98 Fun Facts About Pee-wee Herman

Which comedian created and played Pee-wee Herman?

Paul Reubens, born Paul Rubenfeld in Peekskill, New York, in 1952, created the character and played him on stage, television and film from the late 1970s until his death in 2023.

Pee-wee Herman was developed in the 1970s at which improv troupe?

The Groundlings, the Los Angeles improv company where Reubens spent six years, is where the character took shape; fellow members John Paragon and Lynne Marie Stewart later worked on his Pee-wee shows.

Which future SNL star co-developed the Pee-wee character with Reubens?

Phil Hartman, Reubens's improv colleague, helped develop the character, played Captain Carl on stage and on Playhouse, and co-wrote Pee-wee's Big Adventure with him.

What is Pee-wee's famous insult comeback?

'I know you are, but what am I?' is Pee-wee's stock retort to any insult, repeated until the exchange escalates to 'Infinity!' in Pee-wee's Big Adventure.

Pee-wee's signature grey glen plaid suit was originally borrowed from whom?

Groundlings director Gary Austin had the grey glen plaid suit custom-made and lent it to Reubens; a small red bow tie from an acquaintance completed the look.

Which manic 1950s children's TV host was the main model for Pee-wee's checkered look and persona?

Pinky Lee, whose 1950s NBC show paired a checked suit and hat with a frantic, high-pitched delivery, was the model Reubens cited for the look and the persona.

Where did the name 'Pee-wee' come from?

A brand of miniature harmonica: Reubens owned a tiny Pee Wee harmonica, and 'Herman' was the surname of an energetic boy he knew as a child, so the name felt too real to be invented.

On which TV show did Reubens debut the Pee-wee character in 1979, appearing three times?

The Dating Game gave Pee-wee his television debut: Reubens competed as the character three times as a bachelor contestant, before building a full stage show around him.

Pee-wee's first film appearance was a small role in which 1980 comedy?

Cheech & Chong's Next Movie (1980) was the character's first film: Reubens plays a foul-mouthed hotel desk clerk, then is introduced by name approaching a comedy-club stage.

Which cable network aired Pee-wee's stage show as a special in September 1981?

HBO taped the stage show at the Roxy in Los Angeles and aired it as a comedy special in 1981, bringing the adult-oriented act to a national audience.

Which late-night host's show did Reubens credit with making Pee-wee a star in the early 1980s?

David Letterman had Pee-wee on Late Night repeatedly from 1982, the exposure Reubens credited with turning a Los Angeles stage act into a national character.

Which famous New York venue did Pee-wee Herman sell out in 1984?

Carnegie Hall sold out for Pee-wee's touring stage act in 1984, a year after stops at the Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis and Caroline's in New York.

Which director made his feature debut with Pee-wee's Big Adventure in 1985?

Tim Burton, a former Disney animator, was hired after Reubens saw his 1984 short Frankenweenie; the film's success led to Beetlejuice and then Batman.

Pee-wee's Big Adventure was loosely based on which Italian neorealist classic?

Bicycle Thieves, Vittorio De Sica's 1948 story of a man hunting for his stolen bicycle, was the template Reubens cited for Pee-wee's cross-country search.

What was Pee-wee's script going to be a retelling of, before the bicycle idea took over?

Pollyanna was the story Reubens's first draft retold, until Warner Bros. gave him a refurbished 1940s Schwinn on the studio lot and a stolen-bicycle plot took over.

In Pee-wee's Big Adventure, a phony psychic tells Pee-wee his stolen bike is hidden where?

In the basement of the Alamo, says the psychic Madam Ruby; the punchline, delivered by tour guide Jan Hooks in San Antonio, is that the Alamo has no basement.

Which ghostly character gives Pee-wee a ride in Pee-wee's Big Adventure?

Large Marge, played by Alice Nunn, is the ghost of a truck driver who died ten years earlier; her face bulges into stop-motion horror as she tells the tale.

Which song does Pee-wee dance to in platform shoes to win over a biker gang?

Tequila, the 1958 instrumental by The Champs, is the record Pee-wee plays at the biker bar; the Satan's Helpers reward the dance with a motorcycle he promptly crashes.

Which heavy metal band appears in Pee-wee's Big Adventure during the studio chase scene?

Twisted Sister, fronted by Dee Snider, is shown shooting a music video on the Warner backlot, and Pee-wee's chase tears straight through the band's set.

In the film-within-a-film at the end of Pee-wee's Big Adventure, who plays 'P.W. Herman'?

