''Pee-wee's Playhouse'' is an American television series starring

Paul Reubens Paul Reubens (; born Rubenfeld; August 27, 1952) is an American actor, comedian, writer, producer, and children's entertainer. He is known for his character Pee-wee Herman. Reubens joined the Los Angeles troupe The Groundlings in the 1970s, an ...

as the childlike

Pee-wee Herman Pee-wee Herman is a comic fictional character created and portrayed by American comedian Paul Reubens. He is best known for his films and television series during the 1980s. The childlike Pee-wee Herman character developed as a stage act that q ...

that ran from 1986 to 1990 on Saturday mornings on

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...

, and airing in reruns until July 1991. The show was developed from Reubens's popular stage show and the TV special ''

The Pee-wee Herman Show ''The Pee-wee Herman Show'' is a stage show developed by Paul Reubens in 1980. It marks the first significant appearance of his comedic fictional character, Pee-wee Herman, five years before '' Pee-wee's Big Adventure'', and six years before ''P ...

'', produced for HBO, which was similar in style but featured much more adult humor. In 2004 and 2007, ''Pee-wee's Playhouse'' was ranked No. 10 and No. 12 on ''

TV Guide TV Guide is an American digital media company that provides television program listings information as well as entertainment and television-related news. The company sold its print magazine division, TV Guide Magazine LLC, in 2008. Corporat ...

''s Top Cult Shows Ever, respectively.

Development

The Pee-wee Herman character was developed by Reubens into a live stage show titled ''

'' in 1980. It features many characters that would go on to appear in ''Playhouse'', including Captain Carl, Jambi the Genie, Miss Yvonne, Pterri the Pterodactyl, and Clocky. While enjoying continuous popularity with the show, Reubens teamed with young director

Tim Burton Timothy Walter Burton (born August 25, 1958) is an American filmmaker and animator. He is known for his gothic fantasy and horror films such as '' Beetlejuice'' (1988), '' Edward Scissorhands'' (1990), '' The Nightmare Before Christmas'' (1993 ...

in 1985 to make the comedy film '' Pee-wee's Big Adventure''. It became one of the year's surprise hits, costing a relatively modest $6 million to make but taking in $45 million at the box office. After seeing the success of ''Pee-wee's Big Adventure'', the

network approached Reubens with an ill-received

cartoon series An animated series is a set of animated works with a common series title, usually related to one another. These episodes should typically share the same main characters, some different secondary characters and a basic theme. Series can have either ...

proposal. In 1986, CBS agreed to sign Reubens to act, produce, and direct his own live-action Saturday morning children's program, ''Pee-wee's Playhouse'', with a budget of per episode (comparable to that of a half-hour prime-time sitcom), and full creative control although CBS did request a few minor changes over the years. Reubens assembled a supporting troupe that included ex-

Groundlings The Groundlings is an American improvisational and sketch comedy troupe and school based in Los Angeles. The troupe was formed by Gary Austin in 1974 and uses an improv format influenced by Viola Spolin, whose improvisational theater techniques ...

and cast members from ''The Pee-wee Herman Show'', including

Phil Hartman Philip Edward Hartman (; September 24, 1948 – May 28, 1998) was a Canadian-American actor, comedian, screenwriter and graphic designer. Hartman was born in Brantford, Ontario, Canada, and his family moved to the United States w ...

John Paragon John Dixon Paragon (December 9, 1954 – April 3, 2021) was an American actor, writer and director. He is known for his work on the television series ''Pee-wee's Playhouse'', where he portrayed Jambi the Genie and provided the voice for Pterri ...

Lynne Marie Stewart Lynne Marie Stewart (born December 14, 1946) is an American actress, best known for her performance as Miss Yvonne, the Most Beautiful Woman in Puppet Land. She originated the role in the 1981 stage show ''The Pee-wee Herman Show'', continuing it ...

