A Boy And His Bike: Pee Wee Herman
On Aug. 9, 1985 — 40 years ago Saturday — the comedy “Pee-wee’s Big Adventure” starring eccentric comedian Paul Reubens and the directing debut of Tim Burton opened in theaters.
The film cost only $7 million to make but brought in $4.5 million in its opening weekend. It would go on to gross $40.9 million domestically.
Launching Two Entertainment Careers
Comedian Paul Reubens developed the Pee-Wee Herman character as a member of the famed Los Angeles-based improvisational comedy group the Groundlings in the 1970s. The joke was that Pee-Wee wanted to be a standup comedian but was so incredibly inept at telling jokes that it was clear he’d never succeed.
In 1980, Reubens auditioned to join the cast of NBC’s “Saturday Night Live” but lost out to Gilbert Gottfried. Reubens returned to the Groundlings and, with help from his colleagues, continued to develop Pee-Wee, eventually breaking out into “The Pee-Wee Herman Show,” which played to sellout crowds at Hollywood’s Roxy Theater.
This captured the attention of HBO, which aired the show. Comedian Steve Martin introduced Reubens to his manager who sent Reubens on a 22-city tour of North America, “The Pee-Wee Herman Party.” In 1984, the shows sold out Carnegie Hall and the Universal Amphitheater in Los Angeles.
Reubens, meanwhile, kept the spotlight on Pee-Wee by conducting interviews in character and responding only to that name.
The next year, Warner Bros. signed Reubens to a film deal. His idea was to remake the children’s classic “Pollyanna,” but starring Pee-Wee in the lead role. He began work on the project but after Warner Bros. gave him an office at their Hollywood studios, Reubens began to notice everyone there rode bicycles around the lot. He asked for and received a vintage 1960s-style bike. This inspired him to ditch “Pollyanna” and set off in an entirely different direction.
Reubens brought in some writing help for his movie: film producer and photographer Michael Varhol and Reubens’ old Groundlings pal Phil Hartman. The plan was to build around Pee-Wee’s search for his missing but beloved bicycle.
Once they had written the first draft of their screenplay, Warner Bros. attempted to assign a director to their project. Reubens once again took a big chance by rejecting the studio’s choice and instead insisting on Tim Burton, a 26-year-old animator who recently had been fired by Walt Disney for creating a cartoon it considered much too dark for its target audience: “Frankenweenie.”
“I knew Tim was the director about 15 seconds into ‘Frankenweenie,’ Reubens said later. “I was looking at the wallpaper in this bedroom and the lighting and just going, ‘This is the guy who has style and understands art direction.’ ” Burton, in turn, recruited Danny Elfman, the lead singer and songwriter of Oingo Boingo, to write the score for the film.
The next task was to reshape the script. Because Reubens, Varhol and Hartman were so new to the field of writing a screenplay, they read a 1979 textbook as they worked. Their final script was 90 pages long — for a 90-minute movie.
A number of Reubens’ former Groundlings colleagues were hired to appear in the film. A part was written for Dee Snider and Twisted Sister after Reubens ran into Snider at a New Year’s Eve party.
Released on Aug. 9, 1985, the film grossed five times more than its $7 million budget. CBS then approached Reubens with a proposal to create an animated Saturday morning series. Reubens countered by proposing he produce, direct and star in a live-action children’s series.
“Pee-Wee’s Playhouse” would debut in September 1986 and would run for 45 episodes over five seasons.
'I Meant To Do That'
Among the actors considered for the role of Dottie — the bike shop employee who has a huge crush on Pee-Wee — were Laura Dern, Phoebe Cates, Lea Thompson and Jennifer Jason Leigh. Landing the role was Elizabet Daily, who is best known for providing the voice for Tommy Pickles on “Rugrats” and Buttercup on “the Powerpuff Girls.”
The Pedal Pusher Bike Shop of Newport Beach, California — which specializes in classic bicycles — built 10 bikes to use in the movie. They were offered either $10,000 or screen credit. The shop chose the money. Bikes used in the film have sold at auction for as much as $125,000. Last month, the Alamo acquired one to display in its museum.
One actor most viewers don’t recognize in this film: Cassandra Peterson, famous as Elvira Mistress of the Dark, plays a brief role as the Biker Mama of Satan's Helpers who harass Pee-Wee as he attempts to use a pay phone. She made an earlier appearance — sort of — when a portrait of her as Elvira is seen on the wall of Mario’s magic shop.
Originally, Pee-Wee was to climb atop the biker bar counter and dance to “Green Onions” by Booker T. & the M.G.s. That was changed to “Tequila” by The Champs. Reubens was fond of the song, and had often included it in his stage act. Reubens had also been performing Pee-Wee dance moves since the 1970s.
While the Alamo’s main mission building doesn't have a basement, other structures on the grounds — including the gift shop — do. Former Groundlings cast member Jan Hooks improvised the dialogue for her role as a long-winded Alamo tour guide. The year after the release of the film, both she and Hartman would join the cast of ”Saturday Night Live.”
Reubens asked Burton if they could use fake snakes for the scene in which Pee-Wee rescues animals from a fire in a pet shop. Reubens was terrified of snakes. Burton insisted they use real snakes. First, though, Pee-Wee frees a chimpanzee and tells the chimp, “You can help me!” Burton has a deep fear of chimpanzees.
Former “Six Million Dollar Man” and “Bionic Woman” actors Lee Majors and Lindsay Wagner were considered to play "P.W." and "Dottie" in the movie-within-a movie shown at the drive-in. Instead, James Brolin and Morgan Fairchild got the parts while the “real” Pee-Wee played a bit part as a hotel bellhop — with a dubbed-in voice — in his own “autobiography.”
In addition to Reubens, three actors in the film went on to play roles on “Pee-Wee’s Playhouse.” John Paragon, who played an actor on the Warners movie lot, played Jambi and Pterri on the TV series. And co-writer Phil Hartman, who appeared as a news reporter, had a recurring role as Captain Carl. The TV series would win 15 Emmy Awards.
