"I don't have to see it. I lived it."
July 31, 2023 10:12 AM Subscribe
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A lot of lauded actors led celebrated lives after doing far worse than he ever did.
posted by Countess Elena at 10:15 AM on July 31, 2023 [64 favorites]
A lot of lauded actors led celebrated lives after doing far worse than he ever did.
posted by Countess Elena at 10:15 AM on July 31, 2023 [64 favorites]
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posted by riruro at 10:16 AM on July 31, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by riruro at 10:16 AM on July 31, 2023 [1 favorite]
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posted by The Great Big Mulp at 10:18 AM on July 31, 2023
posted by The Great Big Mulp at 10:18 AM on July 31, 2023
When I met my future wife in 2007, we got around to talking about movies. When she told me her favorite movie is "Pee Wee's Big Adventure," that sealed it - "this is woman I am going to marry."
So delightful, so whimsical - truly one of kind.
posted by davidmsc at 10:21 AM on July 31, 2023 [49 favorites]
So delightful, so whimsical - truly one of kind.
posted by davidmsc at 10:21 AM on July 31, 2023 [49 favorites]
Best death scene ever - https://youtu.be/IHVh_S9NGIU
posted by drewbage1847 at 10:21 AM on July 31, 2023 [30 favorites]
posted by drewbage1847 at 10:21 AM on July 31, 2023 [30 favorites]
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posted by MonsieurPEB at 10:23 AM on July 31, 2023
posted by MonsieurPEB at 10:23 AM on July 31, 2023
I'm glad he was able to keep his privacy, and I hope he understood how much he meant to so many people.
posted by Etrigan at 10:23 AM on July 31, 2023 [27 favorites]
posted by Etrigan at 10:23 AM on July 31, 2023 [27 favorites]
When she told me her favorite movie is "Pee Wee's Big Adventure," that sealed it - "this is woman I am going to marry."
Wow, I took my wife to see the same movie on one of our first dates. Been married for 37 years. Pee Wee was a great match maker it seems.
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posted by jabo at 10:24 AM on July 31, 2023 [17 favorites]
Wow, I took my wife to see the same movie on one of our first dates. Been married for 37 years. Pee Wee was a great match maker it seems.
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posted by jabo at 10:24 AM on July 31, 2023 [17 favorites]
NOOOOOOOOO!! This is making me truly sad. Why do the most interesting people leave and the horrible people stick around? I love Pee Wee. When my daughter was small and I was a college student Pee Wee's Playhouse was a sacred half hour in our house, toddlers and twenty somethings coming together. And Pee Wee's Big Adventure? The moment he danced down that bar? Large Marge? Thank you Paul Reubens you made my life and so many lives so so much better.
posted by mygothlaundry at 10:26 AM on July 31, 2023 [34 favorites]
posted by mygothlaundry at 10:26 AM on July 31, 2023 [34 favorites]
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posted by GenjiandProust at 10:28 AM on July 31, 2023
posted by GenjiandProust at 10:28 AM on July 31, 2023
Ahh, Pee-Wee Saturday mornings with friends after the bar and after-hours parties in the 80s... I barely remember it, but I remember it well. So much french toast, so much weed and coffee to cure our hangovers. Fun times.
Sad news, but man, he brought the joy.
posted by heyho at 10:29 AM on July 31, 2023 [7 favorites]
Sad news, but man, he brought the joy.
posted by heyho at 10:29 AM on July 31, 2023 [7 favorites]
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posted by Mister Moofoo at 10:29 AM on July 31, 2023
posted by Mister Moofoo at 10:29 AM on July 31, 2023
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posted by GoblinHoney at 10:31 AM on July 31, 2023
posted by GoblinHoney at 10:31 AM on July 31, 2023
Best death scene ever
I didn't even have to click through, I knew exactly what that was because I was going to say the same thing!
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posted by rabbitrabbit at 10:31 AM on July 31, 2023 [17 favorites]
I didn't even have to click through, I knew exactly what that was because I was going to say the same thing!
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posted by rabbitrabbit at 10:31 AM on July 31, 2023 [17 favorites]
When I visited San Antonio some years ago, I really struggled to keep myself from asking the staff at the Alamo if they could lead me to the basement.
Sad news...
posted by kaibutsu at 10:31 AM on July 31, 2023 [11 favorites]
Sad news...
posted by kaibutsu at 10:31 AM on July 31, 2023 [11 favorites]
Pee Wee rescuing the snakes from the burning pet store is one of my all time favorite comedy moments.
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posted by bondcliff at 10:32 AM on July 31, 2023 [45 favorites]
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posted by bondcliff at 10:32 AM on July 31, 2023 [45 favorites]
Off to go cry in the basement of the Alamo.
posted by PussKillian at 10:32 AM on July 31, 2023 [11 favorites]
posted by PussKillian at 10:32 AM on July 31, 2023 [11 favorites]
When I visited San Antonio some years ago, I really struggled to keep myself from asking the staff at the Alamo if they could lead me to the basement.
Sad news...
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posted by kaibutsu at 10:32 AM on July 31, 2023 [2 favorites]
Sad news...
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posted by kaibutsu at 10:32 AM on July 31, 2023 [2 favorites]
Q: I know you are but what am I?
A: Infinity.
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posted by Strange Interlude at 10:34 AM on July 31, 2023 [8 favorites]
A: Infinity.
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posted by Strange Interlude at 10:34 AM on July 31, 2023 [8 favorites]
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posted by Windopaene at 10:35 AM on July 31, 2023
posted by Windopaene at 10:35 AM on July 31, 2023
Simone: I know you're right, Pee-wee, but...
Pee-wee: But what? Everyone I know has a big "But...? C'mon, Simone, let's talk about *your* big "But".
I first saw Pee-wee's Big Adventure on a rented VHS tape and was so startled and delighted by the Large Marge scene that I rewound it 3 or 4 times, laughing hysterically.
R.I.Pee-wee.
posted by ActingTheGoat at 10:36 AM on July 31, 2023 [15 favorites]
Pee-wee: But what? Everyone I know has a big "But...? C'mon, Simone, let's talk about *your* big "But".
I first saw Pee-wee's Big Adventure on a rented VHS tape and was so startled and delighted by the Large Marge scene that I rewound it 3 or 4 times, laughing hysterically.
R.I.Pee-wee.
posted by ActingTheGoat at 10:36 AM on July 31, 2023 [15 favorites]
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posted by FuturisticDragon at 10:36 AM on July 31, 2023
posted by FuturisticDragon at 10:36 AM on July 31, 2023
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one of the all time best, ever
since I saw him "Hamburgerrr" with Cheech & Chong
posted by djseafood at 10:37 AM on July 31, 2023 [11 favorites]
one of the all time best, ever
since I saw him "Hamburgerrr" with Cheech & Chong
posted by djseafood at 10:37 AM on July 31, 2023 [11 favorites]
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It always bothered me as what exactly was so scandalous... It was a damn adult theatre - seemed to me to be more 'entrapment' than anything, what do people think happens in those venues - it's not like he harmed anyone.
posted by rozcakj at 10:38 AM on July 31, 2023 [46 favorites]
It always bothered me as what exactly was so scandalous... It was a damn adult theatre - seemed to me to be more 'entrapment' than anything, what do people think happens in those venues - it's not like he harmed anyone.
posted by rozcakj at 10:38 AM on July 31, 2023 [46 favorites]
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Tears in my eyes for this smart, funny man. Mekka lekka hi, mekka hiney ho. Mekka lekka hi, mekka chani ho.
posted by BlahLaLa at 10:41 AM on July 31, 2023 [24 favorites]
Tears in my eyes for this smart, funny man. Mekka lekka hi, mekka hiney ho. Mekka lekka hi, mekka chani ho.
posted by BlahLaLa at 10:41 AM on July 31, 2023 [24 favorites]
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posted by any portmanteau in a storm at 10:41 AM on July 31, 2023
posted by any portmanteau in a storm at 10:41 AM on July 31, 2023
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posted by gentlyepigrams at 10:43 AM on July 31, 2023
posted by gentlyepigrams at 10:43 AM on July 31, 2023
Ooh, ouch. This one hurts.
I confess to loving Pee-wee's Big Adventure and also dreamed someday of seeing the basement at the Alamo.
posted by vacapinta at 10:43 AM on July 31, 2023 [6 favorites]
I confess to loving Pee-wee's Big Adventure and also dreamed someday of seeing the basement at the Alamo.
posted by vacapinta at 10:43 AM on July 31, 2023 [6 favorites]
Beyond his iconic death scene - one of the other thoughts I had about Pee-wee, is that I'm pretty certain that Playhouse was the first time I ever as a kid recognized something as campy in a way other than being silly and going "oohh... there's subtext here"
Definitely made me pay more attention to what wasn't being said directly.
posted by drewbage1847 at 10:45 AM on July 31, 2023 [19 favorites]
Definitely made me pay more attention to what wasn't being said directly.
posted by drewbage1847 at 10:45 AM on July 31, 2023 [19 favorites]
70?!
Good lord, time flies.
Off to the final big adventure.
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posted by gwint at 10:45 AM on July 31, 2023 [5 favorites]
Good lord, time flies.
Off to the final big adventure.
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posted by gwint at 10:45 AM on July 31, 2023 [5 favorites]
Pee-wee's Playhouse was the weirdest thing on Saturday morning TV. He was one of a kind.