Laurence Fishburne Laurence John Fishburne III (born July 30, 1961) is an American actor. He is a three time Emmy Award and Tony Award winning actor known for his roles on stage and screen. He has been hailed for his forceful, militant, and authoritative charact ...

, and

S. Epatha Merkerson Sharon Epatha Merkerson (born November 28, 1952) is a film, stage, and television actor. Known by her stage name S. Epatha Merkerson, she has received numerous high-profile accolades for her work, including an Emmy Award, a Golden Globe Award, a ...

. Production began in New York City in the summer of 1986 in a converted loft on

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

, which one of the show's writers, George McGrath, described as a "

sweatshop A sweatshop or sweat factory is a crowded workplace with very poor, socially unacceptable or illegal working conditions. Some illegal working conditions include poor ventilation, little to no breaks, inadequate work space, insufficient lighting, o ...

". Reubens moved the production to Los Angeles for season two in 1987, resulting in a new set and a more relaxed work atmosphere. The creative design of the show was concocted by a troupe of artists including Wayne White, Gary Panter,

Craig Bartlett Craig Michael Bartlett (born October 18, 1956) is an American animator, best known for writing, directing, creating and producing the Nickelodeon television series ''Hey Arnold!'' and the PBS Kids television series ''Dinosaur Train'' and '' Read ...

Nick Park Nicholas Wulstan Park (born 6 December 1958) is a British animator who created ''Wallace and Gromit'', ''Creature Comforts'', ''Chicken Run'', ''Shaun the Sheep'', and '' Early Man''. Park has been nominated for an Academy Award a total of ...

Richard Goleszowski Richard Starzak, previously known as Richard "Golly" Goleszowski, is an English animator, screenwriter, and film director. Life and career Starzak was born in Suffolk in 1959 and grew up in Ipswich, attending Northgate Grammar School. After co ...

, Gregory Harrison, Ric Heitzman, and

Phil Trumbo Phil Trumbo is an American art director, graphic designer, and film director. He is Professor and Department Chair of Digital Gaming and Media at the Kirkland Campus of Lake Washington Institute of Technology and is the creator of numerous po ...

. The first day of production, right as Panter began reading the scripts to find out where everything would be situated, set workers hurriedly asked him, "Where's the plans? All the carpenters are standing here ready to build everything." Panter responded, "You just have to give us 15 minutes to design this thing!" When asked about the styles that went into the set design, Panter said, "This was like the hippie dream ... It was a show made by artists ... We put art history all over the show. It's really like ... I think Mike Kelley said, and it's right, that it's kind of like the

Googie Googie architecture ( ) is a type of futurist architecture influenced by car culture, jets, the Atomic Age and the Space Age. It originated in Southern California from the Streamline Moderne architecture of the 1930s, and was popular in the ...

style – it's like those LA types of coffee shops and stuff but kind of psychedelic, over-the-top." Several artistic filmmaking techniques are featured on the program including

chroma key Chroma key compositing, or chroma keying, is a visual-effects and post-production technique for compositing (layering) two images or video streams together based on colour hues ( chroma range). The technique has been used in many fields to ...

stop-motion animation Stop motion is an animated filmmaking technique in which objects are physically manipulated in small increments between individually photographed frames so that they will appear to exhibit independent motion or change when the series of frames ...

, and

clay animation Clay animation or claymation, sometimes plasticine animation, is one of many forms of stop-motion animation. Each animated piece, either character or background, is "deformable"—made of a malleable substance, usually plasticine clay. Tra ...

. ''Pee-Wee's Playhouse'' was designed as an educational yet entertaining and artistic show for children. Its conception was greatly influenced by 1950s shows Reubens had watched as a child, like ''

The Rocky and Bullwinkle Show ''The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle and Friends'' (commonly referred to as simply ''Rocky and Bullwinkle'') is an American animated television series that originally aired from November 19, 1959, to June 27, 1964, on the ABC and NBC te ...

