Paul Reubens Took 'A Great Deal Of Pride' In 'Pee-wee's Playhouse' (2004)

Transcript

00:00 Now, you all remember what to do whenever anyone says a secret word, right?

00:04 Scream!

00:05 That's right!

00:06 In the late 80s, the lively and imaginative Pee-wee's Playhouse made a star out of the high-pitched, bow-tied Pee-wee Herman.

00:13 And as our then-correspondent Tim Vincent found out, the show held a soft spot for its creator, Paul Rubens.

00:19 Was it a fun show to work on?

00:21 It was the kind of job that everybody who was working on it would come in and go, you know, "I love this job."

00:28 And what's not to love?

00:30 Every Saturday morning, kids of all ages tuned into the craziness in Puppet Land thanks to unforgettable characters like Cherry, Conky,

00:37 and a then-unknown Lawrence Fishburne as good old Cowboy Curtis.

00:41 Hey, look here, Pee-wee!

00:43 Paul scored a huge hit for CBS.

00:46 The Emmy-winning Playhouse became one of the network's highest-rated children's shows.

00:51 And while the kids watched Pee-wee purely for the laughs, Paul always tried to give them something more.

00:57 I think that the education they got from watching the Playhouse has helped them in life succeed,

01:04 and so I take a great deal of pride and pleasure at that.

01:07 The TV series was born from the success of the 1985 movie Pee-wee's Big Adventure, the first of three Pee-wee movies.

01:15 Man down!

01:17 Um, which mic do I talk into?

01:22 And one of the proudest days of Paul's life was when he received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

01:28 Anybody who I stepped on to get to the top can come down here every day after this and step on me.

01:35 Thank you. Thanks!

01:38 Thanks!

01:39 [music]