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posted by May Kasahara at 10:46 AM on July 31, 2023 [8 favorites]
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posted by May Kasahara at 10:46 AM on July 31, 2023 [8 favorites]
UGH. I was a huge fan of his work as Pee-Wee, both on TV and film. There was a depth of comic characterization there that transcended the catchphrases and bits. The first porn arrest was absurd as a stick with which to beat him, and I'm sorry for the work of his that never got produced because of that moralizing moment by the media and mob.
Really, really sad news.
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(Edit for clarification)
posted by the sobsister at 10:46 AM on July 31, 2023 [4 favorites]
Really, really sad news.
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(Edit for clarification)
posted by the sobsister at 10:46 AM on July 31, 2023 [4 favorites]
Oh no, boo! That sucks. Pee Wee's Big Adventure remains an eternal delight.
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posted by Kitteh at 10:47 AM on July 31, 2023 [1 favorite]
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posted by Kitteh at 10:47 AM on July 31, 2023 [1 favorite]
Goddammit, indeed. What a loss.
The canonical Pee-Wee, to me, will be his original 1981 show with John Paragon (RIP), Phil Hartman, Edie McClurg.... a little more unfiltered than what the Playhouse series became.
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posted by JoeZydeco at 10:48 AM on July 31, 2023 [14 favorites]
The canonical Pee-Wee, to me, will be his original 1981 show with John Paragon (RIP), Phil Hartman, Edie McClurg.... a little more unfiltered than what the Playhouse series became.
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posted by JoeZydeco at 10:48 AM on July 31, 2023 [14 favorites]
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posted by cmfletcher at 10:49 AM on July 31, 2023
posted by cmfletcher at 10:49 AM on July 31, 2023
He was also great fun on David Letterman.
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posted by TedW at 10:50 AM on July 31, 2023 [7 favorites]
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posted by TedW at 10:50 AM on July 31, 2023 [7 favorites]
I always assumed the adult theater incident and the later porn charges were in part "here's a minor celebrity we can bust to burnish our images" and gay panic.
I know he was married and had a long relationship with Debi Mazar, but his sexuality always read fluid and the soft/effeminate nature of the Pee-Wee character was more than enough to tar him as gay - for those who'd consider that something tarrable.
posted by drewbage1847 at 10:51 AM on July 31, 2023 [18 favorites]
I know he was married and had a long relationship with Debi Mazar, but his sexuality always read fluid and the soft/effeminate nature of the Pee-Wee character was more than enough to tar him as gay - for those who'd consider that something tarrable.
posted by drewbage1847 at 10:51 AM on July 31, 2023 [18 favorites]
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posted by scottatdrake at 10:53 AM on July 31, 2023
posted by scottatdrake at 10:53 AM on July 31, 2023
Pee-Wee's delightful guest star appearance on 227 (full episode). (Features a teenage Regina King doing the Tequila dance with PW.)
posted by DirtyOldTown at 10:53 AM on July 31, 2023 [7 favorites]
posted by DirtyOldTown at 10:53 AM on July 31, 2023 [7 favorites]
TEQUILA!
Also a loved the Playhouse as a kid. I guess even ageless child entertainers have to get old? But, 70 blew my mind.
(Also, what else are you supposed to do in an adult theater?)
posted by atomicstone at 10:53 AM on July 31, 2023 [3 favorites]
Also a loved the Playhouse as a kid. I guess even ageless child entertainers have to get old? But, 70 blew my mind.
(Also, what else are you supposed to do in an adult theater?)
posted by atomicstone at 10:53 AM on July 31, 2023 [3 favorites]
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posted by oozy rat in a sanitary zoo at 10:54 AM on July 31, 2023
posted by oozy rat in a sanitary zoo at 10:54 AM on July 31, 2023
It strikes me as very in keeping with his commitment to the character that he shared no news of the illness until after his passing.
This is a heartbreaking loss.
posted by Ipsifendus at 10:56 AM on July 31, 2023 [9 favorites]
This is a heartbreaking loss.
posted by Ipsifendus at 10:56 AM on July 31, 2023 [9 favorites]
I had a Pee-Wee action figure as a kid, which was a lot more articulated than most other toys at the time. Paired up with much clumsier ninja turtle toys, he was the true karate master. I always thought he might be gratified to know that.
posted by Phobos the Space Potato at 10:57 AM on July 31, 2023 [26 favorites]
posted by Phobos the Space Potato at 10:57 AM on July 31, 2023 [26 favorites]
Pee-Wee's Christmas Special (which is available in its entirety with a bit of Googling) was on fairly constant rotation during my childhood, and I had literally no idea what a joyous, furiously comprehensive celebration of camp it was until I saw Matt Baume's excellent video about it (Facebook video link, alas, as I'm certain the Youtube version has been copyright-struck). All I knew is that it entertained the hell out of me then, and I'm grateful for a gift that has only grown with time.
(Did anyone else have a wind-up Conky back then? Just me?)
Here's to... well, to connecting the dots.
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posted by lumensimus at 11:00 AM on July 31, 2023 [7 favorites]
(Did anyone else have a wind-up Conky back then? Just me?)
Here's to... well, to connecting the dots.
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posted by lumensimus at 11:00 AM on July 31, 2023 [7 favorites]
I often call small dogs "Speck" and would imitate his manic cackle if only I could manage it. So many snippets of dialogue from that movie appear unbidden in my mind, almost always inappropriately: I think he would appreciate my repressed smile every time.
Seeing the movie showed me that an actor could be completely free to act goofy, and yet be serving a creative vision...and also be fun as hell. RIP, Mr. Reubens/Pee-Wee.
posted by wenestvedt at 11:04 AM on July 31, 2023 [11 favorites]
Seeing the movie showed me that an actor could be completely free to act goofy, and yet be serving a creative vision...and also be fun as hell. RIP, Mr. Reubens/Pee-Wee.
posted by wenestvedt at 11:04 AM on July 31, 2023 [11 favorites]
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posted by Blue Jello Elf at 11:05 AM on July 31, 2023
posted by Blue Jello Elf at 11:05 AM on July 31, 2023
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posted by mikelieman at 11:06 AM on July 31, 2023
posted by mikelieman at 11:06 AM on July 31, 2023
I still remember David Letterman's quote on Pee-Wee:
posted by JoeZydeco at 11:07 AM on July 31, 2023 [18 favorites]
“What makes me laugh about this character is that it has the external structure of a bratty, precocious kid, but you know it's being controlled by the incubus—the manifestation of evil itself.”
posted by JoeZydeco at 11:07 AM on July 31, 2023 [18 favorites]
Gods. That HBO special of his Pee-Wee Herman Show back in '81 was so fucking subversively funny. Just utterly original and manic. So much fun.
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posted by Thorzdad at 11:07 AM on July 31, 2023 [12 favorites]
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posted by Thorzdad at 11:07 AM on July 31, 2023 [12 favorites]
I'm a weirdo and a nerd. I wouldn't go so far as to say that Pee-Wee gave me permission for me to be a weirdo and a nerd, but -- I certainly saw in the character a fellow traveller, someone who lived his own way and felt no shame for being different. I imagine that that was even more important to people who were different in more substantial ways than me, a bookish loner.
Before the internets, it took a lot of doing to find your tribe of fellow weirdos of whatever stripe. The Playhouse, while fictional, had all these people of whatever odd bent just being friends. And boy, was the Playhouse ever more interesting for it, as was my life because of my friendships with fellow travellers. Holy Hannah, did I ever learn more as my world expanded.
Thank you, Pee-Wee. Thank you, Paul.
posted by Capt. Renault at 11:08 AM on July 31, 2023 [27 favorites]
Before the internets, it took a lot of doing to find your tribe of fellow weirdos of whatever stripe. The Playhouse, while fictional, had all these people of whatever odd bent just being friends. And boy, was the Playhouse ever more interesting for it, as was my life because of my friendships with fellow travellers. Holy Hannah, did I ever learn more as my world expanded.
Thank you, Pee-Wee. Thank you, Paul.
posted by Capt. Renault at 11:08 AM on July 31, 2023 [27 favorites]
I still like to say "Excuse me" in that voice.
🚲
posted by Halloween Jack at 11:10 AM on July 31, 2023 [6 favorites]
🚲
posted by Halloween Jack at 11:10 AM on July 31, 2023 [6 favorites]
A compilation of Pee-Wee's appearances on Letterman, which really shows how the character developed over time.
posted by HeroZero at 11:11 AM on July 31, 2023 [12 favorites]
posted by HeroZero at 11:11 AM on July 31, 2023 [12 favorites]
The Spleen has vented his last... farewell, you Mystery Man.
posted by FatherDagon at 11:11 AM on July 31, 2023 [15 favorites]
posted by FatherDagon at 11:11 AM on July 31, 2023 [15 favorites]
Here is Boston-based band Christmas’s tribute song Pee-Wee from their 1986 first album, In Excelsior Day-Glo. Based on the lyrics mentioning David, it’s about the era of frequent David Letterman appearances.
posted by larrybob at 11:13 AM on July 31, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by larrybob at 11:13 AM on July 31, 2023 [1 favorite]
When ya get to Heaven, tell 'em Large Marge sent ya!
posted by Servo5678 at 11:14 AM on July 31, 2023 [26 favorites]
posted by Servo5678 at 11:14 AM on July 31, 2023 [26 favorites]
This is sad news indeed.
