a zipper for pee

A Zipper for Pee-Wee Herman Ethel O' Grady History of Television December 3, 1996 Leaders in childrens television are and always have been concerned about what programs actually make i

A Zipper for Pee-Wee Herman

Ethel O' Grady

History of Television

December 3, 1996

Leaders in childrens television are and always have been concerned about

what programs actually make it on the air Most early

programming for children

of school age in the 1950's was the western program Another type was the

science-fiction thriller which tended to be based on hero's from the radio,

comics, and films However, a favorite of the youngest audience was the

children's equivalent of the variety show This usually

contained circus,

puppet, and/or animal segments "Super Circus", which aired in

1949, consisted

of music, circus acts, animals, and of course, clowns

In 1952, yet another type of program came about which reached a very

similiar audience as the circus variety shows It was called

"The Ding Dong

School" The Ding Dong School offered the conversation, low-key instruction,

commercials, and entertainment of Miss Frances, a professional teacher

With the help of these types of shows, a new genre was born Children's

television which was a mixture of songs, education, fun, and a whole lot more

In 1969, the first airing of "Sesame Street" took place Sesame Street had

programs which were sponsored by different letters of the

alphabet or numbers

each day, and relied on very short, animated cartoons with live and puppet

segments which kept the interest of preschool children The show was an

instant outstanding success, and still broadcasts today

In 1970, "Mr Roger's Neighborhood" was born Mr Fred Roger's used

puppets and music to teach patience and cooperation, while

providing guidance

to help children cope with feelings and frustrations Mr

Roger's land of

makebelieve's handpuppet characters interacted with humans in the mythical

kingdom of King Friday XIII There, the puppets and humans would deal with

their feelings and emotions as they solve typical, everyday

problems

This new genre of programming was a sensation The

children loved it,

and the parents approved of it During the following years, many

new shows

came about which still fit this genre In the year 1986, yet another show was

born into childrens television "Pee-Wee's Playhouse" This series, starring

host Pee-Wee Herman (Paul Reubens) used animation, puppets, and vintage

cartoons to entertain and educate its audience Between Pee-Wee Herman and his

extraordinary playhouse, children were given the opportunity to let their

imaginations go crazy

The "playhouse" had no permanent residents, that is, besides the

furnishings Not ordinary furnishings, you see, Pee-Wee's

furnishings could

move, talk, dance, and sing These "characters" could be seen at the

playhouse on a regular basis Some of the favorites were:

Globey, a talking

globe who would show Pee-Wee the countries that his pen-pal's letters came

from; Magic Screen, a toy of Pee-Wee's that enabled him to

actually get

"inside the screen" and play a life-size game of connect the dots; Konkie, a

talking robot which revealed the secret word of the day; and of course Genie,

who granted

Pee-Wee one wish a day

The playhouse also welcomed a series of visitors during each episode,

which could also be seen on a regular basis Some of these

favorites included:

Rina the mail-lady, who came to deliver Pee-Wee's pen-pal letters everyday;

Miss Yvonne, who Pee-Wee referred to the most beautiful woman in Puppetland;

and of course the King of Cartoons who brought the "vintage

cartoon of the day"

to Pee-Wee

Besides the spectacular furnishings and outrageous

visitors, the

television show also had an unusual daily theme This theme could have been

anything from "a fire in the playhouse", "a trip to another planet", or even

"Pee-Wee getting sick" In all of these situations, Pee-Wee stressed the

importance of friendship, sharing, and just being nice

One particular show, "Monster in the Playhouse", was about being in the

dark Pee-Wee explains that when your with your friends, the dark

is less

spooky Suddenly Mrs Steve, a neighbor of Pee-Wee's, begins panicking because

she thinks there's a monster on the loose Just then, a great monster with one

eye and one leg enters the playhouse His name is Roger, and he

stays and plays

with Pee-Wee All of a sudden Roger's mother is on the

picture-phone saying

that Roger is late for dinner This show ends with Pee-Wee's elaborate

closing: Pee-Wee mounting his scooter with Roger and giving him

a ride home

Unfortunately, Pee-Wee's Playhouse came to an startling end only five

years later Why? Well, on July 26, 1991, Paul Reubens (Pee-Wee Herman) was

arrested for indecent exposure in a porno-theater This incident both shocked

and worried the leaders of children's television programming due

to the morals,

ethics, and values of the society during that time Questions flooded the

minds of parents, teachers, and officials People began to fear that Pee-Wee

was perhaps a poor role-model for their youngsters

The real question is this: Should Pee-Wee's behavior have been such a

shock to society? Lets look a little deeper into Pee-Wee's

Playhouse This

children's television show was actually a refined version of Paul Reuben's

nightclub act: "The Pee-Wee Herman Show" It is difficult to imagine that

anyone who had seen his nightclub act, actually agreed to run Pee-Wee's

Playhouse during Saturday morning, children's programming

The Pee-Wee Herman Show can best be described as an adult version of

Pee-Wee's Playhouse Paul Reubens played the part of Pee-Wee Herman, a boy who

acts out his infantile sexuality by "playing doctor" with the ladies and

looking up women's skirts Numerous accounts of sexual innuendo's are made by

Pee-Wee during the entire show

I don't think Pee-Wee Herman ever gave the impression that he was a "Mr

Rogers-Captain Kangeroo" kind of role model for children

Pee-Wee was who he

was: a creative comedian who had a clever way of looking at life through the

eyes of a child Whether he was a disgusting pervert or just plain human, his

television show and movies were a huge success

Though no longer in syndication, Pee-Wee's Playhouse's fire still

continues to burn There is now a collection of video tapes

available which

allow Pee-Wee to be where he belongs: in the center of family room's across

the country

Long live Pee-Wee Herman!

Works Cited:

Textbook:

Christopher Sterling & John Kittros Stay Tuned: A Concise History of

American Broadcasting (Revised Edition) (Belmont, CA: Wadsworth, 1990)

The Museum of Television and Radio (NYC):

1 Pee-Wee's Playhouse: A Fire in the Playhouse

2 Mr Rogers Neighborhood: Superhero's

3 Before They Were Stars III (TV)

4 Comic Relief, pt 2 of 5 (1986)

5 Television, pt 8: The Promise of Television

6 Andrew Dice Clay: For Ladies Only

7 The Muppets: A Celebration of 30 Years