Pee-wee Herman

Everything's Canceled

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Everything's Canceled podcast is back and this week your hosts Herman and Lorena are taking you on a big adventure with the extraordinary and unusual story of Pee-wee Herman. The character of "Pee-wee Herman" was created by actor/comedian Paul Reubens during a 1978 improv exercise with the comedy group the Groundlings. After failing to be hired on Saturday Night Live, he developed a stage show based on the character and began making appearances on late night tv as Pee-wee. Pee-wee was a hit, audiences laughed along with his boyish exuberance and he was immediately recognizable for his tight fitting grey suit, red bow-tie, crew-cut hair, high-pitched voice, and distinctive laugh. This lead to a CBS television show Pee-Wee's Playhouse (1986-1991) and movies "Pee-Wee's Big Adventure" (1985) and "Big Top Pee-wee" (1988), featuring numerous memorable characters, scenes, and jokes they are now considered cult classics. At the height of his popularity in the late 80's, Pee-wee toys and merchandise generated as much as $25 million annually. In 1991, at an adult movie theater in Sarasota, FL Reubens was caught in a sting by Sarasota PD and charged with indecent exposure. News swept the media, the strange man-child character caught with his pants down in a XXX theater was irresistible fodder and Pee-wee became the butt of many jokes. Re-runs of Pee-wee's Playhouse were taken off the air and Pee-wee toys were pulled from shelves. In 1999 his career was partially revived as Paul Reubens was cast in the star-vehicle, superhero film "Mystery Men" and he appeared as himself for the first time on television to promote the film. Then in 2002 a "tip from a witness" lead to an investigation into Paul Reubens and actor Jeffrey Jones, both of their houses were searched by police and Jones was found in possession of photos he had created of a 14 year old boy posing nude, wearing costumes and with stuffed animals. Paul Reubens was found with, according to him, "muscle magazines, homosexual vintage erotica, and photographic studies of teen nudes". He plead "no contest" to misdemeanor possession of obscene material improperly depicting a child under the age of 18 in sexual conduct. Despite his plea, Reubens claimed, "what the city attorneys viewed as pornography, he considered innocent art" and that he is "not a pedophile". Join us as we discuss the life and career of Pee-wee Herman, attempt to answer the question of whether Pee-wee was indeed canceled and whether or not it was deserved. What was Pee-wee/Reubens' sexuality and how does the affect our relationship to his character? Was Reubens unfairly prosecuted and painted as a pedophile or was he possibly involved in illegally re-creating material similar to the kind of vintage erotica he was known to collect? Featuring appearances by: Peewee Herman as himself, Paul Reubens as Peewee Herman, the Israeli Air Force, the Groundlings comedy group, Phil Hartman, Gary Austin, John Paragon, Lynne Marie Stewart, Laurence Fishburne, Tim Burton, Johnny Depp, "the richest girl in the world" Doris Duke, Chandi Hefner, Imelda Marcos, Nancy Nurse, Cyndi Lauper, Annette Funicello, Zsa Zsa Gabor, Steve from Blue's Clues, Elton John, David LaChapelle, actor and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Jones, Rob Lowe's sex tape and many more!
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Chapter

1. Pee-wee Herman (00:00:00)

2. [Ad] 7 Minute Stories w/ Aaron Calafato (00:11:28)

3. (Cont.) Pee-wee Herman (00:12:01)