Paul Reubens' Last Appearance as Pee-Wee Herman Will Bring You Joy

The last time Paul Reubens took on his iconic character Pee-wee Herman onscreen before his death was in Netflix's 2016 movie Pee-wee's Big Holiday. But five years later, Reubens returned to his famed persona under a very different medium.

The character came to life again in 2021 for Pee-wee Herman Radio Hour, a one-off radio show on KCRW that featured the character on decks. It gave fans an extra dose of nostalgia, as Pee-wee brought along his Playhouse friends, including Chairry and Miss Yvonne. He also had guests like Jack White and Charo on air.

In a new interview with Billboard, the radio show's co-producer Jesse Thorn spoke about realizing Reuben's dream of being a radio DJ though this special opportunity. "We had ideas to incorporate elements of the Playhouse and all of that, but central to it was that Paul loved the idea of being an FM radio DJ," said Thorn.

He also noted that Reubens had to be repeatedly reminded "that it was a comedy show" and "it was very clear that this was a sincere career dream of his."

The idea for the radio show came to be three years after it aired, after Reubens mentioned in an interview his love for the radio station.

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Reubens knew exactly what he wanted to play when it was time to select songs, going for soul classics. "Paul had a specific vision, and the vision was driven by that idea of being a classic FM radio DJ, like being Sly Stone on KSOL in San Francisco before he was a singer,” said Thorn. "There was never a moment where he said, ‘What if we threw Huey Lewis in there?’ It was always going to be Stevie Wonder and Aretha Franklin."

Though the producers didn't know at the time that Reubens had cancer, there was a clue in hindsight, according to Thorn: "The only indications that I had were that I knew that he didn't have it in him to do the character physically anymore."

In a tweet, Thorn wrote, "Just confirmed that the Pee-wee Herman Radio Hour, which Julia Smith and I produced, was the last time Paul Reubens performed as Pee-wee Herman 💔."

Next: 'Pee-wee Herman' Star Paul Reubens Still Sparked Laughter in the Days Before His Death