He and his life, in retrospect -- from what has since been released -- was and is far more complicated and interesting than I ever imagined.
posted by y2karl at 11:14 AM on July 31, 2023 [4 favorites]
He and his life, in retrospect -- from what has since been released -- was and is far more complicated and interesting than I ever imagined.
posted by y2karl at 11:14 AM on July 31, 2023 [4 favorites]
Oh no oh no oh no. Maybe this one hurts so much because even though he’s always been a lot older than me, to me he’ll always only be young.
I quote PWBA all the time. Greta Gerwig cited it as a reference for the Barbie film. Other than people not knowing who the celebrity cameos are anymore, it still holds up and I think (I hope) it always will. He brought so much joy. So much weird weird joy. 🦖
posted by Mchelly at 11:14 AM on July 31, 2023 [9 favorites]
I quote PWBA all the time. Greta Gerwig cited it as a reference for the Barbie film. Other than people not knowing who the celebrity cameos are anymore, it still holds up and I think (I hope) it always will. He brought so much joy. So much weird weird joy. 🦖
posted by Mchelly at 11:14 AM on July 31, 2023 [9 favorites]
Things you wouldn't want to know. Things you shouldn't want to know.
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posted by LionIndex at 11:17 AM on July 31, 2023 [8 favorites]
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posted by LionIndex at 11:17 AM on July 31, 2023 [8 favorites]
Terrible news. I grew up on Pee Wee. Had all the toys. Never missed a Playhouse. In college I wrote a paper in my freshman English class about how the arrest in the theater was bullshit. He'll be missed.
posted by downtohisturtles at 11:17 AM on July 31, 2023 [7 favorites]
posted by downtohisturtles at 11:17 AM on July 31, 2023 [7 favorites]
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posted by mochapickle at 11:29 AM on July 31, 2023
posted by mochapickle at 11:29 AM on July 31, 2023
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I believe The Playhouse might have been the last live Saturday morning kids TV show. If someone knows this for sure (or if this is wrong), please chime in.
One of the things I loved most about The Playhouse was the entirely ludicrous portrayal of all the adult characters. The provided amusement (often at their own expense) and held no authority over Pee Wee. Utter caricatures of "grown ups."
posted by Insert Clever Name Here at 11:33 AM on July 31, 2023 [4 favorites]
I believe The Playhouse might have been the last live Saturday morning kids TV show. If someone knows this for sure (or if this is wrong), please chime in.
One of the things I loved most about The Playhouse was the entirely ludicrous portrayal of all the adult characters. The provided amusement (often at their own expense) and held no authority over Pee Wee. Utter caricatures of "grown ups."
posted by Insert Clever Name Here at 11:33 AM on July 31, 2023 [4 favorites]
When I'm feeling particularly grandiose, I still sometimes say, "You don't want to get mixed up with a guy like me. I'm a loner, Dottie, a rebel."
posted by praemunire at 11:36 AM on July 31, 2023 [29 favorites]
posted by praemunire at 11:36 AM on July 31, 2023 [29 favorites]
someone who lived his own way and felt no shame for being different
which is why, of course, "they" had to make him feel ashamed
posted by chavenet at 11:36 AM on July 31, 2023 [11 favorites]
which is why, of course, "they" had to make him feel ashamed
posted by chavenet at 11:36 AM on July 31, 2023 [11 favorites]
When I'm feeling particularly grandiose, I still sometimes say, "You don't want to get mixed up with a guy like me. I'm a loner, Dottie, a rebel."
I've seen things you wouldn't believe, Dottie. Things you wouldn't understand. Bicycles on fire off the shoulder of Orion. I watched C-beams glitter in the dark in the basement of the Alamo.
posted by Foosnark at 11:38 AM on July 31, 2023 [25 favorites]
I've seen things you wouldn't believe, Dottie. Things you wouldn't understand. Bicycles on fire off the shoulder of Orion. I watched C-beams glitter in the dark in the basement of the Alamo.
posted by Foosnark at 11:38 AM on July 31, 2023 [25 favorites]
This one hits really hard for some reason.
posted by interogative mood at 11:38 AM on July 31, 2023 [7 favorites]
posted by interogative mood at 11:38 AM on July 31, 2023 [7 favorites]
My fading memory is telling me that, very early in his career, he appeared in a sketch (maybe SNL, but that doesn't appear likely) about terrorists trying to buy fissionable material from a bodega-type store. Does anyone else know what I'm talking about?
(Yes, I'm aware of the "Back to the Future" line about buying plutonium at the corner grocery store - I *think* this predated that by quite a bit)
posted by hanov3r at 11:38 AM on July 31, 2023
(Yes, I'm aware of the "Back to the Future" line about buying plutonium at the corner grocery store - I *think* this predated that by quite a bit)
posted by hanov3r at 11:38 AM on July 31, 2023
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posted by toodleydoodley at 11:39 AM on July 31, 2023
posted by toodleydoodley at 11:39 AM on July 31, 2023
I dotted upthread, and was never really a fan, but...
How is this even possible?
posted by Windopaene at 11:44 AM on July 31, 2023 [2 favorites]
How is this even possible?
posted by Windopaene at 11:44 AM on July 31, 2023 [2 favorites]
"...which is why, of course, "they" had to make him feel ashamed..."
The response was totally overblown and opportunistic. But -- there was something self-destructive about the original act, that Paul wanted to separate himself from the character he created. (As this amateur psychologist sees it, anyway.)
posted by Capt. Renault at 11:45 AM on July 31, 2023 [1 favorite]
The response was totally overblown and opportunistic. But -- there was something self-destructive about the original act, that Paul wanted to separate himself from the character he created. (As this amateur psychologist sees it, anyway.)
posted by Capt. Renault at 11:45 AM on July 31, 2023 [1 favorite]
Truly one of the unique and most enduring characters of my lifetime. I'll have a shot of Tequila in his honor tonight as I queue up some Pee-Wee Herman show.
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posted by OHenryPacey at 11:46 AM on July 31, 2023
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posted by OHenryPacey at 11:46 AM on July 31, 2023
which is why, of course, "they" had to make him feel ashamed
“So… heard any good jokes lately?”
posted by Parasite Unseen at 11:47 AM on July 31, 2023 [32 favorites]
“So… heard any good jokes lately?”
posted by Parasite Unseen at 11:47 AM on July 31, 2023 [32 favorites]
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posted by dogstoevski at 11:47 AM on July 31, 2023
posted by dogstoevski at 11:47 AM on July 31, 2023
>My fading memory is telling me that, very early in his career, he appeared in a sketch (maybe SNL, but that doesn't appear likely) about terrorists trying to buy fissionable material from a bodega-type store. Does anyone else know what I'm talking about?
I think that's the Steve Martin All Commercials special. (I couldn't find the sketch you are referring to.)
posted by Catblack at 11:48 AM on July 31, 2023
I think that's the Steve Martin All Commercials special. (I couldn't find the sketch you are referring to.)
posted by Catblack at 11:48 AM on July 31, 2023
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posted by The Vice Admiral of the Narrow Seas at 11:48 AM on July 31, 2023
posted by The Vice Admiral of the Narrow Seas at 11:48 AM on July 31, 2023
Huh, I never knew this about Reubens' development of Pee-Wee. Via Wikipedia:
posted by JoeZydeco at 11:49 AM on July 31, 2023 [25 favorites]
Reubens auditioned for Saturday Night Live for the 1980–1981 season, but Gilbert Gottfried, who was a close friend of the show's producer and had the same acting style as Reubens, got the job. Reubens was so angry and bitter that he decided he would borrow money and start his own show in Los Angeles using the character he had been developing during the last few years, "Pee-wee Herman".So, um, thank you Lorne?
posted by JoeZydeco at 11:49 AM on July 31, 2023 [25 favorites]
I say we let him go.
posted by snofoam at 11:51 AM on July 31, 2023 [28 favorites]
posted by snofoam at 11:51 AM on July 31, 2023 [28 favorites]
Oh, here's the Paul Reubens sketch you were looking for, from a different special!
posted by Catblack at 11:56 AM on July 31, 2023 [14 favorites]
posted by Catblack at 11:56 AM on July 31, 2023 [14 favorites]
I believe The Playhouse might have been the last live Saturday morning kids TV show. If someone knows this for sure (or if this is wrong), please chime in.
I think you might be commingling The Pee-wee Herman Show (his early live comedy stage show that was the precursor to Pee-wee's Playhouse) and the 1950s Soupy Sales-style kiddie shows that inspired it.
Although Pee-wee's Playhouse is absolutely built as a low-camp mutant version of those older shows, it was filmed on a soundstage instead of being shot live in front of an audience, and edited together with the various animated bits as well as the scoring done by Mark Mothersbaugh, the Residents, and other interesting musicians, which all required substantial post-production.
posted by Strange Interlude at 12:02 PM on July 31, 2023 [5 favorites]
I think you might be commingling The Pee-wee Herman Show (his early live comedy stage show that was the precursor to Pee-wee's Playhouse) and the 1950s Soupy Sales-style kiddie shows that inspired it.