James Brolin plays the square-jawed 'P.W. Herman' in the Hollywood version, opposite Morgan Fairchild as Dottie, after Pee-wee trades his story rights for the return of his bike.

Who plays Dottie, the bike-shop employee with a crush on Pee-wee, in Pee-wee's Big Adventure?

Elizabeth Daily, billed as E.G. Daily, plays Dottie and later voiced Tommy Pickles on Rugrats; Diane Salinger plays the waitress Simone.

What is the name of Pee-wee's spoiled neighbour and rival who has his bike stolen?

Francis Buxton, the rich neighbour played by Mark Holton, covets the bike, is refused, and pays to have it stolen, setting the whole cross-country search in motion.

Which roadside California landmark features in Pee-wee's Big Adventure's sunrise scene with Simone?

The Cabazon Dinosaurs, giant concrete sculptures beside Interstate 10 near Palm Springs, host the scene; Pee-wee and Simone watch dawn from inside the mouth of the T. rex.

Roughly how much did Pee-wee's Big Adventure gross in North America?

$40 million is about right: released in the summer of 1985 on a small budget, the film took roughly $40.9 million at the North American box office and became a cult favourite.

Pee-wee hosted which sketch show's 198th episode in November 1985?

Saturday Night Live: Pee-wee hosted on 23 November 1985, in the show's eleventh season, with Queen Ida and the Bon Temps Zydeco Band as musical guest.

On which network did Pee-wee's Playhouse air on Saturday mornings from 1986?

CBS put the show in its Saturday-morning lineup in September 1986, giving Reubens full creative control; it ran there for five seasons and won multiple Daytime Emmys.

What were viewers told to do whenever a character said the day's 'secret word' on Pee-wee's Playhouse?

Scream real loud was the standing order: each episode opened by announcing a secret word, and every time anyone said it, the Playhouse erupted in screams.

Who played Cowboy Curtis on Pee-wee's Playhouse?

Laurence Fishburne, billed as Larry Fishburne, played the jheri-curled Cowboy Curtis across the show's five seasons, years before The Matrix made him Morpheus.

What kind of being is Jambi, who lives in a jewelled box on Pee-wee's Playhouse?

A disembodied genie's head: Jambi, played by John Paragon, lives in a jewelled box and grants wishes with the chant 'Mecca-lecca-hi, mecca-hiney-ho'.

Which pop star secretly sang the Pee-wee's Playhouse theme, credited as 'Ellen Shaw'?

Cyndi Lauper sang the theme in a squeaky Betty Boop voice under the pseudonym Ellen Shaw, a credit that kept the pop star's name off a Saturday-morning kids' show.

Which British studio made the 'Penny' claymation segments for Pee-wee's Playhouse?

Aardman Animations produced the 'Penny' claymation shorts, in which a little girl with pennies for eyes chatters over animated scenes, several years before The Wrong Trousers.

What was Pee-wee's Playhouse's per-episode budget, unusually high for Saturday morning TV?

$325,000 an episode was the figure, comparable to a half-hour prime-time sitcom; Reubens acted, produced and kept full creative control of the show.

How many episodes of Pee-wee's Playhouse were made over its five seasons?

45 episodes were made across five seasons from 1986 to 1990, plus a Christmas special; Reubens had chosen to stop production before the 1991 arrest that ended the reruns.

Which of these celebrities did NOT appear in the 1988 Pee-wee's Playhouse Christmas Special?

Michael Jackson never visited the Playhouse; the special's guests included Grace Jones singing 'Little Drummer Boy', Oprah Winfrey, Little Richard, Cher, Magic Johnson, Whoopi Goldberg, Zsa Zsa Gabor and k.d. lang.

Pee-wee was the first guest on whose short-lived Fox late-night show in October 1986?

Joan Rivers launched The Late Show on the new Fox network on 9 October 1986 with Pee-wee as her first guest; Fox dropped her from the show in May 1987.

In Big Top Pee-wee (1988), what animal is Pee-wee's talking farm assistant Vance?

A pig: Vance, voiced by Playhouse puppeteer Wayne White, is Pee-wee's talking farmhand in the Paramount sequel, which co-starred Valeria Golino and Susan Tyrrell.

Who directed Big Top Pee-wee?

Randal Kleiser, who had directed Grease and The Blue Lagoon, made the 1988 sequel, which grossed about $15 million against a $20 million budget in a crowded summer.

Which country singer-actor co-starred as the circus ringmaster in Big Top Pee-wee?

Kris Kristofferson plays Mace Montana, the ringmaster whose circus blows into Pee-wee's farm town; Penelope Ann Miller and Susan Tyrrell were also in the cast.

