some video from her world
cruise while a puppy finds its way to the Playhouse, causing Pee-wee to fall in
love with the lost dog.
“Store”
(9/26/87) – After Pee-wee and Cowboy Curtis have an adventure in Magic Screen,
Curtis and Miss Yvonne go shopping at Pee-wee’s “department store.”
“Pee-wee
Catches a Cold” (10/3/87) – Miss Yvonne and Ricardo take care of a sick Pee-wee.
“Why
Wasn’t I Invited?” (10/10/87) – Pee-wee’s flowers are unhappy with an uninvited
caterpillar and the Cowntess doesn’t invite Pee-wee to her birthday party.
“Tons
of Fun” (10/17/87) – A day of singing to old records is capped off by the
choice between two desserts.
Cartoon: Philips Broadcast of 1938
“School”
(10/24/87) – Pee-wee turns the Playhouse into a school and educates his
friends.
“Spring”
(10/31/87) – It’s spring time: Pee-wee plants a seed and doesn’t make the
baseball team, while The King of Cartoons introduces his family.
“Playhouse
in Outer Space” (11/7/87) – The Playhouse is abducted into space and taken over
by a lonely alien.
“Pajama
Party” (11/14/87) – Pee-wee and Miss Yvonne hold a pajama party and Pee-wee
marries fruit salad since he loves it so much.
Season 3:
“Reba
Eats and Pterri Runs” (9/10/88) – Pee-wee has Jambi summon Reba on her day off
so he can mail a letter, and Pterri runs away after Pee-wee punishes him.
“To
Tell the Tooth” (9/17/88) – Pee-wee’s toothache means he needs to face his
greatest fear: the dentist.
“Pee-wee’s
Playhouse Christmas Special” (12/21/88) – Pee-wee’s star-studded Christmas
party gets a damper when Santa tells him he must shorten his list or other kids
won’t get presents.
Season 4:
“Dr.
Pee-wee and the Del Rubios” (9/9/89) – Pee-wee plays doctor for a sick Reba and
the Del Rubio Triplets stop by for a visit.
“Fire
in the Playhouse” (9/16/89) – Randy decides to burn Miss Yvonne’s baked bread,
leading her to develop a crush on Fireman Frank when he arrives to talk about
fire safety.
“Love
That Story” (9/23/89) – The Playhouse gang tell each other their favorite stories.
“Sick,
Did Someone Say Sick?” (9/30/89) – When Jambi gets sick Pee-wee calls in a
genie-ologist whose bedside manner is lacking.
Cartoon: To Spring
“Miss
Yvonne’s Visit” (10/7/89) – Pee-wee invites Miss Yvonne to stay with him while
her house is painted and finds she’s a pain as a houseguest.
“Rebarella”
(10/14/89) – The Playhouse crew pretend to take a trip around the world, and
later Pee-wee and Miss Yvonne chaperone Reba’s date.
“Heat
Wave” (10/21/89) – Pee-wee presides as the judge over the case of Miss Yvonne
and Mrs. Rene’s same one-of-a-kind dress.
“Chairry-Tee
Drive” (10/28/89) – Searching for the Cowntess’ pencil sharpener leads Pee-wee
and the gang to assemble items they don’t need any more to donate to charity.
Cartoon: In A Cartoon Studio
“Let’s
Play Office” (11/4/89) – Pee-wee and Miss Yvonne play office, but when it’s
time for Yvonne to be the boss Pee-wee goes on break.
“I
Remember Curtis” (11/11/89) – Finding Cowboy Curtis’ magic lasso leads the gang
to remember all the fun they’ve had with him.
Season 5:
“Conky’s
Breakdown” (9/8/90) – Conky breaks down and Pee-wee calls in a repairman, but
Miss Yvonne’s crush on him may keep him from finishing fixing Conky.
“Mystery”
(9/15/90) – Pee-wee’s stuff begins mysterious disappearing around the
Playhouse.
“Front
Page Pee-wee” (9/22/90) – Pee-wee publishes a Playhouse newspaper, but Randy
messes around with it after Pee-wee goes to bed.
“Tango
Time” (9/29/90) – While Mrs. Rene learns how to tango Cowboy Curtis recalls his
first and last time using roller skates.
“Playhouse
Day” (10/6/90) – Pee-wee creates a new holiday so that his friends can get time
off of work to hang out.
“Accidental
Playhouse” (10/13/90) – Oki Doki visits from Japan and teaches Pee-wee about
his culture.
“Fun,
Fun, Fun” (10/20/90) – Miss Yvonne teaches the gang how to make cheese balls.
Cartoon: Freddy the Freshman
“Camping
Out” (10/27/90) – Pee-wee and Cowboy Curtis go camping, leaving Mrs. Rene in
charge of the Playhouse.
“Something
to Do” (11/3/90) – Jambi gives Pee-wee a list of things to do on a boring day.
“Playhouse
for Sale” (11/10/90) – Miss Yvonne is surprised when she visits the Playhouse
and finds a “for sale” sign on it.
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