Although Pee-wee's Playhouse is absolutely built as a low-camp mutant version of those older shows, it was filmed on a soundstage instead of being shot live in front of an audience, and edited together with the various animated bits as well as the scoring done by Mark Mothersbaugh, the Residents, and other interesting musicians, which all required substantial post-production.
posted by Strange Interlude at 12:02 PM on July 31, 2023 [5 favorites]
My husband and I were able to attend one if the tour stops for the 35th anniversary showing of Big Adventure, right before the pandemic shut things down in 2020. Reubens was a delight and a great storyteller. In some ways I thought of him as eternally young, but his age was more evident when he talked about older Hollywood movies and people who were his inspirations. May he rest in peace.
posted by bizzyb at 12:02 PM on July 31, 2023 [8 favorites]
posted by bizzyb at 12:02 PM on July 31, 2023 [8 favorites]
As an adult I used to get up early to watch Pee Wee's Playhouse.
I'm not sorry.
posted by the Real Dan at 12:02 PM on July 31, 2023 [3 favorites]
I'm not sorry.
posted by the Real Dan at 12:02 PM on July 31, 2023 [3 favorites]
BTW - if you've never heard of Paul's father - pretty amazing: "Milton Rubenfeld was a pilot who flew for the Royal Air Force and U.S. Army during World War II, later becoming one of the five founding pilots of the Israeli Air Force in the 1948 Arab–Israeli War."
posted by davidmsc at 12:02 PM on July 31, 2023 [9 favorites]
posted by davidmsc at 12:02 PM on July 31, 2023 [9 favorites]
Is Peewee.com really his blog? I just stumbled across it yesterday.
posted by Rash at 12:06 PM on July 31, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by Rash at 12:06 PM on July 31, 2023 [1 favorite]
The originality and freshness of everything he did was just breathtaking. Sometimes it would take me a couple of seconds to start laughing because I was so stunned by the insight the joke embodied.
I was angry when he was arrested on that bullshit charge.
Why do the most interesting people leave and the horrible people stick around?
I think there may actually be an answer to this question when it comes to cancer — if you believe oxytocin promotes positive social behaviors.
Because breast tissue is loaded with oxytocin receptors, and people are starting to look at it as a possible promoter:
I was angry when he was arrested on that bullshit charge.
Why do the most interesting people leave and the horrible people stick around?
I think there may actually be an answer to this question when it comes to cancer — if you believe oxytocin promotes positive social behaviors.
Because breast tissue is loaded with oxytocin receptors, and people are starting to look at it as a possible promoter:
There is emerging evidence that OTR plays a role in breast cancer development and progression, and several breast cancer cell lines express OTR. However, despite supporting evidence that OT lowers breast cancer risks, its mechanistic role in breast cancer development and the related signalling pathways are not fully understood.Prostate tissue also has a bunch, and those are under suspicion, as well:
The oxytocin receptor has also been implicated in the migration of prostate cancer cells, and possibly modulation of prostate cancer metastasis[83]. Taken together, these observations of oxytocin in prostate cancer cells both in vivo and in vitro, suggest that oxytocin could serve as a prostate cancer biomarker[84].posted by jamjam at 12:08 PM on July 31, 2023 [1 favorite]
Well, god dammit. I couldn’t get over how delightfully strange he was when he first appeared and I just always enjoyed his work. May his memory be a blessing.
posted by kitten kaboodle at 12:09 PM on July 31, 2023 [2 favorites]
posted by kitten kaboodle at 12:09 PM on July 31, 2023 [2 favorites]
Look me up on here, find my post on Paul.
I am fucking DESTROYED over this shit.
I can’t even…
RIP, Paul, you crazy, lovely motherfucker, time with you gave me some of the best stories of my whole life.
Time to cry. Fucking 2023 POS.
posted by dbiedny at 12:12 PM on July 31, 2023 [22 favorites]
I am fucking DESTROYED over this shit.
I can’t even…
RIP, Paul, you crazy, lovely motherfucker, time with you gave me some of the best stories of my whole life.
Time to cry. Fucking 2023 POS.
posted by dbiedny at 12:12 PM on July 31, 2023 [22 favorites]
Sad. The Pee-Wee stuff was such an inventive distillation of 50s/60s kitsch.
And we're another couple for whom "Pee-Wee's Big Adventure" was an early date movie. We both enjoyed it, and laughed at the same bits... it was an early clue that we should be together (and we still are.)
(and thanks for the reminder of "The Spleen". Not enough beer in the world...)
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posted by Artful Codger at 12:16 PM on July 31, 2023 [7 favorites]
And we're another couple for whom "Pee-Wee's Big Adventure" was an early date movie. We both enjoyed it, and laughed at the same bits... it was an early clue that we should be together (and we still are.)
(and thanks for the reminder of "The Spleen". Not enough beer in the world...)
.
posted by Artful Codger at 12:16 PM on July 31, 2023 [7 favorites]
I really enjoyed Peewee as a kid. Appreciated Reubens in Mystery Men
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posted by porpoise at 12:24 PM on July 31, 2023 [4 favorites]
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posted by porpoise at 12:24 PM on July 31, 2023 [4 favorites]
The post:
For those of you who live/lived in San Rafael, Marin county, you might remember a great little indy music store on 4th Street, Maximum Music. The owner, Claire, was a sweetheart, and her main employee is this cool guy, Jim Harris. Think of "High Fidelity", and you've got an accurate picture. Jim was a MAJOR Pee Wee Herman fan, and one of the things hanging on the wall, behind the counter, was a HUGE pair of Pee Wee briefs - like a size 90, they were some sort of psychotic Pee Wee product that is rare as hell.
So a good buddy of mine was getting married - big shindig at a hotel (which I'm spacing on, located at the west side of Union Square), and it turns he's really close friends with Paul Reubens, and tells me that Paul is going to be at the wedding. OK, I've got a special mission now. The wedding was on a Friday, so I go to Maximum Music on Thursday morning, and inform Jim that I need to "borrow" the underwear. He gives me an incredulous glare, and tells me to forget about it. I press him, tell him I absolutely need to borrow them for a couple of days, and continue at this for at least 20 minutes or so. I refuse to tell him why, I just say that he'll be happy he let me take them. He's seriously protective, and is worried that I will do something bad to them. After some serious arm-twisting, he finally pulls this thing down from the wall, gingerly folds them up and inserts them into a big manila envelope. I'm warned that if I lose them, it will be my head, and he's not happy that I won't tell him what the urgency is all about. He's staring at me as I leave the store, shaking his head.
I leave the store, and realize that I will need a Sharpie to take with me, and I know that the black-blue-red-purples ones I have back home just won't do. I embark on a search for a single, fat-tipped Sharpie, brown. It's the only thing that will do here, and it takes me a few hours to finally track one down at the Northgate mall.
My rented tux was my last pickup that day, and I now realize that I'll need to fold these monsterously large underwear into something that will barely fit into a pocket of the tux. Looks like a mutant tumor, but what the hell, I'll do just about anything for my friends.
Friday, I head down to the city, the wedding is just lovely, and after the ceremony, there's a reception in the Air Lounge of the hotel. Tons of people, I ask my buddie's son to take me over to meet Paul. As expected, he's surrounded by a throng of fans, but we manage to work our way up to him, and Taroo introduces me to Paul. He arches an eyebrow, and says, "I've heard a lot about you", and shakes my hand. I tell him that I have to ask a favor, that a good buddy of mine is a huge fan of his, and I have something that I'd like him to sign for me. I proceed to pull the briefs out of my tux pocket, and they come out something like pulling an endless scarf out of a hat. Everyone standing around us cracks up, and the look that comes over Paul's face is priceless - he exclaims, "I can't believe someone actually has one of these things, look, there's my face!" (his mug is printed on the front of these things, make your own joke). He looks around and asks if anyone has a pen, I grin and pull the brown Sharpie out of the other pocket. Reubens explodes with laughter, and proclaims that the stories he's heard about my creativity are well-deserved (he had heard about what I put together for the bachelor party, which he did not attend, but that's a whole 'nother story with some serious FX industry celebs). I ask him to sign write "to my good buddy Jim, from Pee Wee", at which point some woman accuses me of being Jim, but Paul pipes up and proclaims "he's not Jim, he's David, and how many people would do this for a friend?". With great fanfare, he lays out the briefs on a tabletop, and inscribes them with quite a flair. I'm so thrilled, and I know how Jim will just lose it when he gets these, I tell Paul, "he's gonna shit when he sees this". Paul responds, "well, let's beat him to the punch", he flips them over and pens in a skidmark. BIG laughter all around, I profusely thank Paul, and leave him in peace.
Little did I know that my buddy had seated me between Paul and Dennis Muren for the dinner that evening, I ended up showing LOTS of people these briefs, Paul kept making me pull them out of the tux pocket and sharing the story. Great fun.
Late Saturday morning, I head on over to Maximum Music, and you better believe that Jim grabbed me the moment I walked in and demanded to know where his precious briefs were. I made him get back behind the counter, close his eyes, and I laid them out, face up, on the counter.
When he opened his eyes, he stared at the briefs, and it took a moment or two for the situation to register. At first he was pissed - "David, what the fuck, who wrote this?", I swore it was the real deal, and once he realized that it was legit, he started to tear up, and the next words out of his mouth were, so help me this is true, "I think I'm gonna shit myself", to which I replied, "Paul has already taken care of that for you", and flipped them over. Jim was so moved, dude was crying, he insisted I take the 12-string acoustic guitar he was going to pawn that day.
Jim hung the underwear back on the wall, higher up, and had a wooden pole with a hook, so he could flip them over and show people the skidmark.
