Pee Wee is the best! I still have my talking Pee Wee doll.ARGHHHH!!!!

I will never forget seeing Pee-wee Herman on TV for the first time back in 1981. I was living in my future in-laws upstairs Guest Room, recuperating from a serious head injury that kept me in the hospital for 10 days. Still on heavy duty prescriptiion drugs, l watched as the original Pee-wee Herman Show prjemiered on HBO. I was mesmerized! When Pee-wee brought out Jambi in a box, I thought I was having an acid flashback. My fiancee, a "Fine Arts" major, was watching the program with me. What can I say? We were gobsmacked & hooked on Pee-wee Herman for life! 💙

One of the BEST! The confidence to do that shtick on a late night show was next level. And on Letterman no less :)

That “face rings a bell” joke was brilliant. Comedy is all about timing.

Man, he is brilliant!! 🤣😅 I love it when he reads a letter and reads something embarrassing or when no one gets his joke, the expression he makes 😂🤣😅😆

I usually hate loud and slapstick humour but Pee Wee is one of a kind and always gets me in stitches

Bless you Don! I forgot how much Letterman loved Reubens and just went along with whatever he was doing.

He was a brilliant comedian... Thanks for sharing.

Thank you for the laughs and memories Pee Wee. 😢😢😢

I just love Paul Reubens and his character Pee wee Herman. Paul is a brilliant actor and director.He is a fabulous person and an outstanding children's entertainer and author I highly recommend his books.Thank you so much Paul for all that you do for us fans,,Love you always

I would like to testify but I distinctly remember my father hardly waking me up on this very night and as my eyes opened and my brain click on all I heard was David Letterman saying we have Pee Wee Herman air tonight and I almost knocked my old man down running to the living room

Thanks for this Don. Rest well Paul.

This is so interesting to watch. I'm really seeing the connection with Andy Kaufman far more than I ever did back then. Does anybody even do this kind of absurdist humor anymore? I miss it, and I miss Dave's show so much. The third segment is particularly hysterical with the "playing doctor" skit. This guy was such a comic genius. I'm not sure I really knew how great he was, tbh. Rest in peace, Paul, you were something special.

“You are one peculiar S.O.B.” - that is the highest of compliments from Dave.

Thanks for everything, Paul. You were a special talent, rest easy.

I am pretty sad about Pee Wee Herman , a fantastic human being..

I miss the NBC Letterman days. Classic late night stuff. Pee Wee was an original in his own right. Another part of my 1980's childhood is gone.

This video is a TREASURE!!!!!!! THANK YOU!

In my mid-70s and I still freaking love Pee-wee Herman.

He was VERY tame in his first appearance. You can tell that his character's mannerisms and voices hadn't yet been fully formed. He was almost more of a straight comedian telling jokes at that point and seeing if he would get a reaction from the crowd after every joke.

The bell ringer joke😂😂😂

I love how dave genuinely cant handle it.

He was just wonderful. Such a unique and talented man.

They both have great chemistry. Pee Wee is a Genius 💜💜💜

Watching utube Pee Wee on Letterman,is the first true bunch of belly laughs in 2 years, since my man of 30 yrs died .......Thank Utube....Paul Reubens -the Hottest fun!