'', ''

The Mickey Mouse Club ''The Mickey Mouse Club'' is an American variety television show that aired intermittently from 1955 to 1996 and returned to social media in 2017. Created by Walt Disney and produced by Walt Disney Productions, the program was first televised ...

'', ''

Captain Kangaroo ''Captain Kangaroo'' is an American children's television series that aired weekday mornings on the American television network CBS for 29 years, from 1955 to 1984, making it the longest-running nationally broadcast children's television progra ...

'', and ''

Howdy Doody ''Howdy Doody'' is an American Children's television series, children's television program (with circus and Western (genre), Western frontier themes) that was created and produced by Victor F Campbell

''. The show quickly acquired a dual audience of kids and adults. Reubens, always trying to make Pee-wee a positive role model, sought to make a significantly moral show that would teach children the ethics of reciprocity. Reubens believed that children liked the Playhouse because it was fast-paced, colorful, and "never talked down to them", while parents liked the Playhouse because it reminded them of the past.

Production

At the start of season two, the show moved from its New York City warehouse studio to facilities at the

Hollywood Center Studios Sunset Las Palmas Studios, formerly General Service Studios and Hollywood Center Studios, is an American independent entertainment production lot located at 1040 North Las Palmas Avenue in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, providing stage faci ...

, creating changes in personnel and a change to the set that allowed the show to take advantage of the additional space. The show changed production facilities again in 1989 during its fourth season, this time at the Culver Studios, also in Los Angeles.

Format

The premise of the show is that host Pee-wee Herman plays in the fantastic Playhouse in Puppetland. The house is filled with toys, gadgets, talking furniture and appliances (such as Magic Screen and Chairry), puppet characters (such as Conky the Robot, Pterri the baby

Pteranodon ''Pteranodon'' (); from Ancient Greek (''pteron'', "wing") and (''anodon'', "toothless") is a genus of pterosaur that included some of the largest known flying reptiles, with ''P. longiceps'' having a wingspan of . They lived during the late Cr ...

), and Jambi (

), a disembodied

genie Jinn ( ar, , ') – also romanized as djinn or anglicized as genies (with the broader meaning of spirit or demon, depending on sources) – are invisible creatures in early pre-Islamic Arabian religious systems and later in Islamic myt ...

's head who lives in a jeweled box. The Playhouse is visited by a regular cast of human characters, including Miss Yvonne (

), Reba The Mail Lady (

), Captain Carl (

), Cowboy Curtis (

), and a small group of children, The Playhouse Gang. Although primarily a live-action comedy, each episode includes segments featuring puppetry, video animation, and prepared sequences using Chroma-key and stock footage (for example when Pee-wee jumps into the Magic Screen), as well as inserted

sequences (some made by

Aardman Animations Aardman Animations Limited (also known as Aardman Studios, simply Aardman or Aardman Animation and stylised as AARDMAN as of 2022) is a British animation studio based in Bristol, England. It is known for films made using stop-motion and clay ani ...

, who would later make ''

Wallace & Gromit ''Wallace & Gromit'' is a British stop-motion comedy franchise created by Nick Park of Aardman Animations. The series consists of four short films and one feature-length film, and has spawned numerous spin-offs and TV adaptations. The series ce ...

'') and excerpts from cartoons from the

Golden Age of American animation The golden age of American animation was a period in the history of U.S. animation that began with the popularization of sound cartoons in 1928 and gradually ended in the late 1960s, where theatrical animated shorts began losing popularity to the ...

and in the

public domain The public domain (PD) consists of all the creative work to which no exclusive intellectual property rights apply. Those rights may have expired, been forfeited, expressly waived, or may be inapplicable. Because those rights have expired ...

, usually presented by the character "The King of Cartoons". Each episode features specially written soundtrack music by rock and pop musicians such as

Mark Mothersbaugh Mark Allen Mothersbaugh (; born May 18, 1950) is an American composer, singer, and multi-instrumentalist. He came to prominence in the late 1970s as co-founder, lead singer and keyboardist of the new wave band Devo, whose " Whip It" was a top 20 ...

