Shock rocker Rob Zombie first began his ascent in the entertainment business alongside his band White Zombie, which he co-founded with his then-girlfriend, Sean Yseult, in 1985. However, the group wasn’t an immediate success, and Zombie was forced to find other ways to make ends meet. One of the jobs he worked during that time was at an animation studio in New York City called Broadcast Arts. The company was primarily known for producing commercials, but after Zombie joined the crew, they announced they would team up with a popular comedian for his new children’s TV series.
The show in question was Pee-wee’s Playhouse, starring Paul Reubens as Pee-wee Herman, who lives in a fantastical home filled with various toys, contraptions, and talking furniture. Each episode featured a mixture of live-action performances, puppetry, and animated sequences. Spun off from Reubens’s successful stage show, the series ran for five seasons on CBS between 1986 and 1990. In addition to Zombie’s involvement behind the scenes, up-and-coming stars like Phil Hartman and Laurence Fishburne also lent their talents to the production, appearing as regular visitors to Pee-wee’s.
Rob Zombie’s First Hollywood Gig Was Even Weirder Than You’d Expect
But Zombie’s role in things wasn’t all that significant, and he once described himself as the “lowest rung on the ladder.” In fact, he didn’t even know what his job title was supposed to be, but suggested that he was a notch below the production assistant. It basically amounted to him making deliveries and doing little odd jobs around the set. Uninteresting as it may sound, Zombie still enjoyed the experience because he was a fan of Reubens and got to see people like Hartman in action.
Following Reubens’s death in 2023, Zombie took to Instagram to pay tribute to the late comedian. In his post, Zombie remembered how excited people were the first day on-set, only to be disappointed when Reubens showed up looking like he did in his infamous mugshot and rolled his eyes as the live band welcomed him to the tune of “Tequila.” “Everyone was bummed. I thought it was hilarious,” Zombie wrote. He went on to say, “Only talked to him once. He asked me where the restroom was, and I said, ‘Right over there.’ After the first season, they moved the whole show to California, and the rest is history.”
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