I have a *_Late Night BRUSH WITH GREATNESS_* associated with *Pee Wee's Great Adventure* movie. So here goes... When I was a student at Musicians Institute in Hollywood in 1984-85, my two friends and I were riding the RTD city bus one night. We got to talking with a younger passenger who said he was just at Pee Wee's Big Adventure premier around the corner at Grauman's Chinese Theatre. He said he met Quiet Riot guitarist Carlos Cavazo and Carlos invited him to his house. I think he could see our excitement over such a prospect and so very generously he invited us to go with him. "Oh' hell yes!"...but then we realized that in Hollywood you ever know, but he was so genuine and kind. He was young and a little shy even. Certainly I could identify. So we switched buses and made our way toward Cavazo's house As we are getting acquainted he introduces himself as "Ennis, or you can call me William...I'm William Cosby Jr.. Bill Cosby is my Dad." In that short period after just meeting Ennis we realized he was just a 17 year old kid looking for his own excitement and didn't put on any fronts, which is so so common in L.A.. He was as real people as we were. In fact more real than one of my two friends who were with me that night. All in all it was a really great night! We arrived at Carlos's house and had a very relaxed hang out talking with each other about music and just general stuff. Carlos had a girlfriend who was super nice and intelligent. She knew we were still young and green about life. She was a good host and started conversations with us. She liked that we were polite and well mannered. We drank a little bit, but we were beaming from our meeting a fellow musician who had great success. Like Ennis, Carlos was just a regular down to earth person. For us young wanna be rock stars we couldn't have have met a cooler person! I was really taken by how much Carlos, the elder of the group that evening, was thrilled to meet the son of Bill Cosby, but didn't put Ennis in the uncomfortable position of being a mouthpiece for his famous father. Carlos even brought up that it must be difficult living in a shadow, when Innis said, " Sometimes I feel invisible.". Innis spoke of being able to go about any place he wanted to go because he had a chauffeur, but at 17 he wanted to go around on his own and discover life. We stayed for a good two hours. Carlos had a small walk in closet that had all his toys from childhood. Including his first little guitar. I faintly recalling him mentioning a Sears Silvertone guitar. We were on the back patio talking and I recall Carlos saying he read on a cereal box the Ohio was the Heavy Metal capitol of the United States. Of course it didn't cross my mind until years later that seeing something written on a cereal box could have been metaphorical. I still don't know...that whole night has been a metaphor. Carlos showed us pictures of their Japan tour and showed us the first portable Sony CD Walkman. It was made of metal, weighed a lot, ad it had L/R red, and white RCA jacks. He had it hooked to his stereo. Gee I wish I could remember more. The house was beautiful! High ceilings, gigantic orange'ish finished oak trim everywhere The big guest bathroom had darker marble everywhere. They had a guest house outback that Carlos said he spent lots of time in because it's size felt more familiar to him than the main house. My friends and I stayed about a half hour longer than Ennis. He called his chauffeur to pick him up. Ennis was 17 and I could sense the chauffeur's concern on the other end of the phone. Ennis was a beautiful soul, a gift! It infuriates me that someone took his life. Well, I've written much and probably said not so much. To be honest, that evening I was still a very shy 19 year old and I spoke very little. I just listened, smiled, and said 'cool' and 'killer' a lot. Not much has changed.😁

Performers like Sasha B Cohen, Andy Kaufman, and Paul Reubens are the ones to be admired, pulling off characters full time. Few performers can do this. They're so good at it that when they do other characters it's almost a surprise. You forget that it is just a character. Amazing talent.

There’s so much Andy Kauffman in Pee wee it’s hilarious.

80's Letterman is/was peak absurdist comedy. It's crazy to find the series on YT and realize its fingerprints are on all the comedy I loved growing up.

I love how Dave is both put off and genuinely amused by Pee Wee, almost as if he's laughing against his better judgement. :D I always looked forward to his segments, but I think the first one had me laughing the hardest---I still remember a lot of it after all these years, from the toy penguins to his constant "Day-vid Lett-er-maaaan" as he shakes the can of nuts in his face. Such an original person.....who looks a lot like Jim Parsons!

1:43:00 This is my FAVORITE joke that Pee Wee Herman ever told!!!

RIP, Pee-Wee. I pray you & Phil Hartman are making each other laugh somewhere.

Pee-wee Herman was HILARIOUS! I used to watch Pee-wee's Playhouse every Saturday. A lot of talented people on and behind that show. Funny that Laurence Fishburn played Cowboy Curtis. Phil Hartman, RIP, was Captain Carl. And there was some guy named Paul Reubens somewhere in the show. (hehe)

Thanks for everything, P. Wee

For those people who never attended a taping, the band was terrific.

My face is hurting from laughing so much! I love PeeWee!

This guy was soooo gifted!!

Peewee was such awesome tv to grow up watching

It must be insanely challenging to stay in character constantly. His scuba antics are funny and pretty clever.