Where did Reubens first appear after his 1991 arrest, asking if anyone had heard any good jokes lately?

The MTV Video Music Awards, in September 1991, brought Reubens out to a standing ovation with the line 'Heard any good jokes lately?', his first public appearance since the arrest.

Which streaming service released the third Pee-wee film, Pee-wee's Big Holiday, in 2016?

Netflix released the film on 18 March 2016, the day after its South by Southwest premiere; Paul Rust co-wrote the script with Reubens.

Which actor plays himself and befriends Pee-wee in Pee-wee's Big Holiday?

Joe Manganiello, playing himself, rolls into Fairville on a motorcycle, bonds with Pee-wee over root-beer barrel candy and invites him to his birthday party in New York.

What job does Pee-wee hold in the town of Fairville in Pee-wee's Big Holiday?

Fry cook: Pee-wee works the grill at Dan's Diner in Fairville and has never left town, until the road trip turns him into a getaway driver for three bank robbers.

Which comedy producer-director worked with Reubens on Pee-wee's Big Holiday (2016)?

Judd Apatow produced Pee-wee's Big Holiday, a collaboration first announced in 2010, while John Lee directed and Paul Rust co-wrote the script with Reubens.

Pee-wee's revived stage show moved to Broadway in November 2010, playing which venue?

The Stephen Sondheim Theatre, renamed only weeks earlier, hosted the run from November 2010 to January 2011, with Lynne Marie Stewart as Miss Yvonne and John Paragon as Jambi.

Which Disney ride featured Reubens as the voice of pilot droid RX-24, 'Rex'?

Star Tours opened at Disneyland in 1987 with Reubens as its bumbling rookie pilot RX-24; the droid was later recast as DJ R-3X in Oga's Cantina, again voiced by Reubens.

Under the name Paul Mall, Reubens voiced the ship's computer in which 1986 Disney film?

Flight of the Navigator (1986) credits 'Paul Mall' as the voice of Max, the wisecracking alien ship's computer that befriends the time-displaced boy; Reubens later voiced Jokey Smurf in The Smurfs films.

In Batman Returns (1992), Reubens played whose father?

The Penguin's: Reubens plays Tucker Cobblepot, who with his wife abandons the monstrous infant in the film's opening scene; Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Matilda were other 1990s roles.

Reubens played a flamboyant hairdresser-turned-drug-dealer opposite Johnny Depp in which 2001 film?

Blow, Ted Demme's biopic of cocaine smuggler George Jung, cast Reubens as the hairdresser-dealer Derek Foreal alongside Johnny Depp and Penélope Cruz; he had played the Spleen in Mystery Men two years earlier.

In which Florida city did Reubens grow up?

Sarasota, winter base of the Ringling Bros. circus, is where the Rubenfelds settled when Paul was a boy; the 1991 arrest also happened there, at a Sarasota adult cinema while he was visiting family.

What business did Reubens' parents, Judy and Milton Rubenfeld, run?

A lamp store was the family business: Judy and Milton Rubenfeld sold lamps in Florida, and their son grew up to be an obsessive collector of vintage kitsch and novelty objects.

Which two illnesses had Reubens been diagnosed with at the time of his death in July 2023?

Leukemia and lung cancer: the death certificate listed acute myeloid leukemia, with lung cancer as a contributing condition, after six years of treatment he kept private until a posthumous apology to fans.

Which Playhouse puppet usually delivered the day's secret word?

Conky the Robot, a clanking junk-built robot voiced by Gregory Harrison, printed out the secret word on a slip of paper at the top of nearly every episode.

Who played Reba the Mail Lady on Pee-wee's Playhouse?

S. Epatha Merkerson played Reba the Mail Lady for the show's run, years before her long stint as Lieutenant Anita Van Buren on Law & Order.

Where was the first season of Pee-wee's Playhouse shot in 1986?

A converted New York loft in Manhattan housed the entire first-season shoot in 1986, with the set built inside the building; production moved to a Los Angeles studio for season two.

Which Devo member wrote music for Pee-wee's Playhouse while his band was on hiatus?

Mark Mothersbaugh scored the show from its first season, launching a second career in kids' television that led to Rugrats; Todd Rundgren and The Residents also contributed music.

What replaced Playhouse reruns on CBS after Reubens's July 1991 arrest?

The reruns had been scheduled to run until September 1991.

Which stage production introduced Captain Carl, Jambi and Turrlette the Toilet?