(

Devo Devo (, originally ) is an American Rock music, rock band from Akron, Ohio, formed in 1973. Their classic line-up consisted of two sets of brothers, the Mothersbaughs (Mark Mothersbaugh, Mark and Bob Mothersbaugh, Bob) and the Casales (Gerald ...

Todd Rundgren Todd Harry Rundgren (born June 22, 1948) is an American multi-instrumentalist, singer, songwriter, multimedia artist, sound engineer and record producer who has performed a diverse range of styles as a solo artist and as a member of the band Ut ...

Mitchell Froom Mitchell Froom (born June 29, 1953) is an American musician and record producer. He was a member of the bands Gamma and Latin Playboys, and is currently the keyboardist for Crowded House. He has produced albums for several artists, including R ...

, and

The Residents The Residents are an American art collective and art rock band best known for their avant-garde music and multimedia works. Since their first official release, ''Meet the Residents'' (1974), they have released over 60 albums, numerous music vi ...

. The show's theme song performance is credited to "Ellen Shaw", though in her autobiography,

Cyndi Lauper Cynthia Ann Stephanie Lauper Thornton (born June 22, 1953) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and activist. Her career has spanned over 40 years. Her album ''She's So Unusual'' (1983) was the first debut album by a female artist to achi ...

admits to being the actual singer. The show has many recurring gags, themes, and devices. Each episode usually contained a running gag particular to that episode, or a specific event or dilemma that sends Pee-wee into an emotional frenzy. At the beginning of each episode, viewers are told the day's " secret word" (often issued by Conky the Robot) and are instructed to "scream real loud" every time a character says the word. CBS and Reubens mutually agreed to end the show at the end of the 1990–91 season after 5 seasons and 45 episodes. The last original episode aired on November 17, 1990. In July 1991, Reubens was arrested for exposing himself in a

Sarasota, Florida Sarasota () is a city in Sarasota County, Florida, Sarasota County on the Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. The area is renowned for its cultural and environmental amenities, beaches, resorts, and the Sarasota School of Architecture. The c ...

, adult movie theater, prompting CBS to immediately stop airing its ''Playhouse'' re-runs, which were originally intended to air until late 1991. The show was replaced by reruns of ''

The Adventures of Raggedy Ann and Andy ''The Adventures of Raggedy Ann and Andy'' is an American animated television series that aired on CBS from September 17, 1988 to September 1, 1990. Based on the dolls Raggedy Ann and Andy by Johnny Gruelle, the series was produced directly by C ...

''.

Soundtracks

The music for the show was provided by a diverse set of musicians, including

Danny Elfman Daniel Robert Elfman (born May 29, 1953) is an American film composer, singer and songwriter. He came to prominence as the singer-songwriter for the new wave band Oingo Boingo in the early 1980s. Since the 1990s, Elfman has garnered internation ...

(who provided the score for both of the ''Pee-wee'' movies),

Van Dyke Parks Van Dyke Parks (born January 3, 1943) is an American musician, songwriter, arranger, and record producer who has composed various film and television soundtracks. He is best known for his 1967 album ''Song Cycle'' and for his collaborations with ...

George S. Clinton George Stanley Clinton, Jr. (born June 17, 1947) is an American composer, songwriter, arranger, and session musician. Biography Clinton was born in Chattanooga, Tennessee. His musical career began in Nashville while earning degrees in music and d ...

, and

Dweezil Zappa Dweezil Zappa (born Ian Donald Calvin Euclid Zappa; September 5, 1969) is an American rock guitarist and occasional actor. He is the son of musical composer and performer Frank Zappa. Exposed to the music industry from an early age, Dweezil deve ...

with

Scott Thunes Scott Thunes (pronounced "TOO-nis") (born January 20, 1960) is a bass player, formerly with Frank Zappa, Wayne Kramer, Steve Vai, Andy Prieboy, Mike Keneally, Fear, The Waterboys, Big Bang Beat, and others. Thunes was raised in San Anselmo, ...