Thing is, that's not my best Paul Reubens story, but it's definitely my favorite.
posted by dbiedny at 12:24 PM on July 31, 2023 [157 favorites]
For those of you who live/lived in San Rafael, Marin county, you might remember a great little indy music store on 4th Street, Maximum Music. The owner, Claire, was a sweetheart, and her main employee is this cool guy, Jim Harris. Think of "High Fidelity", and you've got an accurate picture. Jim was a MAJOR Pee Wee Herman fan, and one of the things hanging on the wall, behind the counter, was a HUGE pair of Pee Wee briefs - like a size 90, they were some sort of psychotic Pee Wee product that is rare as hell.
So a good buddy of mine was getting married - big shindig at a hotel (which I'm spacing on, located at the west side of Union Square), and it turns he's really close friends with Paul Reubens, and tells me that Paul is going to be at the wedding. OK, I've got a special mission now. The wedding was on a Friday, so I go to Maximum Music on Thursday morning, and inform Jim that I need to "borrow" the underwear. He gives me an incredulous glare, and tells me to forget about it. I press him, tell him I absolutely need to borrow them for a couple of days, and continue at this for at least 20 minutes or so. I refuse to tell him why, I just say that he'll be happy he let me take them. He's seriously protective, and is worried that I will do something bad to them. After some serious arm-twisting, he finally pulls this thing down from the wall, gingerly folds them up and inserts them into a big manila envelope. I'm warned that if I lose them, it will be my head, and he's not happy that I won't tell him what the urgency is all about. He's staring at me as I leave the store, shaking his head.
I leave the store, and realize that I will need a Sharpie to take with me, and I know that the black-blue-red-purples ones I have back home just won't do. I embark on a search for a single, fat-tipped Sharpie, brown. It's the only thing that will do here, and it takes me a few hours to finally track one down at the Northgate mall.
My rented tux was my last pickup that day, and I now realize that I'll need to fold these monsterously large underwear into something that will barely fit into a pocket of the tux. Looks like a mutant tumor, but what the hell, I'll do just about anything for my friends.
Friday, I head down to the city, the wedding is just lovely, and after the ceremony, there's a reception in the Air Lounge of the hotel. Tons of people, I ask my buddie's son to take me over to meet Paul. As expected, he's surrounded by a throng of fans, but we manage to work our way up to him, and Taroo introduces me to Paul. He arches an eyebrow, and says, "I've heard a lot about you", and shakes my hand. I tell him that I have to ask a favor, that a good buddy of mine is a huge fan of his, and I have something that I'd like him to sign for me. I proceed to pull the briefs out of my tux pocket, and they come out something like pulling an endless scarf out of a hat. Everyone standing around us cracks up, and the look that comes over Paul's face is priceless - he exclaims, "I can't believe someone actually has one of these things, look, there's my face!" (his mug is printed on the front of these things, make your own joke). He looks around and asks if anyone has a pen, I grin and pull the brown Sharpie out of the other pocket. Reubens explodes with laughter, and proclaims that the stories he's heard about my creativity are well-deserved (he had heard about what I put together for the bachelor party, which he did not attend, but that's a whole 'nother story with some serious FX industry celebs). I ask him to sign write "to my good buddy Jim, from Pee Wee", at which point some woman accuses me of being Jim, but Paul pipes up and proclaims "he's not Jim, he's David, and how many people would do this for a friend?". With great fanfare, he lays out the briefs on a tabletop, and inscribes them with quite a flair. I'm so thrilled, and I know how Jim will just lose it when he gets these, I tell Paul, "he's gonna shit when he sees this". Paul responds, "well, let's beat him to the punch", he flips them over and pens in a skidmark. BIG laughter all around, I profusely thank Paul, and leave him in peace.
Little did I know that my buddy had seated me between Paul and Dennis Muren for the dinner that evening, I ended up showing LOTS of people these briefs, Paul kept making me pull them out of the tux pocket and sharing the story. Great fun.
Late Saturday morning, I head on over to Maximum Music, and you better believe that Jim grabbed me the moment I walked in and demanded to know where his precious briefs were. I made him get back behind the counter, close his eyes, and I laid them out, face up, on the counter.
When he opened his eyes, he stared at the briefs, and it took a moment or two for the situation to register. At first he was pissed - "David, what the fuck, who wrote this?", I swore it was the real deal, and once he realized that it was legit, he started to tear up, and the next words out of his mouth were, so help me this is true, "I think I'm gonna shit myself", to which I replied, "Paul has already taken care of that for you", and flipped them over. Jim was so moved, dude was crying, he insisted I take the 12-string acoustic guitar he was going to pawn that day.
Jim hung the underwear back on the wall, higher up, and had a wooden pole with a hook, so he could flip them over and show people the skidmark.
Thing is, that's not my best Paul Reubens story, but it's definitely my favorite.
posted by dbiedny at 12:24 PM on July 31, 2023 [157 favorites]
Weirdest thing, I’ve had TV on the Radio’s “Happy Idiot” stuck in my head for days. Reubens starred (alongside Karen Gillan) in the video. It’s good and weird.
. (Where’s a red bowtie emoji when we need one?)
posted by armeowda at 12:24 PM on July 31, 2023 [10 favorites]
. (Where’s a red bowtie emoji when we need one?)
posted by armeowda at 12:24 PM on July 31, 2023 [10 favorites]
I think of the neighborhood watch meeting in Pee-Wee's Big Adventure a lot.
"DO YOU HAVE SOMETHING TO SHARE, AMAZING LARRY?!?"
That and talking about trying to unravel a cable-knit sweater that someone keeps knitting... and knitting... and knitting... and knitting... and knitting... (meeting attendees leave the room)
My secret name for the duration of this thread will be "fifteen schnitzengruben O."
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posted by fifteen schnitzengruben is my limit at 12:28 PM on July 31, 2023 [7 favorites]
"DO YOU HAVE SOMETHING TO SHARE, AMAZING LARRY?!?"
That and talking about trying to unravel a cable-knit sweater that someone keeps knitting... and knitting... and knitting... and knitting... and knitting... (meeting attendees leave the room)
My secret name for the duration of this thread will be "fifteen schnitzengruben O."
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posted by fifteen schnitzengruben is my limit at 12:28 PM on July 31, 2023 [7 favorites]
He finally got his dream of being a disc jockey in 2021 on KCRW. He's a bit impatient with the music, it's a bit like a Playhouse episode with some old friends joining him.
posted by Catblack at 12:35 PM on July 31, 2023 [6 favorites]
posted by Catblack at 12:35 PM on July 31, 2023 [6 favorites]
Pee-wee was one of my autistic special interests in high school, so of course this is a hard moment for me, but also my time to share one of my favorite Paul Reubens fun facts, because this is one I truly cherish. I have no idea where I read this so take it as truth at your own risk. At the height of his fame he was trying to develop a breakfast cereal that children could eat straight from the dish like dogs, under the assumption that this was something most children wanted to try but weren't allowed to do for decorum/hygiene reasons (an assumption that seems completely legit to me, as both a former child and a current parent of young children). They had buy-in from all affected parties that they were going to market it this way which one would assume would be the hard part. But Paul Reubens was a health food fanatic and he wouldn't sign off on anything that wasn't top notch nutritionally, and the deal fell apart because the test kids absolutely hated the Pee-wee puppy chow flavor-wise.
I read this probably twenty years ago or more but it stuck with me, because I could just imagine being one of those focus group kids and being so confused by the experience. You go in expecting to test a new breakfast cereal... you're told to eat it out of the dish with your mouth as if you're a dog...and it absolutely tastes like dog food? God it still makes me laugh. It's so surreal, so well intentioned, so wholesome and corporate-America but with this weird, kinky edge...so Pee-wee, just a microcosm of his whole thing.
The world wasn't ready for Paul Reubens and I'm glad he did it all anyway. We lost a real one.
posted by potrzebie at 12:36 PM on July 31, 2023 [34 favorites]
I read this probably twenty years ago or more but it stuck with me, because I could just imagine being one of those focus group kids and being so confused by the experience. You go in expecting to test a new breakfast cereal... you're told to eat it out of the dish with your mouth as if you're a dog...and it absolutely tastes like dog food? God it still makes me laugh. It's so surreal, so well intentioned, so wholesome and corporate-America but with this weird, kinky edge...so Pee-wee, just a microcosm of his whole thing.
The world wasn't ready for Paul Reubens and I'm glad he did it all anyway. We lost a real one.
posted by potrzebie at 12:36 PM on July 31, 2023 [34 favorites]
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posted by dannyboybell at 12:45 PM on July 31, 2023
posted by dannyboybell at 12:45 PM on July 31, 2023
Sigh. Only 33 comments in. I was hoping for at least 100 before.
posted by tiny frying pan at 12:55 PM on July 31, 2023
posted by tiny frying pan at 12:55 PM on July 31, 2023
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posted by Big Al 8000 at 12:56 PM on July 31, 2023
posted by Big Al 8000 at 12:56 PM on July 31, 2023
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posted by cooker girl at 12:59 PM on July 31, 2023
posted by cooker girl at 12:59 PM on July 31, 2023
So what's today's secret word? Thanks? Legacy? Grief?
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posted by Lentrohamsanin at 1:01 PM on July 31, 2023 [4 favorites]
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posted by Lentrohamsanin at 1:01 PM on July 31, 2023 [4 favorites]
Although Pee-wee's Playhouse is absolutely built as a low-camp mutant version of those older shows, it was filmed on a soundstage instead of being shot live in front of an audience...