The Pee-wee Herman Show, the adult-skewed stage revue Reubens built around the character, introduced those puppets and players, along with Miss Yvonne and Clocky, who carried over to the Playhouse.

How many times did Reubens appear on The Gong Show starting in 1977?

Four were a boy-girl act with Charlotte McGinnis called The Hilarious Betty and Eddie.

Which city does waitress Simone dream of visiting in Pee-wee's Big Adventure?

Paris: Simone longs to see it and pines over her travel book, and in the drive-in finale she turns up with a new French boyfriend, having finally made the trip.

In Pee-wee's Big Holiday, where does Pee-wee fall down a well before Joe's party?

Joe hauls him out with a magnet hidden in his suit and tells him, 'Pee-wee, we are the party.'

What technique gave Pee-wee a youthful look in the 2016 film?

Digital de-aging: visual-effects artists smoothed the 63-year-old Reubens's face in post-production, because he felt the character does not work with visible age.

Which comedian impersonated Pee-wee on In Living Color soon after the 1991 arrest?

Jim Carrey played Pee-wee in an In Living Color sketch that mocked the arrest, one of many jokes at the character's expense while Reubens retreated from public view.

Reubens voiced which trick-or-treater in The Nightmare Before Christmas?

Lock, the devil-costumed leader of Oogie Boogie's trick-or-treating trio, was voiced by Reubens; Catherine O'Hara voiced Shock and the film's composer voiced Barrel.

In a 2010 Funny or Die sketch, what gift from Steve Jobs does Pee-wee show the puppets?

An iPad, fresh from its 2010 launch, is the gift in 'Pee-wee Gets an iPad', the Funny or Die short in which the puppets grumble that it is just a giant iPhone.

Which Playhouse character presented old Golden Age animated shorts?

The King of Cartoons, played first by Gilbert Lewis and then by William Marshall, arrived each episode to declare 'Let the cartoons begin!' before a public-domain short.

Pee-wee served as a guest judge on which reality show in 2012?

Top Chef: Texas (season 9) sent the cooks pedalling Pee-wee-style bicycles around San Antonio to gather ingredients, then had them serve Pee-wee lunch at a historic mission.

On Sesame Street, Pee-wee's filmed insert had him reciting his own version of what?

The alphabet: Pee-wee's Sesame Street insert from around 1990 has him reciting A to Z in his own manic style, complete with his trademark laugh.

In which song's video did Eminem dress as Pee-wee and copy his laugh?

Just Lose It, the 2004 lead single from Encore, has Eminem in the grey suit and red bow tie, copying the Pee-wee laugh, years before Reubens's own stage comeback.

Where did the documentary Pee-wee as Himself premiere in January 2025?

Sundance gave Matt Wolf's two-part documentary its premiere in January 2025, built on Reubens's final interviews recorded before his death; it came to Max that May.

Which late-night block began airing Playhouse reruns four nights a week in 2006?

Adult Swim, Cartoon Network's late-night block, picked up the show in July 2006 and ran it four nights a week, introducing the Playhouse to a new late-night audience.

Who beat Reubens to an SNL cast spot for the 1980–81 season?

Gilbert Gottfried got the spot in Jean Doumanian's 1980 cast; Reubens, rejected, borrowed money from his parents to mount his own stage show around the character instead.

Pee-wee's 1988 Hollywood Walk of Fame star was awarded in which category?

Motion pictures is the category on the star at 6562 Hollywood Boulevard, dedicated in July 1988 as Big Top Pee-wee reached cinemas.

Which company was to make Pee-wee's sugar-free cereal, which flunked a blind taste test?

It was to be called Pee-Wee Chow. Reubens refused to endorse candy bars and hired security so kids never saw him smoking in costume.

Pee-wee's 2010 WWE Raw appearance climaxed with an in-ring confrontation with whom?

The Miz strutted out to mock Pee-wee in the ring and was chased off when the Big Show intervened; the guest-hosting stint won Pee-wee a 2010 Slammy Award.

In a 2011 SNL sketch, a drunk Pee-wee and Andy Samberg ambush which news anchor?

Anderson Cooper is the victim in 'Andy and Pee-wee's Night Out', the January 2011 Digital Short in which the pair, after a night of shots, attack him in an alley with a chair.

In Pee-wee's Big Holiday, how many daughters does Farmer Brown press on Pee-wee?

Nine daughters, all smitten, are lined up by Farmer Brown, who tries to force Pee-wee into marrying one of them before he escapes into the night.

In Big Top Pee-wee, Pee-wee's serum-laced cocktail wieners turn the town elders into what?