(spelled 'Tunis' in the credits). Mothersbaugh, who later went on to become a fixture in composing music for children's shows like ''

Rugrats ''Rugrats'' is an American animated television series created by Arlene Klasky, Gábor Csupó, and Paul Germain for Nickelodeon. The show focuses on a group of toddlers; most prominently— Tommy, Chuckie, Angelica, and twins Phil and Lil, a ...

'', joined the show on hiatus from recording with

. The opening prelude theme is an interpretation of

Les Baxter Leslie Thompson "Les" Baxter (March 14, 1922 – January 15, 1996) was a best-selling American musician and composer. After working as an arranger and composer for swing bands, he developed his own style of easy listening music, known as exotica a ...

's "

Quiet Village "Quiet Village" is an orchestral pop instrumental that was written and originally performed by Les Baxter in 1951 and an instrumental album from 1959 by Martin Denny. In the liner notes to his album, '' Ritual of the Savage (Le sacre du sauvage)' ...

". The theme song, which originally followed the prelude, was performed by

(credited as "Ellen Shaw"), imitating

Betty Boop Betty Boop is an animated cartoon character created by Max Fleischer, with help from animators including Grim Natwick.Pointer (2017) She originally appeared in the ''Talkartoon'' and ''Betty Boop'' film series, which were produced by Fleisc ...

. For the final season in 1990, a new version of the prelude theme was recorded, and the opening theme was slightly edited.

Cast and crew

Many now-well-known TV and film actors appeared on the show, including

Sandra Bernhard Sandra Bernhard (born June 6, 1955) is an American actress, singer, comedian and author. She first gained attention in the late 1970s with her stand-up comedy, where she often critiqued celebrity culture and political figures. She is perhaps ...

, Natasha Lyonne,

, Jimmy Smits, and

Lynne Stewart Lynne Irene Stewart (October 8, 1939 – March 7, 2017) was an American defense attorney who was known for representing controversial, famous defendants. She herself was convicted on charges of conspiracy and providing material support to terro ...

. Future heavy metal musician and filmmaker

Rob Zombie Rob Zombie (born Robert Bartleh Cummings; January 12, 1965) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, record producer, filmmaker, and voice actor. His music and lyrics are notable for their horror and sci-fi themes, and his live shows have be ...

was a production assistant, and future filmmaker

John Singleton John Daniel Singleton (January 6, 1968 April 28, 2019) was an American director, screenwriter, and producer. He made his feature film debut writing and directing ''Boyz n the Hood'' (1991), for which he was nominated for the Academy Award for B ...

was a security guard. Season 3 (which consisted of only three episodes) included an all-star Christmas special featuring the regular cast, with appearances by

Annette Funicello Annette Joanne Funicello (October 22, 1942 – April 8, 2013) was an American actress and singer. Funicello began her professional career as a child performer at the age of twelve. She was one of the most popular Mouseketeers on the orig ...

Frankie Avalon Francis Thomas Avallone (born September 18, 1940), better known as Frankie Avalon, is an American actor, singer, and former teen idol. He had 31 charting U.S. ''Billboard'' singles from 1958 to late 1962, including number one hits, "Venus" an ...

Magic Johnson Earvin "Magic" Johnson Jr. (born August 14, 1959) is an American former professional basketball player. He is often regarded as the greatest point guard of all-time and has been compared with Stephen Curry. Johnson played 13 seasons in the ...

Dinah Shore Dinah Shore (born Frances Rose Shore; February 29, 1916 – February 24, 1994) was an American singer, actress, and television personality, and the top-charting female vocalist of the 1940s. She rose to prominence as a recording artist during ...

Joan Rivers Joan Alexandra Molinsky (June 8, 1933 – September 4, 2014), known professionally as Joan Rivers, was an American comedian, actress, producer, writer and television host. She was noted for her blunt, often controversial comedic persona—heavi ...