Sorry, I wasn't clear. What I meant was The Playhouse wasn't a cartoon show but rather was performed by live humans.
posted by Insert Clever Name Here at 1:04 PM on July 31, 2023 [7 favorites]
Sorry, I wasn't clear. What I meant was The Playhouse wasn't a cartoon show but rather was performed by live humans.
posted by Insert Clever Name Here at 1:04 PM on July 31, 2023 [7 favorites]
Let’s not forget his movie-stealing appearance in Back to the Beach.
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posted by gtrwolf at 1:09 PM on July 31, 2023 [6 favorites]
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posted by gtrwolf at 1:09 PM on July 31, 2023 [6 favorites]
.
Yes, sad. When Pee-Wee's Playhouse hit the airwaves, my friends and I felt seen! It was fantastic. One of my friends unashamedly stole the look of the show for a local public television show featuring Denver artists, aimed at children. I was paid to play the part of Mr. Music.
posted by kozad at 1:11 PM on July 31, 2023 [2 favorites]
Yes, sad. When Pee-Wee's Playhouse hit the airwaves, my friends and I felt seen! It was fantastic. One of my friends unashamedly stole the look of the show for a local public television show featuring Denver artists, aimed at children. I was paid to play the part of Mr. Music.
posted by kozad at 1:11 PM on July 31, 2023 [2 favorites]
Sat in the head of a dinosaur outside Palm Springs with my future spouse because of Big Adventure. As a kid that movie meant the world to me.
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posted by johngoren at 1:12 PM on July 31, 2023 [4 favorites]
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posted by johngoren at 1:12 PM on July 31, 2023 [4 favorites]
To everyone mentioning camp and how this man affected so much of pop culture: thank you!
His taste and style really was a intro to camp, especially for kids.
Looking below the surface a little, being more colorful, mismatched weird furniture, collecting nonsense objects, talking back , and making your own fun are so key to his appeal.
Look how well his movies and TV shows aged compared to a lot of 80s kids junk.
I plan to keep making my home as colorful as possible in tribute to him: I can remember seriously envying the furniture and colors of the Playhouse as a kid!
posted by Freecola at 1:25 PM on July 31, 2023 [9 favorites]
His taste and style really was a intro to camp, especially for kids.
Looking below the surface a little, being more colorful, mismatched weird furniture, collecting nonsense objects, talking back , and making your own fun are so key to his appeal.
Look how well his movies and TV shows aged compared to a lot of 80s kids junk.
I plan to keep making my home as colorful as possible in tribute to him: I can remember seriously envying the furniture and colors of the Playhouse as a kid!
posted by Freecola at 1:25 PM on July 31, 2023 [9 favorites]
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posted by From Bklyn at 1:30 PM on July 31, 2023
posted by From Bklyn at 1:30 PM on July 31, 2023
I was shocked that the very adult Pee Wee show on HBO was made into a childrens' show. I don't know which executives completely missed the double entendre in the original show.
He was the best at whatever he did.
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posted by Abehammerb Lincoln at 1:38 PM on July 31, 2023 [2 favorites]
He was the best at whatever he did.
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posted by Abehammerb Lincoln at 1:38 PM on July 31, 2023 [2 favorites]
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posted by Bella Donna at 1:39 PM on July 31, 2023
posted by Bella Donna at 1:39 PM on July 31, 2023
Reubens and the crew (remember when Lawrence Fishburne played light and funny?) were a critical light in my fairly dark young adulthood.
I'm no longer young, my life is no longer dark like it was for decades, but Reubens' death is still a good reminder to me to seize the day.
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posted by rabia.elizabeth at 1:42 PM on July 31, 2023 [12 favorites]
I'm no longer young, my life is no longer dark like it was for decades, but Reubens' death is still a good reminder to me to seize the day.
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posted by rabia.elizabeth at 1:42 PM on July 31, 2023 [12 favorites]
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posted by kensington314 at 1:46 PM on July 31, 2023
posted by kensington314 at 1:46 PM on July 31, 2023
Pee-Wee Herman’s Big Adventure was on TV when my mom was in labor and when I was born. It was one of the first things I would have heard. I think I owe a lot of happiness to Paul.
posted by skookumsaurus rex at 1:51 PM on July 31, 2023 [10 favorites]
posted by skookumsaurus rex at 1:51 PM on July 31, 2023 [10 favorites]
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posted by They sucked his brains out! at 2:13 PM on July 31, 2023
posted by They sucked his brains out! at 2:13 PM on July 31, 2023
To me Reubens became legend when he hosted the 1991 Mtv Music Awards only 6 weeks after his arrest. As a teenager who was terrified of getting trouble (tied to growing up in an abusive home), I found his defiance inspiring. I'm just sitting here in tears.
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posted by miss-lapin at 2:22 PM on July 31, 2023 [19 favorites]
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posted by miss-lapin at 2:22 PM on July 31, 2023 [19 favorites]
Geez, I just realized that I was talking about Pee-wee's Playhouse yesterday. John Singleton was a PA on the show and told Laurence Fishbourne that someday he was going to give him a real role to sink his teeth into, at least according to our film school scuttlebutt when Boyz 'n' The Hood came out.
I'm really going to miss his sunny anarchy. The person I most want to cry about this with is also dead of cancer.
posted by queensissy at 2:32 PM on July 31, 2023 [14 favorites]
I'm really going to miss his sunny anarchy. The person I most want to cry about this with is also dead of cancer.
posted by queensissy at 2:32 PM on July 31, 2023 [14 favorites]
I'm trying to come up with another cultural product from that period with the subversiveness and playfulness to match PWPH and I just can't
I'm sure there was other stuff, but Paul Reubens had some real lightning in a bottle. It was weird lightning and they made him pay for releasing it, but we were lucky for it. A lot of weird stuff just wouldn't have blossomed without his example.
posted by elkevelvet at 2:32 PM on July 31, 2023 [7 favorites]
I'm sure there was other stuff, but Paul Reubens had some real lightning in a bottle. It was weird lightning and they made him pay for releasing it, but we were lucky for it. A lot of weird stuff just wouldn't have blossomed without his example.
posted by elkevelvet at 2:32 PM on July 31, 2023 [7 favorites]
"Hey kid? What's your name?"
"I can't remember."
"Where are you from?"
"I can't remember."
"Can you remember anything?"
"I remember... the Alamo!"
"YEEEEEEEEEHAW!"
posted by loquacious at 2:35 PM on July 31, 2023 [22 favorites]
"I can't remember."
"Where are you from?"
"I can't remember."
"Can you remember anything?"
"I remember... the Alamo!"
"YEEEEEEEEEHAW!"
posted by loquacious at 2:35 PM on July 31, 2023 [22 favorites]
Gods. That HBO special of his Pee-Wee Herman Show back in '81 was so fucking subversively funny. Just utterly original and manic. So much fun.
When I was in middle school my best friend got HBO. Suddenly the TV was on constantly when I went to visit, and I saw numerous bits of movies in non-chronological order when I was over at her house. At that time, one of the shows in constant rotation on HBO was The Pee-Wee Herman Show. Instantly familiar to anyone who watched the same re-runs of children's television programming that Paul Reubens had, but with characters dialed up to 11. And clearly, not for kids.
Fast forward 37 years and at some point during the first year of the pandemic I decided I should watch TPWHS in it's entirety, in one sitting. Turns out I remembered every line. I'm sure those bits and pieces absorbed in middle school shaped me in ways I'll never understand. I'm having such a difficult time believing that Paul Reubens was 70, and that show aired 40+ years ago. At a loss for words but I'm glad Paul Reubens existed.
posted by oneirodynia at 2:40 PM on July 31, 2023 [7 favorites]
When I was in middle school my best friend got HBO. Suddenly the TV was on constantly when I went to visit, and I saw numerous bits of movies in non-chronological order when I was over at her house. At that time, one of the shows in constant rotation on HBO was The Pee-Wee Herman Show. Instantly familiar to anyone who watched the same re-runs of children's television programming that Paul Reubens had, but with characters dialed up to 11. And clearly, not for kids.
Fast forward 37 years and at some point during the first year of the pandemic I decided I should watch TPWHS in it's entirety, in one sitting. Turns out I remembered every line. I'm sure those bits and pieces absorbed in middle school shaped me in ways I'll never understand. I'm having such a difficult time believing that Paul Reubens was 70, and that show aired 40+ years ago. At a loss for words but I'm glad Paul Reubens existed.
posted by oneirodynia at 2:40 PM on July 31, 2023 [7 favorites]
I was shocked that the very adult Pee Wee show on HBO was made into a childrens' show. I don't know which executives completely missed the double entendre in the original show.
Paul was an innocent, childlike, demented and filthy, filthy man, and I count all of those as positives.
I was a big fan of his. I was also a big fan of Bob Saget, another west-coast comedian who had one foot in "family entertainment" and the other secretly plunged into the really fun things in life. When Bob took over the double whammy of America's Funniest Home Videos and Full House, I cringed so hard; to this day, we refer to the submerging of a dirtbag in network-TV-level sanitized programming as Sagetization.
Bob mugged his way through AFHV, telling the worst imaginable jokes with a big, obviously phony grin on his face and smirking tone, as if telling the world, "I may need a helicopter evac sooner or later, but for now the checks are really big." On Full House, he submerged all traces of his actual sense of humor. It wasn't until years later that America got another taste of how dirty he could be.