Children: the elders who had opposed the circus eat Pee-wee's serum-laced cocktail wieners and are turned into kids, delighted to watch the show they had tried to ban.

In Pee-wee's Big Adventure, what does convict Mickey claim he was jailed for?

Cutting a tag off a mattress is the offence Mickey, played by Judd Omen, says put him away, a joke about the 'do not remove under penalty of law' labels.

The director's uncredited cameo in Pee-wee's Big Adventure is as what?

A street thug: the director appears uncredited among the leather-clad punks who menace Pee-wee in a dark alley; Milton Berle also turns up as himself on the studio lot.

Which critic gave Pee-wee's Big Adventure a rare zero-star review?

Gene Siskel of the Chicago Tribune awarded it zero stars on release, while his television partner Roger Ebert later named it among his guilty pleasures.

Reubens's only non-Pee-wee Emmy nomination came for a recurring role on which sitcom?

Murphy Brown cast Reubens as Andrew J. Lansing III, the network owner's officious nephew, in 1995; the recurring role earned his nomination for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series.

Where were Reubens's ashes interred after his 2023 death?

He had staged a Big Adventure cast reunion at a screening on the same grounds in 2007.

Reubens's father was a founding pilot of which country's air force in 1948?

Israel: Milton Rubenfeld, a veteran of Britain's RAF and the US Army Air Forces, was among the first pilots of the Israeli Air Force's first fighter squadron in May 1948, flying Czech-built Avia fighters.

Which headline ran on Rolling Stone's October 1991 cover story about the character?

The character made three Rolling Stone covers, from February 1987 to the December 1991 Yearbook issue.

Reubens's final appearance as Pee-wee was a 2021 radio hour on which station?

Made for $10,000 and produced by Jesse Thorn, it featured Jack White, Charo and the Playhouse puppets.

In Pee-wee's Big Holiday, which of the three bank robbers also goes by 'Pee-wee'?

The trio later hide among the Amish, where Pee-wee talks them into leaving money to replace a horse and buggy.

What did Paramount do to Reubens's deal the day after Big Top Pee-wee's opening weekend?

Reubens said he was also evicted from his office on the lot; the film took about $15 million against a $20 million budget.

Which song did Reubens insist the metal band play during Big Adventure's studio chase?

Burn in Hell, a deep cut from Stay Hungry, is what the band mimes on the backlot, because Reubens specifically asked for it over the group's two big hit singles.

Which ratings device did ABC blame for Playhouse crushing its preschool cartoons?

ABC's tiny viewers couldn't work them, while Playhouse's adult fans could; in 1988 ABC retooled toward all-ages shows.

In the original 1981 stage show, what does Pee-wee wish for from the genie?

To fly is Pee-wee's wish; he gives it away to Miss Yvonne, sulks, then gets it back and sails over Puppetland at the finale as 'the luckiest boy in the world'.

Set designer Gary Panter's punk character Jimbo inspired which cartoon figure's hair?

Matt Groening, a friend of Panter's, said so himself. Panter won two Daytime Emmys for the Playhouse sets.

Reubens played the race-sabotaging villain in a 2006 soapbox-derby video for which band?

The Raconteurs' 'Steady, As She Goes' video stages a soapbox derby, with Reubens as the villain who sabotages the race; Jack White fronted the band.

What was Reubens's Native American lounge-singer character on The Gong Show called?

Reubens later called the act 'full-on racist' in Pee-wee as Himself, admitting he'd once thought it was his ticket to stardom.

How was Reubens billed in the end credits of Cheech & Chong's Nice Dreams (1981)?

Hamburger Dude is the credit for his cameo as a wild-eyed mental patient in Nice Dreams, a year after his Pee-wee walk-on in the duo's previous film.

Which screenwriting manual did Reubens's team follow to structure the bike plot?

'On page 30 I lose my bike, on page 60 I find it,' Reubens said of following Syd Field's 90-page template.

Playhouse's opening prelude interpolates whose exotica cover of 'Quiet Village'?

Les Baxter wrote the original; the squawks and jungle sounds set up the theme sung by a disguised pop star.

Who played Hermit Hattie and Clockey in the 1981 stage show?

Edie McClurg, a fellow improv-troupe alumna later known as the school secretary in Ferris Bueller's Day Off, played both Hermit Hattie and the Clockey character in the original production.

Who presided over Reubens's 1989 mock wedding to Doris Duke's adopted daughter?

It was held at Shangri-La, Duke's Honolulu mansion; after the 1991 arrest Reubens hid out for months at her New Jersey estate.