RIP: Pee Wee Herman - what a fantastic creative and clever comedic genius ! July 30th, 2023 - 7:02PM EST - I just found out you passed away - heart breaking

Dave had the toughest job in the business n Hollywood was never the same after Pee Wee left us I miss the good ol days❤❤❤😂😂😂gotta Love IT

I will love Paul Reubens forever!!!

Always a fan of PeeWee and his Playhouse, I sat here and watched this for over 2 hrs and laughed til it hurt. I even named my dog after him lol.

1:43:17 is one of my all-time favorite Pee Wee jokes.

Thank you for sharing! Pee-wee is the best inspiration!! Love him!!!!

It's so funny watching all his dance moves individually on each Letterman show that became his awesome "Tequila" dance! I love PeeWee so much! ♥️

Man Peewee really just hijacks the show, especially with the colorful pants

So interesting to see both Dave and Pee Wee still figuring out their style in that first appearance.

PeeWee Herman was so funny. My teen daughter & I used to watch him.

It's fun to see how the performances get more polished. Thanks!

My sister & I were in the audience of the September '83 show. Preshow, Dave actually came up into the audience & talked to us because we were Hoosiers. He was much better looking in person, very tan, blondish streaks in his hair & a gorgeous tan suit. At the end of the show, they brought out a huge birthday cake for Will Lee. I recall searching the TV Guide for that week when it came & squeeling "PeeWee!" when I saw the guest.

"Do you like Devo?" Mark Mothersbaugh would later create music for Pee Wee's Playhouse. He scored more episodes than any other that worked on the show. The Residents did some episodes, as well.

Really freaky: I don’t normally think about Pee Wee Herman but .Friday I watched all these shows with Letterman one after the other on my iPad. Loved them, of course. That Sunday night he died!!!What gives?That was a weird coincidence 😮😮😮

@Don Giller, thank you so much for putting all these collections together.

Love you lots, Pee-wee! x

Thanks from a die hard PeeWee fan. I may hold the record for watching his Big Adventure! Genius movie!!!

This is fantastic and just what we need right now. :)

Good God....Pee Wee and Devo appeared on Letterman on the same night?!!! Yes!

Wow-your collection is great! thanks for combining all the this great wackiness into 1 video!!!

His all time toy collection is priceless! 😅 Love the wooden Penguin 🐧 & baby. Aaaaaggghhh!

Afuckingmazing. I knew Peewee was going to be a big star since Saturday night live. A true genius. One of the greatest movies I've ever seen. Love the upload. Thanks!

Don, I have to thank you for posting this. I have off and on been looking for my VHS copy of the May 17, 1983 Late Night, because I'm in the audience. While Pee-wee was giving that woman in green a "kiss" at about 44:40, you can see me right over their heads. My date was the girl in the red dress. Thirty-five years, almost to the day! Thanks!!

OK! Amazing collection - thanks for this. Paul's appearances were top shelf. OK! I mean, DEVO and Pee-wee on the same show (2nd appearance) - now that's bad-ass! I've come back to this collection many times - this is gold. Paul Reubens was and is a genious of standup clubs - pulling off his 1-of-a-kind creation to discerning club crowds is a feat. Luckily, I met him for 1 second, backstage, at an Oingo Boingo concert. Cheers to Pee-wee and Mr. Letterman for all the entertainment - and cheers to you, Don for all the amazing comps.

not only love the character Pee-Wee Herman.. but huge props to Don Giller for cutting the out and in music flawlessly on the commercials

I watched this whole thing lol

These early appearances by Pee Wee bring back my original feelings toward Letterman. From the beginning, Letterman performed a lot of crazy hijinks himself and imposed a lot on an assortment of characters such as Calvin Deforest and Rupert Jee, so Pee Wee was actually in the continuum of oddness and silliness that defined the show. Still, his reactions here are a mix of actual laughter and enjoyment, but also demeaning or belittling. Letterman softened over the years, especially after his heart surgery and his affair with a subordinate was made public. I think those events humbled him and he grew. Toward the end of his show and now, I find him much more genuine and likable. As for Pee Wee, he was an original who embraced the spirit of a child's sense of wonder. I do not know if there were darker forces at work, but the adult movie catastrophe nearly destroyed him and ended Pee Wee, which was a shame. Busting Pee Wee for playing with his pee wee in a dirty movie house is like putting Tommy Chong in jail for selling bongs; total crap. I miss Pee Wee just as much as I miss Gilbert Gottfried. Norm Macdonald, Phil Hartman, Kaufman, Kinison, Farley, Radner, Candy and Belushi...funny brightens our world and we can use all we can get.