But Pee-Wee? For all of the subtext, for all of the camp, for all of the subversiveness inherent in his act, when he dove into the ACTUAL kids' show world, he dove head-first. He went all-in in terms of sincerity within the bounds of the show itself, maintaining the balls-to-the-wall wacky style but also making it something that children could and did resonate with.
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posted by delfin at 2:41 PM on July 31, 2023 [29 favorites]
Paul was an innocent, childlike, demented and filthy, filthy man, and I count all of those as positives.
I was a big fan of his. I was also a big fan of Bob Saget, another west-coast comedian who had one foot in "family entertainment" and the other secretly plunged into the really fun things in life. When Bob took over the double whammy of America's Funniest Home Videos and Full House, I cringed so hard; to this day, we refer to the submerging of a dirtbag in network-TV-level sanitized programming as Sagetization.
Bob mugged his way through AFHV, telling the worst imaginable jokes with a big, obviously phony grin on his face and smirking tone, as if telling the world, "I may need a helicopter evac sooner or later, but for now the checks are really big." On Full House, he submerged all traces of his actual sense of humor. It wasn't until years later that America got another taste of how dirty he could be.
But Pee-Wee? For all of the subtext, for all of the camp, for all of the subversiveness inherent in his act, when he dove into the ACTUAL kids' show world, he dove head-first. He went all-in in terms of sincerity within the bounds of the show itself, maintaining the balls-to-the-wall wacky style but also making it something that children could and did resonate with.
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posted by delfin at 2:41 PM on July 31, 2023 [29 favorites]
Forgot to mention that our house basically started watching 30 Rock because of Paul as Prince Gerhardt Hapsburg.
posted by oneirodynia at 2:46 PM on July 31, 2023 [22 favorites]
posted by oneirodynia at 2:46 PM on July 31, 2023 [22 favorites]
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posted by spinifex23 at 3:33 PM on July 31, 2023
posted by spinifex23 at 3:33 PM on July 31, 2023
Miss-lapin: “heard any good jokes lately?”
Or something to that effect… he had balls the size of planets.
posted by dbiedny at 3:38 PM on July 31, 2023 [3 favorites]
Or something to that effect… he had balls the size of planets.
posted by dbiedny at 3:38 PM on July 31, 2023 [3 favorites]
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posted by Saxon Kane at 3:39 PM on July 31, 2023
posted by Saxon Kane at 3:39 PM on July 31, 2023
Pee Wee and Phil Hartman singing this little ditty in the 1981 HBO special (starts around 1:50, but the two of them are amazing together throughout):
Ohhh A sailor travels to many lands
Any place he pleases
But he always remembers to wash his hands
So's he don't get no diseases!
One of so many moments of Reubens' comedy that occupies permanent real estate in my brain.
Thank you for bringing so many people so much joy.
posted by Joey Michaels at 3:54 PM on July 31, 2023 [9 favorites]
Ohhh A sailor travels to many lands
Any place he pleases
But he always remembers to wash his hands
So's he don't get no diseases!
One of so many moments of Reubens' comedy that occupies permanent real estate in my brain.
Thank you for bringing so many people so much joy.
posted by Joey Michaels at 3:54 PM on July 31, 2023 [9 favorites]
Live feed of Pee-Wee Herman flying to heaven. (Warning: May induce an ugly cry )
posted by Ursula Hitler at 4:02 PM on July 31, 2023 [11 favorites]
posted by Ursula Hitler at 4:02 PM on July 31, 2023 [11 favorites]
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posted by Silvery Fish at 4:03 PM on July 31, 2023
posted by Silvery Fish at 4:03 PM on July 31, 2023
I think the only things I ever saw Paul Reubens in was Pee Wee's Big Adventure and his turn as Murphy's hypercompetent and conniving secretary on Murphy Brown, but I remember both fondly.
I also read some years back that Reubens smoked, but that he would never smoke in public because he didn't want to set a bad example for the kids who watched his show.
posted by orange swan at 4:04 PM on July 31, 2023 [12 favorites]
I also read some years back that Reubens smoked, but that he would never smoke in public because he didn't want to set a bad example for the kids who watched his show.
posted by orange swan at 4:04 PM on July 31, 2023 [12 favorites]
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posted by Faint of Butt at 4:10 PM on July 31, 2023
posted by Faint of Butt at 4:10 PM on July 31, 2023
oh, no.
So long, farewell, and thanks a bunch PeeWee!!
posted by winesong at 4:20 PM on July 31, 2023
So long, farewell, and thanks a bunch PeeWee!!
posted by winesong at 4:20 PM on July 31, 2023
I remember first seeing him on early Letterman shows. Well before the movie or the Saturday morning show. He would appear in character and not promote anything! It blew my teenaged mind. Dave and Pee-Wee had good chemistry, and back then Pee-Wee had a darker streak, like he was pissed off at Letterman for not being overjoyed by his childish props and witticisms. There was no introduction to who Pee-Wee was, or why he was acting like that or anything. He was just a guest and Letterman played along.
Letterman did the "I'm keeping you at arms-length straight-man" routine, and Pee-Wee was just a force of bizarre chaos. He appeared on at least one Halloween episode in a pirate costume, and they were green-screened onto some ancient black and white Halloween cartoon. Pee-Wee gave Dave pumpkin-shaped cookies and said they were "Jack-o-lantern flavor!" and I still quote that to this day with cookies sometimes.
I became a lifelong fan. Very, very sad to hear this news. He was one of my all time favorites. Pee-Wee's Big Adventure is easily Tim Burton's best movie. And his Saturday show was fantastic all around.
posted by SoberHighland at 4:22 PM on July 31, 2023 [19 favorites]
Letterman did the "I'm keeping you at arms-length straight-man" routine, and Pee-Wee was just a force of bizarre chaos. He appeared on at least one Halloween episode in a pirate costume, and they were green-screened onto some ancient black and white Halloween cartoon. Pee-Wee gave Dave pumpkin-shaped cookies and said they were "Jack-o-lantern flavor!" and I still quote that to this day with cookies sometimes.
I became a lifelong fan. Very, very sad to hear this news. He was one of my all time favorites. Pee-Wee's Big Adventure is easily Tim Burton's best movie. And his Saturday show was fantastic all around.
posted by SoberHighland at 4:22 PM on July 31, 2023 [19 favorites]
"WEAPONS CHECK!"
thanks also oneirodynia about the 30 Rock reminder, what an EXCELLENT episode that was. "Mein Herren and Damen....the Hapsburg line has ended."
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posted by hearthpig at 4:37 PM on July 31, 2023 [3 favorites]
thanks also oneirodynia about the 30 Rock reminder, what an EXCELLENT episode that was. "Mein Herren and Damen....the Hapsburg line has ended."
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posted by hearthpig at 4:37 PM on July 31, 2023 [3 favorites]
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posted by JoeXIII007 at 4:44 PM on July 31, 2023
posted by JoeXIII007 at 4:44 PM on July 31, 2023
The NPR story is really nice: https://text.npr.org/1191104833
posted by wenestvedt at 5:16 PM on July 31, 2023 [9 favorites]
posted by wenestvedt at 5:16 PM on July 31, 2023 [9 favorites]
Well, shit. Hope he and Large Marge are having a fun road trip in the hereafter.
Thanks for the laughs, Paul.
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posted by The Ardship of Cambry at 5:19 PM on July 31, 2023 [2 favorites]
Thanks for the laughs, Paul.
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posted by The Ardship of Cambry at 5:19 PM on July 31, 2023 [2 favorites]
When I heard the news, I tried to deny it. Had to be a mistake.
Thank you for the gifts you have given us, Paul. You will be terribly missed.
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posted by annieb at 5:28 PM on July 31, 2023 [1 favorite]
Thank you for the gifts you have given us, Paul. You will be terribly missed.
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posted by annieb at 5:28 PM on July 31, 2023 [1 favorite]
His contributions to weirdo culture are immeasurable. Thanks for everything, Paul.
posted by subocoyne at 5:29 PM on July 31, 2023 [5 favorites]
posted by subocoyne at 5:29 PM on July 31, 2023 [5 favorites]
Live feed of Pee-Wee Herman flying to heaven. (Warning: May induce an ugly cry )
Yep. Tearing up on the J train.
posted by Artifice_Eternity at 5:54 PM on July 31, 2023 [1 favorite]
Yep. Tearing up on the J train.
posted by Artifice_Eternity at 5:54 PM on July 31, 2023 [1 favorite]
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posted by falsedmitri at 6:17 PM on July 31, 2023
posted by falsedmitri at 6:17 PM on July 31, 2023
My little brother was a bigger fan and he had limited exposure in Australia but I always admired his uncompromising style and felt upset at the injustice of his (and other’s) fate at the hands of a particular era of prudish, vindictive moral panic.
Knit-on, Pee Wee!
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posted by Lesser Spotted Potoroo at 6:29 PM on July 31, 2023 [3 favorites]
Knit-on, Pee Wee!
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posted by Lesser Spotted Potoroo at 6:29 PM on July 31, 2023 [3 favorites]
Uf. I was at the age of having frequent sleepovers or going over to a friend’s house when his Saturday morning show was on. Often my friend and I would wake up and watch the show together and scream when the secret word was spoken for the rest of the day. If we hadn’t spent the night together and had just gotten together on that Saturday to play, we both *obviously* would have watched the program in our respective homes. So we’d both know the secret word and do the requisite screaming. Must have driven the parents nuts.