Zsa Zsa Gabor Zsa Zsa Gabor (, ; born Sári Gábor ; February 6, 1917 – December 18, 2016) was a Hungarian-American socialite and actress. Her sisters were actresses Eva and Magda Gabor. Gabor competed in the 1933 Miss Hungary pageant, where she ...

Oprah Winfrey Oprah Gail Winfrey (; born Orpah Gail Winfrey; January 29, 1954), or simply Oprah, is an American talk show host, television producer, actress, author, and philanthropist. She is best known for her talk show, ''The Oprah Winfrey Show'', b ...

Whoopi Goldberg Caryn Elaine Johnson (born November 13, 1955), known professionally as Whoopi Goldberg (), is an American actor, comedian, author, and television personality.Kuchwara, Michael (AP Drama Writer)"Whoopi Goldberg: A One-Woman Character Parade". ' ...

Little Richard Richard Wayne Penniman (December 5, 1932 – May 9, 2020), known professionally as Little Richard, was an American musician, singer, and songwriter. He was an influential figure in popular music and culture for seven decades. Described as the " ...

Cher Cher (; born Cherilyn Sarkisian; May 20, 1946) is an American singer, actress and television personality. Often referred to by the media as the Honorific nicknames in popular music, "Goddess of Pop", she has been described as embodying female ...

Charo María Rosario Pilar Martínez Molina Baeza, professionally known by her stage name Charo, is a Spanish-American actress, singer, comedian, and flamenco guitarist. Charo began playing guitar at the age of nine and trained under the famed A ...

, k.d. lang, the

Del Rubio triplets The Del Rubio Triplets were an American folk/acoustic cover band who rose to fame in the 1980s due mostly to their campy style of dress and their cover versions of songs. They earlier performed from the 1940s through the 1960s as The Boyd Triplet ...

, and

Grace Jones Grace Beverly Jones (born 19 May 1948) is a model, singer and actress. Born in Jamaica, she and her family moved to Syracuse, New York, when she was a teenager. Jones began her modelling career in New York state, then in Paris, working for ...

Humans

Puppet and object characters

Reception

Critical reception

As soon as it first aired, ''Pee-wee's Playhouse'' fascinated media theorists and commentators, many of whom championed the show as a

postmodernist Postmodernism is an intellectual stance or mode of discourseNuyen, A.T., 1992. The Role of Rhetorical Devices in Postmodernist Discourse. Philosophy & Rhetoric, pp.183–194. characterized by skepticism toward the " grand narratives" of modern ...

hodgepodge of characters and situations that appeared to thumb its nose at the racist and

sexist Sexism is prejudice or discrimination based on one's sex or gender. Sexism can affect anyone, but it primarily affects women and girls.There is a clear and broad consensus among academic scholars in multiple fields that sexism refers primaril ...

presumptions of dominant culture. For example, Pee-wee's friends, both human and not, were of diverse cultural and racial origins. In its entire run, ''Pee-wee's Playhouse'' won 15

Emmy The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the calendar year, each with the ...

s, as well as other awards. ''

Bob Keeshan Robert James Keeshan (June 27, 1927 – January 23, 2004) was an American television producer and actor. He created and played the title role in the children's television program '' Captain Kangaroo'', which ran from 1955 to 1984, the longes ...

hailed the show's "awesome production values," adding, "with the possible exception of

the Muppets The Muppets are an American ensemble cast of puppet characters known for an absurdist, burlesque, and self-referential style of variety- sketch comedy. Created by Jim Henson in 1955, they are the focus of a media franchise that encompas ...

, you can't find such creativity anywhere on TV." "I'm just trying to illustrate that it's okay to be different — not that it's good, not that it's bad, but that it's all right. I'm trying to tell kids to have a good time and to encourage them to be creative and to question things," Reubens told an interviewer in ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first known for its ...

