The chapter “The Pitch and the Hit” was primarily inspired by conversations with Richard Abramson, Kent Burton, Johann Carlo, Scott Chester, Dave Daniels, Prudence Fenton, Kevin Ladson, Monica Ganas, Richard “Golly” Goleszowski, Dawna Kaufmann, Suzanne Kent, George McGrath, Steve Oakes, Nick Park, Guy Pohlman, Judy Price, Brian Seff, Phil Trumbo, Michael Varhol, and Michael Chase Walker. The quotes and information about Gary Panter, Wayne White, and Ric Heitzman designing are from a videotape of the 14th Annual William S. Paley Television Festival honoring Pee-wee’s Playhouse at the Museum of Television and Radio. The assertion that Paul Reubens made specific casting choices because he wanted diversity comes from his December 6, 2004, interview with Elvis Mitchell on KCRW’s The Treatment. S. Epatha Merkerson’s quote is from her June 11, 2008, interview with NPR.
“Puppetland, California” was primarily inspired by conversations with Richard Abramson, Steve Binder, Johann Carlo, Scott Chester, Doug Draizin, Prudence Fenton, Karen Lyons, George McGrath, Steve Oakes, Wayne Orr, Judy Price, Michael Varhol, and Stephanie Walski. All of Reubens quotes and some supplemental information in the merchandising section of this chapter are from Frank Thompson’s article “Pee-wee Herman Talks Toys” from the December 1995 issue of Collecting Toys magazine. Reubens’ quote about Pee-wee’s active libido is from Marilyn Beck’s article “Pee-wee Herman Discovers Sex” in the June 16, 1988, edition of the Chicago Tribune. The quote of the journalist expressing frustration at having to interview Reubens in character is from Bob Thomas’s Associated Press article that was reprinted with the headline “Identifying Paul Reubens Can Be an Adventure” in the August 21, 1988, edition of the Beaver Country Times.
“A Christmas Story” was inspired by conversations with Steve Binder, Prudence Fenton, Joel Fletcher, George McGrath, Wayne Orr, and Judy Price. Unless otherwise cited, quotes from Alison Mork, John Paragon, Lynne Stewart, and Paul Reubens are from the audio commentary track on the Pee-wee’s Playhouse Christmas Special 2004 DVD release from Image Entertainment. The Newsday article referred to at the beginning of the chapter is from Joanne Ostrow’s article “An Offbeat Comic Is Saturday’s Hero to the Kidvid Set” in the November 29, 1986, issue. Reubens’ quote about adults feeling “semi-groggy” and getting “a lot of cool new stuff,” along with Dinah Shore and Annette Funicello’s quotes, are from John Milward’s article “A Pee-wee Christmas Playhouse” from the December 20, 1988, issue of Newsday. Reubens’ quote about the special being “thin on plot” is from Lynn Hoogenboom’s article “Mecka-lecka-hi, Mecka-hiney-ho [sic], Now it’s Time for Pee-wee’s Show” from the December 18, 1988, issue of the St. Petersburg Times. Although most of Steve Binder’s quotes come from new interviews, his words about “hardcore Playhouse fans” comes from Matt Roush’s USA Today article “Pee-wee’s Merry Kitsch-Mas,” which ran on December 21, 1988.
The chapter “Foreclosure” comes primarily from conversations with George McGrath and Judy Price. The Newsday article cited early on in the chapter is Jane Wollman’s article “The Real Pee-wee” from December 17, 1989, as is Reubens’ quote about directing, writing, and producing. Lynne Stewart’s quote, along with Reubens’ quotes later in the chapter about learning Spanish and the perception that CBS canceled Pee-wee’s Playhouse, is from Brian M. Raftery’s article “Pee-wee Turns 20” that ran in the September 1, 2006, edition of Entertainment Weekly. Michael McLean’s quote comes from Steve Daly’s article “Gracias, Pee-wee Herman” from the same magazine’s May 3, 1991, issue. Allee Willis’s quote is from Peter Wilkinson’s Rolling Stone article “Who Killed Pee-wee Herman?” that ran on September 22, 1991. The details of Reubens’ sentencing are from Larry Rohter’s article “Pee-wee Herman Enters a Plea of No Contest” in the November 8, 1991, issue of Time.
“P2K” was primarily inspired by conversations with Kent Burton, Prudence Fenton, Monica Ganas, Sean Johnson, Dawna Kaufmann, Suzanne Kent, Erik Kusha, George McGrath, Carla Rudy, and Brian Seff. Reubens’ quote about “not shooting up” is from Joel Stein’s article “Bigger than Pee-wee” from the April 1, 2001, edition of Time. Reubens’ description of The Pee-wee Herman Story’s plot and it being cowritten with Valerie Curtin is from a videotape of the Museum of Television and Radio’s seminar series celebrating the 25th anniversary of the Groundlings from September 29, 1999. The Esquire quote about Reubens’ performance in Blow is from their April 1, 2005, article “The Blow by Blow.” Reubens’ quotes about the plot of the Playhouse film are from his January 17, 2010, Q&A session after The Pee-wee Herman Show at Club Nokia, as reported by George “El Guapo” Roush for LatinoReview.com. Reubens’ quote about Taylor Lautner is from his December 9, 2009, interview with Access Hollywood. His quote about “riding a bike” is from David Ng’s article “Pee-wee Herman Ready for His Stage Comeback” from the August 10, 2009, edition of the Los Angeles Times, while his quote about Gellar calling him is from the December 11, 2009, Associated Press article “Pee-wee Herman’s Big Comeback.” Scott Sanders’ quote is from David Ng’s article “Fans of Pee-wee Herman Angry over Show’s Postponement” from the October 7, 2009, Los Angeles Times. Reubens’ quotes from Dateline are from his interview with Stone Phillips that aired on April 5, 2004. The information about Chris Rock is from the aforementioned Club Nokia Q&A, and the references to S. Epatha Merkerson and Lawrence Fishburne are from Raferty’s Entertainment Weekly article cited for the previous chapter.
All of the information from the chapter “Appraising the Playhouse” is from conversations with Gary Austin, Steve Binder, Kent Burton, Johann Carlo, Kevin Carlson, Scott Chester, Dave Daniels, Prudence Fenton, Monica Ganas, Troy Hughes-Palmer, Vaughn Tyree Jelks, Steve Johnson, Victoria Johnson, Dawna Kaufmann, Suzanne Kent, John Duke Kisch, Glenn Lazzaro, George McGrath, Steve Oakes, Wayne Orr, Judy Price, Ken Sax, Phil Trumbo, Marc Tyler, Michael Chase Walker, and Stephanie Walski.
About the Author
Caseen Gaines is a pop culture enthusiast who has won awards for essays on The Flip Wilson Show and the Planet of the Apes film series. He is a high school English teacher and the co-founder of Hackensack Theatre Company. He lives in New Jersey, but can also been found on facebook.
Copyright © Caseen Gaines, 2011
Published by ECW Press
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This book is not affiliated with Pee-Wee’s Playhouse, nor is it endorsed or approved by Paul Reubens.
Library and Archives Canada Cataloguing in Publication
Gaines, Caseen, 1986-
Inside Pee-wee’s playhouse : the untold, unauthorized, and unpredictable story of a pop phenomenon / Caseen Gaines.
ISBN 978-1-77090-040-0
also issued as:
978-1-55022-998-1 (print); 978-1-77090-041-7 (pdf)
1. Pee-wee’s playhouse (Television program). I. Title.
PN1992.77.P44G35 2011 791.45’72 C2011-902819-0
Developing Editor: Jen Hale
Book Design and Typesetting: Cyanotype
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