This person died in 2023 at age 70. A turning point in his career came shortly after a disappointing and unsuccessful audition for “Saturday Night Live” in 1980. He once said “Today, it’s a lot more difficult to stand out. You know, if you want to be weird, good luck.” He had scores of acting credits, including roles on “Murphy Brown,” “The Blacklist” and many other television series and in movies like “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” and “Blow”. He was in a feature film directed by Tim Burton in 1985, after which he created a highly successful, live action Saturday morning kid’s series, both in character as his quirky alter-ego. The film followed him on a “Big Adventure” while the series took you inside a magical Playhouse. Today’s dead celebrity is Paul Reubens, aka Pee-wee Herman.

If you enjoyed this episode, you may also like Episode 80 “Super Funkhouser” (Bob Einstein) and Episode 26 “Wild Thing” (Maurice Sendak)

Famous & Gravy is created and co-hosted by Amit Kapoor and Michael Osborne. This episode was produced by Megan Palmer.

LINKS:

Transcript of this episode

New York Times Obituary for Paul Reubens

“Pee-wee’s Big Adventure” official film trailer

Opening sequence for “Pee-wee’s Playhouse” TV series

Flight of the Navigator CGI Spaceship with Paul’s voice

Cheech and Chong “I’m sorry” scene with Paul

A conversation with Paul Reubens at SXSW

The origins of Pee-wee Herman article in ‘The New Yorker’

Dead or Alive quiz game

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Famous & Gravy official website

This episode of Famous & Gravy considers how Paul Reubens aka Pee-wee Herman shaped public consciousness as part of a famous lives reframed and known for rethinking celebrity legacies, by analyzing contradictions, legacy-building, and public image. This entry frames legacy not as a fixed point, but as an ongoing negotiation. This legacy podcast explores life lessons from celebrities and contributes to dead celebrity podcast.

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