''. On November 1, 2011, in commemoration of the 25th anniversary of the show, a book by Caseen Gaines called ''Inside Pee-wee's Playhouse: The Untold, Unauthorized, and Unpredictable Story of a Pop Phenomenon'', was released by

ECW Press ECW Press is a Canadian book publisher located in Toronto, Ontario. It was founded by Jack David and Robert Lecker in 1974 as a Canadian literary magazine named ''Essays on Canadian Writing''. They started publishing trade and scholarly book ...

Awards and nominations

* 14th Daytime Emmy Awards – 1987 ** Outstanding Makeup – Sharon Ilson (won) ** Outstanding Hairstyling – Sally Hershberger and Eric Gregg (won) ** Outstanding Art Direction/Set Decoration/Scenic Design – Gary Panter, Sydney J. Bartholomew Jr., Nancy Deren, Wayne White, and Ric Heitzman (won) ** Outstanding Film Sound Mixing – Rolf Pardula and Ken Hahn ** Outstanding Videotape Editing – Paul Dougherty, Doug Jines, Joe Castellano, Les Kaye, and Howard Silver ** Outstanding Graphics and Title Design – Prudence Fenton and

(won) * 15th Daytime Emmy Awards – 1988 ** Outstanding Art Direction/Set Decoration/Scenic Design – Gary Panter, Wayne White, Ric Heitzman, Jeremy Railton, James Higginson, and Paul Reubens (won) ** Outstanding Makeup –

Ve Neill Ve Neill (born Mary Flores; 1951) is an American makeup artist. She has won three Academy Awards, for the films ''Beetlejuice'', '' Mrs. Doubtfire'' and ''Ed Wood''. She has been nominated for eight Oscars in total. Early life Neill recounts t ...

(won) ** Outstanding Videotape Editing – John Ward Nielson for "Playhouse in Outer Space" * 16th Daytime Emmy Awards – 1989 ** Outstanding Hairstyling –

Yolanda Toussieng Yolanda Toussieng (born 1949) is a two-time Oscar-winning makeup artist. Her first win came at the 1993 Academy Awards for Best Makeup for the film '' Mrs. Doubtfire'', which she shared with Greg Cannom and Ve Neill. The second win was at 1994 ...

Jerry Masone for "To Tell The Tooth" (won, tied with ''

The Oprah Winfrey Show ''The Oprah Winfrey Show'', often referred to as ''The Oprah Show'' or simply ''Oprah'', is an American daytime syndicated talk show that aired nationally for 25 seasons from September 8, 1986, to May 25, 2011, in Chicago, Illinois. Produced ...

'') ** Outstanding Videotape Editing – Charles Randazzo, Peter W. Moyer, David Pincus, and Steve Purcell for "To Tell The Tooth" (won) ** Outstanding Film Sound Editing – Steve Kirklys, Steve Michael, Peter Cole, Ken Dahlinger, Greg Teall, and John Walker for "To Tell The Tooth" (won, tied with '' Muppet Babies'') * 18th Daytime Emmy Awards – 1991 ** Outstanding Graphics and Title Design – Paul Reubens, Prudence Fenton, and Dorne Huebler (won) ** Outstanding Film Sound Editing – Peter Cole, Chris Trent, Glenn A. Jordan, Steve Kirklys, Ken Dahlinger, and John Walker (won) ** Outstanding Film Sound Mixing – Bo Harwood, Peter Cole, Chris Trent, and Troy Smith (won)

Episodes

Home media

Hi-Tops Video releases

* Vol. 1: "Ice Cream Soup" * Vol. 2: "Luau for Two" * Vol. 3: "Rainy Day" / "Now You See Me, Now You Don't" / "Cowboy Fun (Just Another Day)" * Vol. 4: "Beauty Makeover" * Vol. 5: "Restaurant" * Vol. 6: "Ants in Your Pants" * Vol. 7: "Monster in the Playhouse" * Festival of Fun: "The Gang's All Here" / "Stolen Apples" / "Party" / "The Cowboy and the Cowntess" / "Monster in the Playhouse" * Vol. 8: "Open House" * Vol. 9: "Puppy in the Playhouse" * Vol. 10: "Pajama Party" * Vol. 11: "Pee-wee's Store" * Vol. 12: "Pee-wee Catches a Cold" * Vol. 13: "Tons of Fun" * "Pee-wee's Playhouse Christmas Special" * Vol. 14: "School" * Vol. 15: "Why Wasn't I Invited?"

