Movies

Pop Culture Icons Pee-Wee Herman And Elvira Were Both Born In The Same Place

Paul Reubens, Cassandra Peterson, Pee-wee Herman, Elvira Warner Bros./20th Century Studios
By BJ Colangelo/

Forget the pleasantries, today sucks. Paul Reubens, best known for his incomparable work as Pee-wee Herman, has passed away. The weird, wacky, and wonderful comedy figure is one of the most influential creatives ever to do it, and left in his wake is an irreplaceable void of silly, absurdist joy. Reubens' created the character of Pee-wee Herman while performing with The Groundlings, the legendary improvisational comedy troupe boasting alumni like Laraine Newman, Pat Morita, Craig T. Nelson, Jon Lovitz, Adrienne Barbeau, Conan O'Brien, Phil Hartman, Phil LaMarr, Lisa Kudrow, Jennifer Coolidge, Will Ferrell, Kristen Wiig, Maya Rudolph, Melissa McCarthy, Will Forte, Annie Mumolo, Kaitlin Olson, Edi Patterson, Tony Cavalero, and a ridiculous number of other eventual "Saturday Night Live" players.

Pee-wee Herman was an immediate hit and led to Reubens writing, producing, directing, and starring in "The Pee-wee Herman Show." He quickly became a household name, and the Pee-wee character would get another show, "Pee-wee's Playhouse," and a trilogy of films: "Pee-wee's Big Adventure," "Big Top Pee-wee," and "Pee-wee's Big Holiday." Inarguably, Pee-wee Herman is the most successful (and truly iconic) character to come out of The Groundlings. Sure, there have been some ridiculously impressive alumni, but in terms of a comedy character, Pee-wee is undoubtedly at the top. However, if anyone came close, it was Reubens' real-life best friend Cassandra Peterson's character, the illustrious Elvira, Mistress of the Dark.

'This is Elvira saying, unpleasant dreams'

Cassandra Peterson Elvira: Mistress of the Dark 20th Century Studios

Elvira, Mistress of the Dark was invented as Larry Vincent's (aka Sinister Seymour) replacement horror host on the Los Angeles show "Fright Night" following his passing. Cassandra Peterson auditioned following a casting call and was chosen as the next host. She was given free-reign to design the character as she saw fit, and the natural redhead originally wanted the character to resemble Sharon Tate's Sarah Shagal in "The Fearless Vampire Killers." The network rejected the idea and sent her back to the drawing board, with her dear friend, artist Robert Redding, coming up with the drag-esque, sexy goth look she still sports today.

The idea of a hot goth horror host was nothing new, but what separated Elvira from characters like Vampira or Moona Lisa was her upbeat, almost teenage style of communication. She was sardonic, intentionally titillating, and full of energy. Peterson described the character as saying, "I figured out that Elvira is me when I was a teenager. She's a spastic girl. I just say what I feel and people seem to enjoy it." While the look of Elvira was created specifically for the horror hosting gig, the personality came from a Valley girl-type character she had developed during her time with The Groundlings. As any good comedic actor will tell you, honing in on a character takes time and workshopping. If it weren't for her time with The Groundlings, there's a chance we would have never gotten Elvira.

A friendship throughout the ages

Paul Reubens, Cassandra Peterson, Pee-wee Herman, Elvira

Cassandra Peterson and Paul Reubens were friends for decades and even spoke about being best friends with the Behind the Velvet Rope podcast in 2021. "We hang out a lot, probably because he and I are in a very, very exclusive club together," she said. "We're two completely different characters who — we own the brands — and we're normal ... I don't know if we're normal, but we're regular people who play these wacky characters. Paul and I have a lot in common, and we see a lot of each other." This shouldn't come as a surprise to anyone, as Peterson and Reubens have been including each other in their work for many years.

Peterson played the Biker Mama in "Pee-wee's Big Adventure," there's a Pee-wee doll hanging in her dressing room in "Elvira: Mistress of the Dark," she co-wrote "Elvira's Haunted Hills" with fellow Groundlings alum John Paragon ... who played Jambi the Genie on "Pee-wee's Playhouse." The duo even appeared on a special Halloween episode of "The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson" guest-hosted by Joan Rivers and joined fellow guests David Lee Roth and Phyllis Diller for what is, in my opinion, the campiest episode of a late-night talk show in recorded history.

Both Pee-wee Herman and Elvira have served as spiritual "parents" for so many of us who have felt othered or misunderstood by society at large, and it's doubly heartwarming to know that both characters were forged through the same fires. 

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