Bullseye with Jesse Thorn

Paul Reubens

A special treat from the Bullseye archives: Paul Reubens! The man behind Pee-wee Herman. Pee-wee is, of course, a beloved character among kids who grew up in the 1980s and 90s. He's the star of Pee-wee's Playhouse, Pee-wee's Big Adventure and so many others. Pee-wee's Playhouse remains a singular achievement in kid's TV. It's a kitschy pastiche of a thousand TV shows that went before it, but it's also much more than that: it's a kaleidoscope of difference, a tribute to the big dreams and big feelings of being a kid. And it's so, so funny. In this interview, Paul tells us about growing up in a circus town, working hard to make Pee-wee Herman seem real, and why Pee-wee is a little bit of a jerk — and why that makes him work as a character.<br/><br/>Learn more about sponsor message choices: <a href="https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices">podcastchoices.com/adchoices</a><br/><br/><a href="https://www.npr.org/about-npr/179878450/privacy-policy">NPR Privacy Policy</a>

Bullseye is a celebration of the best of arts and culture in public radio form. Host Jesse Thorn sifts the wheat from the chaff to bring you in-depth interviews with the most revered and revolutionary minds in our culture. Bullseye has been featured in Time, The New York Times, GQ and McSweeney's, which called it "the kind of show people listen to in a more perfect world."