I even remember talking about the show on Monday at school, the way people might talk about a Succession episode on social media or at the water cooler. Maybe it was the water fountain show of its time.
Either way, it was appointment viewing for this grade schooler. I’m sad to see him go and grateful for what he made.
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posted by fruitslinger at 7:04 PM on July 31, 2023 [6 favorites]
I even remember talking about the show on Monday at school, the way people might talk about a Succession episode on social media or at the water cooler. Maybe it was the water fountain show of its time.
Either way, it was appointment viewing for this grade schooler. I’m sad to see him go and grateful for what he made.
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posted by fruitslinger at 7:04 PM on July 31, 2023 [6 favorites]
how am i going to choose a secret word of the day? I need to scream real loud.
posted by not_on_display at 7:08 PM on July 31, 2023 [7 favorites]
posted by not_on_display at 7:08 PM on July 31, 2023 [7 favorites]
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posted by UhOhChongo! at 7:40 PM on July 31, 2023
posted by UhOhChongo! at 7:40 PM on July 31, 2023
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posted by limeonaire at 7:44 PM on July 31, 2023
posted by limeonaire at 7:44 PM on July 31, 2023
And of course I’m reminded of the Playhouse’s Picture Phone. Which required the same playful suspension of disbelief as the rest of the show and which many people now carry around casually.
posted by fruitslinger at 7:53 PM on July 31, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by fruitslinger at 7:53 PM on July 31, 2023 [1 favorite]
Pee-wee Herman is the greatest real life character in American entertainment history.
posted by perhapses at 7:55 PM on July 31, 2023 [4 favorites]
posted by perhapses at 7:55 PM on July 31, 2023 [4 favorites]
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posted by Token Meme at 10:02 PM on July 31, 2023
posted by Token Meme at 10:02 PM on July 31, 2023
I was an adult when I realized that Paul Reubens (credited under some pseudonym, Paul Boringname) voiced the spacecraft in Flight of the Navigator, one of my favorite movies as a kid. The spacecraft gets struck by lightning, and its robotic control system becomes ... well, becomes Pee-Wee Herman, more or less.
The Playhouse show was a fever dream. The HBO special, which always seemed hard to find as a kid in the way that pornography was hard to find as a kid, was a bizarre hint that Pee-Wee's weirdness might extend to adult topics in a way that many adults wouldn't admit they found interesting or amusing. I was baffled as an adult to realize that the movies came before the television show; I was used to the character-development treadmill running the other way.
I don't think of my upbringing as especially conservative, but I was surprised that Reubens' indecent exposure wasn't the end of his career. I'm a better person for having understood that.
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posted by fantabulous timewaster at 10:02 PM on July 31, 2023 [11 favorites]
The Playhouse show was a fever dream. The HBO special, which always seemed hard to find as a kid in the way that pornography was hard to find as a kid, was a bizarre hint that Pee-Wee's weirdness might extend to adult topics in a way that many adults wouldn't admit they found interesting or amusing. I was baffled as an adult to realize that the movies came before the television show; I was used to the character-development treadmill running the other way.
I don't think of my upbringing as especially conservative, but I was surprised that Reubens' indecent exposure wasn't the end of his career. I'm a better person for having understood that.
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posted by fantabulous timewaster at 10:02 PM on July 31, 2023 [11 favorites]
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posted by rhiannonstone at 10:25 PM on July 31, 2023
posted by rhiannonstone at 10:25 PM on July 31, 2023
He started swimming. It was long, painful - and needless - process.More details on Paul Rubenfeld here.
I swam for a couple of hours. When I finally gave up, I stood up and the water was only up to my knees. I'd been swimming for hours in water I could have stood up in at anytime. I didn't realize it because I was so far out. The farmers at Kfar Vitkin were shooting at me as I was coming in out of the water. They thought I was an Arab pilot.
Other sources I have read have put forward a story about this incident. The tale maintains that Rubenfeld worried that the locals, unaware that that Israel had fighters, would look at his swarthy complexion, assume he was an Arab, and possibly inflict great harm. Not knowing any Hebrew, Rubenfeld turned to the next best thing - he began shouting in Yiddish. Unfortunately, his Yiddish was almost as limited as his non-existent Hebrew, consisting of the words "Shabbos" and "gefilte fish", which he repeatedly shouted. The locals must have understood, for they pulled him out of the water and held him safely.
Milton and Judy Rubenfeld were cast as Herman and Honey in Big Top Pee Wee and hence both have their own entries in the Internet Movie database.
posted by y2karl at 2:23 AM on August 1, 2023 [10 favorites]
sigh...I really. really liked him
posted by a humble nudibranch at 5:07 AM on August 1, 2023 [3 favorites]
posted by a humble nudibranch at 5:07 AM on August 1, 2023 [3 favorites]
In the 1990's, there was a waiter/friend at a very high end restaurant in Saratoga Springs who glued Pee Wee's face over the Heimlich maneuver poster on the wall. The wall was just behind the piano player in the bar area. The first time my spouse and I saw it we roared with laughter. RIP Pee Wee
posted by DJZouke at 5:14 AM on August 1, 2023 [7 favorites]
posted by DJZouke at 5:14 AM on August 1, 2023 [7 favorites]
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posted by justsomebodythatyouusedtoknow at 6:12 AM on August 1, 2023
posted by justsomebodythatyouusedtoknow at 6:12 AM on August 1, 2023
when I saw the Broadway show there was a woman with her tween daughter sitting near me. mom approved when pee wee recited the pledge of allegiance but went stony faced when he made it clear he approved of same sex marriage ( which NY legalized several months later) . The kid clapped along with most of the audience.
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posted by brujita at 6:28 AM on August 1, 2023 [5 favorites]
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posted by brujita at 6:28 AM on August 1, 2023 [5 favorites]
🎀.
posted by adekllny at 8:13 AM on August 1, 2023 [2 favorites]
posted by adekllny at 8:13 AM on August 1, 2023 [2 favorites]
I just got a total kitchen remodel (last done in 1942 so unavoidable). When I had to pick out new stuff last fall, I kept thinking “how can I make this space feel like Pee Wee’s Playhouse?” I even briefly but seriously contemplated getting a shimmer wall.
Damn it. It hurts just knowing that the planet I’m on no longer has Pee Wee on it.
posted by kinnakeet at 3:22 AM on August 2, 2023 [5 favorites]
Damn it. It hurts just knowing that the planet I’m on no longer has Pee Wee on it.
posted by kinnakeet at 3:22 AM on August 2, 2023 [5 favorites]
I just rewatched Pee Wee’s Big Adventure last night and there are a LOT of lines that I am apparently incapable of not saying aloud along with him. Like genuinely can’t do it - it’s just reflexive. I have no idea how many times I watched it growing up (it was one of those always on HBO movies), but I was also surprised that there are still tiny details I hadn’t noticed before. Every frame is so jam-packed with stuff.
Also when the breakfast machine started going and the main manic theme music kicked in, my son said, “Hey, it’s your phone!” I totally forgot that I still have that set as the ringtone for when someone rings my cell from our front door buzzer.
I have it on a 48 hour rental and am already thinking I may watch it again before time is up.
…I say we let him go…!
posted by Mchelly at 8:35 AM on August 2, 2023 [7 favorites]
Also when the breakfast machine started going and the main manic theme music kicked in, my son said, “Hey, it’s your phone!” I totally forgot that I still have that set as the ringtone for when someone rings my cell from our front door buzzer.
I have it on a 48 hour rental and am already thinking I may watch it again before time is up.
…I say we let him go…!
posted by Mchelly at 8:35 AM on August 2, 2023 [7 favorites]
Indiewire has a nice top 10 list: Bye, Pee-wee: The Best Episodes from Paul Reubens’ Brilliant and Beloved ‘Pee-wee’s Playhouse’
posted by mediareport at 5:51 AM on August 3, 2023 [2 favorites]
posted by mediareport at 5:51 AM on August 3, 2023 [2 favorites]
Full respect for him keeping his illness private.
Wackiness doesn't always get the respect it deserves. The obits I've seen are inadequate. Really a brilliant artist. PeeWee's Playhouse was full of hilarious touches, broad strokes, and was never mean. He played a child, really, with energy and sly innocence. The movies were utterly whack. It was all totally original. He's an outsider and I don't know if the movie and tv industries really recognized his creative genius. We are all poorer for this loss. He deserves every accolade. We need a group re-watch of PeeWee's Playhouse.
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posted by theora55 at 7:41 AM on August 3, 2023 [8 favorites]
Wackiness doesn't always get the respect it deserves. The obits I've seen are inadequate. Really a brilliant artist. PeeWee's Playhouse was full of hilarious touches, broad strokes, and was never mean. He played a child, really, with energy and sly innocence. The movies were utterly whack. It was all totally original. He's an outsider and I don't know if the movie and tv industries really recognized his creative genius. We are all poorer for this loss. He deserves every accolade. We need a group re-watch of PeeWee's Playhouse.
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posted by theora55 at 7:41 AM on August 3, 2023 [8 favorites]
Today, this popped up on my phone:
Pee Wee Herman on The Dating Game.
posted by y2karl at 3:50 PM on August 5, 2023 [1 favorite]
Pee Wee Herman on The Dating Game.
posted by y2karl at 3:50 PM on August 5, 2023 [1 favorite]
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