Hi-Tops Video LaserDisc releases

* Fun-o-Rama: "Ice Cream Soup" / "Luau for Two" / "Rainy Day" / "Now You See Me, Now You Don't" * Potpourri: "Just Another Day" / "Beauty Makeover" / "The Restaurant" / "Ants in Your Pants" * "Pee-wee's Playhouse Christmas Special" (also released by MGM/UA Home Video in 1996)

MGM/UA Home Video releases

* Vol. 1: "Open House" / "Pee-wee Catches a Cold" * Vol. 2: "I Remember Curtis" / "Conky's Breakdown" * Vol. 3: "Store" / "Playhouse in Outer Space" * Vol. 4: "Pajama Party" / "To Tell the Tooth" * Vol. 5: "The Gang's All Here" / "Party" * Vol. 6: "Luau for Two" / "Now You See Me, Now You Don't" * Vol. 7: "Fire in the Playhouse" / "Love That Story" * Vol. 8: "Sick? Did Somebody Say Sick?" / "Miss Yvonne's Visit" * "Pee-wee's Playhouse Christmas Special" * Vol. 9: "Dr. Pee-wee and the Del Rubios" / "Rebarella" * Vol. 10: "Let's Play Office" / "Mystery" * Vol. 11: "Front Page Pee-wee" / "Tango Time" * Vol. 12: "Playhouse Day" / "Accidental Playhouse" * Vol. 13: "Ice Cream Soup" / "Puppy in the Playhouse" * Vol. 14: "The Cowboy and the Cowntess" / "Reba Eats and Pterri Runs" * Vol. 15: "Tons of Fun" / "School" * Vol. 16: "Why Wasn't I Invited?" / "Ants in Your Pants"

DVD releases

Image Entertainment RLJ Entertainment (formerly Image Entertainment) is an American film production company and home video distributor, distributing film and television productions in North America, with approximately 3,200 exclusive DVD titles and approximately 34 ...

has released all 45 episodes of ''Pee-wee's Playhouse'' on DVD as

NTSC The first American standard for analog television broadcast was developed by National Television System Committee (NTSC)National Television System Committee (1951–1953), Report and Reports of Panel No. 11, 11-A, 12–19, with Some supplement ...

Region 0 DVD region codes are a digital rights management technique introduced in 1997. It is designed to allow rights holders to control the international distribution of a DVD release, including its content, release date, and price, all according to ...

discs.

Blu-ray releases

On July 3, 2013,

Shout! Factory Shout! Factory is an American home video and music company founded in 2002 as Retropolis Entertainment. Its video releases include previously released feature films, classic and contemporary television series, animation, live music, and comedy ...

announced that they had acquired the rights to the entire series from Paul Reubens, which was released on Blu-ray on October 21, 2014. In addition, the entire series was digitally remastered from the original 16 mm film elements and original audio tracks. As of March 24, 2022, this title is out-of-print.

References

External links

Official site for ''Pee-wee's Playhouse''
*
''Inside Pee-wee's Playhouse'' – Book Website
* ttp://www.peewee.com/broadway/tickets.html The Pee-wee Herman Show on Broadway {{DEFAULTSORT:Pee-wee's Playhouse 1986 American television series debuts 1990 American television series endings 1980s American children's comedy television series 1990s American children's comedy television series American children's education television series American television series with live action and animation American television shows featuring puppetry CBS original programming English-language television shows Genies in television Pee-wee Herman