DJ Pee-wee is in the house!
The creator of “Pee-wee’s Playhouse” and star of “Pee-wee’s Big Adventure” will soon embark on a new big adventure, as host of his very own radio show on Los Angeles station KCRW-FM (89.9).
The actor behind the character, Paul Reubens, 69, put in a bid for the gig last month — first, in a letterhead “From the desk of Pee-wee Herman” via snail mail, then on Twitter, after he learned that his letter was purportedly “lost” in the mail.
“I mailed them a letter, which got lost (apparently!), and then tagged them on Twitter and THEN they didn’t believe it was me until my biggest, bestest, most amazing fans called and called and jammed up their phone lines (hee hee)!” said Herman in a press release, the LA Times reported.
“So you better get out your transistor radio and listen to my amazing voice!” Reubens added.
It all started when Reubens, a self-proclaimed “aspiring disc jockey,” wrote in a type-written letter dated Oct. 29 that he was “hoping [KCRW] might be open to the idea” of giving him a platform “to showcase” his musical prowess. “Please? Pretty Please?” he pleaded.
“Thank you for listening; pun intended,” he signed, and added in the post-script: “I wear size small headphones.”
It was radio silence on KCRW’s end until Reubens tweeted at the station on Nov. 10, with support from over 1,300 fans on Twitter: “Did you get the letter I sent you? I really REALLY want to be a radio Disc Jockey. But I never heard back from you.”
Seemingly in disbelief, @KCRW responded on the platform, “This seems too good to be true…is this REALLY Pee-wee Herman?”
Within one minute, he replied, “YES IT’S ME! Can’t you see the blue checkmark?!,” alongside a screenshot of his blue-checked Twitter profile, which tellingly reads, “Loner. Rebel.” (If you know, you know.)
Perhaps still dubious, Reubens tweeted again on Nov. 11, “They don’t believe I’m really me!”
Approximately nine minutes later he responded to his own thread, “Hey everybody, it’s NINE MINUTES LATER and @KCRW still hasn’t responded to my request to have my own radio show. YET. Silence. Crickets. Silencio. #stillhoping #practicingpatience.”
Again, “17 minutes later,” he urged his followers to call the station and request his presence, and shared the voicemail he also left for producers: “Is anyone there? I sent you a really nice letter (if I do say so myself).”
Convincingly, he listed the reasons why they ought to bring him on: “I have a great voice AND because I have terrific taste in music. AND because I want to be a DJ. And because I am a big fan of KCRW!” He also, apparently, uttered out loud the phrase, “Hashtag PeeweeeHermanRadioHouronKCRW.”
Reubens’ plea for fans to call the station’s toll-free request line had worked: “Ok, ok, ok @peeweeherman we believe it’s you! Can you tell your fans to stop calling? It’s jamming our lines.”
The man with “hip musical flair” was likely a shoo-in for the National Public Radio affiliate, where he intends to spin “some of the greatest music ever recorded,” he claimed. Reubens has said that his “Playhouse” friends, Chairry, Magic Screen, Miss Yvonne, as well as other “super famous” guests are slated to join him during his upcoming slot, on Nov. 26 at 6 p.m. PST.
A spokesperson for KCRW confirmed that Pee-wee’s turn will be a one-off “for now,” according to LA Times. It’s the first fictional character to host a show at the iconic radio station, they also said.
On Monday, Reubens made a request to KCRW’s staff on Twitter to have doughnuts, “but ZERO crullers,” awaiting him at the studio.
Addressing his cult following in his press release, he said, “Thank you fans because they are going to get me some donuts and leave me the keys to the studio while they are on vacation!”
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