This is a gem of early 80s awesomeness. Thanks so much for posting.

I thoroughly enjoyed watching this.

I'll never forget the John Paragon (Jambi) cable special in the 80s. Very talented. Loved His Ramone Ortega character!

“Ha ha. I love that story”

Thanks so much! I've been waiting for a Pee-wee compilation forever!

Thank you for putting this Masterpiece of One of the Best Comics of my Lifetime. I Love Peewee 💘

I just love Pee-wee Herman a brilliant actor he is a outstanding children's Entertainer I'm 37 and I still love flipping Herman from his early days in Pee-wee's Playhouse his iconic movies such as The Nightmare Before Christmas Big Top Pee-wee Batman Returns and with a whole host of others from his role as Peewee Pinocchio from his rise to superstardom on the Netflix series Gotham

I will always love Pee-wee he's an original.

Thank u for this!! Always loved Pee-wee as a child

I was a late comer since I was born in 1986, I watched “playhouse” in reruns in 1991. I fell in love with PeeWee! Been a fan ever since! I even dress as him for convention every now and then!

Very interesting to watch someone like pee wee hone his craft over time.

These are great. Thanks so much for putting this collection together ! Well done

I love Pee-Wee, I was a kid when I first saw his HBO show, been a fan ever since.

Thanks for the wonderful memories!!!

The death scene at the end of the original Buffy The Vampire Slayer movie was fantastic.

ive been watchi g some andy kaufman tonight- nothin'! then pee wee comes on wow! i laughed and laughed and laughed . . .

Pee-wee H and Andy Kaufman were American comedy geniuses.

Excellent video that shows the evolution of Pee Wee. I feel like by the time of his appearance with the pirate costume, we finally get the version we know from his movies and the Playhouse show, as far as his voices and acting goes.

By posting this compilation you've done Joel Schumacher a great service. Now he can just point to this video and say "See! I didn't invent the Bat credit card! It existed long before Batman and Robin!" Pee Wee had it long before George Clooney did😁 ( seriously, I can't believe there actually WAS a Bat credit card)

Dave clearly loved the big underpants bit, as it involved one of his favourite words: pants.

The one with just his head at 1:04:30 still makes me laugh! I've been looking on YT for a long time for this! Wow, last time I saw this was back in the 80's!!

all of this has been incorporated in the Playhouse and/or the movies...this guy worked his ass off for a long time!

Don Giller, thanks for all the vids. I got into Dave in 1987 when I was 20, loved him, but missed a lot of stuff for various reasons. I've been binge watching your Dave clips!

This was so great! So cool how you kept that classic Coke commercial in there!

“The guy who designed the set for the Pee Wee movie” - that guy would be Phil Hartman.

Thanks, Don. We loved playing "Stump the Donz" in the old AFL group. Good to see you on the interwebs again.

Turns out, Pee Wee's Big Adventure WAS better than ET.

My Deepest condolences to Milton and Judy Rubenfeld&family , Rest in peace Paul ,Your legacy and Peewee will live forever in our hearts May you be in enternal peace and rest my dear friend .I feel as If I lost my soul mate a huge piece of me went with you Love you always Paul goodbye until we meet again.

wow, so Pee Wee's dance existed before the movie...ya learn something new everyday

His last appearance on Letterman. was when the character was perfected.

Pee Wee was a member of the Groundlings improv troupe in LA. Some of the SNL cast members had performed there too, like Phil Hartman and Will Ferrell.

I first became familiar with Pee Wee Herman from his appearances on Letterman so it was strange to me when people came to think of him as a Children's entertainer.

I had no idea who Pee Wee was when I went to his movie "Pee Wee"Big Adventure" with friends. The first half of the movie I was "what in the world am I doing here. By the end of the movie I "got it" He really is a lot funnier then one would expect.

Pee Wee Herman (Paul. Rueben)in College was voted most likely to succeed.