Mad #273 (Nick Meglin and John Ficarra) - Pee-Wee Herman Issue - September 1987

Pee-Wee Herman (Paul Reubens) was the wildest kid-show television host and his studio set was the best ever.  He was a strange combination of Soupy Sales (1926-2009) and Pinky Lee (1907-1993).  The Mad editors gave this assignment to Al Jaffee and he did a great job of recreating Pee-Wee's set in the two-page splash.  Al added some Mad touches including Arthur, the zeppelin, Flip, Alfred E. Neuman and Jaffee's signature self-portrait.  All seem to fit right in with the craziness.  Pee-Wee got in trouble in 1991 at a movie theater in Sarasota, Florida.  We may never know exactly what happened on that day but the event certainly brought an end to the kiddie show.  Reubens returned as a character actor in 1992 but his career had been severely damaged.  The Pee-Wee character returned briefly in 2007 and a few times since then.  Plans for a movie were announced in January 2011.  [JAM 8/8/2011]

Departments:
Wimp-Lash - A Mad Peek Behind the Scenes at Pee-Wee's Playhouse
Sergio Aragones - A Mad Look at Baseball
Outback to the Video Store - Crock O'Dull Dummy
Autopsy-Turvy - Don Martin Visits the Morgue
Microphonies - The Mad D.J. Primer
We're in Heat - Summer Has Arrived When
A Bad Case of the Re-Runs - The Andy Grinning Show
Having a Truth Pulled - A Mad Look at Some Widely-Held Misconceptions
On-Tray View - Sir Puffy's Placemat
Berg's-Eye View - The Lighter Side
Our Preacher Presentation - Amends
Petty-Savers - The Collector's Newsletter
Crust in Time - Legendary Pizza Events Through History
Dick - Feature by Feature Advertising
Joke And Dagger - Spy vs. Spy
Star's Trek - Celebrities in Space

Fold-In - Homeless Person