As someone who grew up enjoying Pee-wee Herman, I was very interested to learn about the man behind the man-child, Paul Reubens, in Pee-wee as Himself. Director Matt Wolf’s two-part documentary, now available with a Max subscription, reveals many lesser-known aspects about the life and career of the comedian, who passed away at 70 in 2023 from lung cancer, including the one other performer who is most important to Pee-wee’s rise to prominence.
Unless you have already seen the doc, there is a chance you might not be aware that the creation of Pee-wee was a partially collaborative effort shared between Reubens and the late Phil Hartman. Just how did the beloved former Saturday Night Live cast member contribute to the character’s development, and why has his involvement gone largely unacknowledged for so many years? Let’s get into it.
Phil Hartman Is Pee-wee's Secret Weapon
As covered in Pee-wee as Himself, the character stems from Paul Reubens’ days as a member of The Groundlings, a comedy troupe that kickstarted the careers of many legendary performers, including Phil Hartman. While the basic idea for Pee-wee (a childish aspiring comedian) came from Reubens, who debuted in the gray suit and red bow tie in the late 1970s, he took his first steps toward becoming a true icon with Hartman’s help.
Reubens wrote the 1980 stage play The Pee-wee Herman Show (which was also filmed as an HBO special) with help from Hartman, who also starred in it as Captain Carl. They later collaborated on the screenplay for the now-classic ‘80s movie, Pee-wee’s Big Adventure, with Michael Varhol, and Hartman reprised Captain Carl for the children’s program, Pee-wee’s Playhouse, at least for the first season. So, in essence, you could say that Hartman played a pivotal role in Pee-wee’s greatest successes but, like many of the greatest duos in show business, he and Reubens would eventually go their separate ways.
The HBO Doc Also Sheds Light On Phil And Paul's Complicated Relationship
Reubens explains in Pee-wee as Himself that when Hartman joined SNL, it marked the end of their professional and personal relationship for years. A later moment shows Hartman on E!’s The Howard Stern Interview, in which he mentions that they had been “estranged” for years at this time, partially because he felt Reubens cheated him out of fair credit and compensation for Pee-wee’s Playhouse. However, I am quite disappointed in how the documentary edits the 1998 clip.
In the full interview, which you can find on YouTube, Hartman admits that he never sought legal action against Reubens because he remained a great admirer of the performer and his talent. The star of the underrated ‘90s TV show, NewsRadio, also mentions that Reubens called him up to wish him a long-overdue congratulations for his post-Pee-wee success. I suppose those moments are left out of the doc because, at that point, it discusses Reubens’ 1991 arrest for indecent exposure at an adult movie theater, and the editor wanted to keep the tension high.
Overall, I am thankful for Pee-wee as Himself, not just for the way it dives deep into Paul Reubens’ career highlights and career lows, but for the way it gives Phil Hartman his due as a crucial figure in the legacy of one of comedy’s most unique performers.
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