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The Closet in Pee-wee's Playhouse

The Closet in Pee-wee's Playhouse

New York Times10-07-2025
Listen to and watch 'Cannonball': Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Amazon Music | YouTube | iHeartRadio
Hosted by Wesley Morris
Produced by John WhiteElyssa Dudley and Janelle Anderson
With Kate LoPresti
Edited by Wendy Dorr
Engineered by Daniel Ramirez
Original music by Dan Powell and Diane Wong
In the new HBO documentary 'Pee-wee as Himself,' Paul Reubens, the creator of the iconic character Pee-wee Herman, comes out as gay. Reubens, who spent most of his career in the closet, had already come out years before but then returned to the closet during his time as the popular Saturday morning children's show host.
On today's episode of 'Cannonball,' Wesley Morris talks with the writer Mark Harris about Reubens's relationship to being closeted, and they discuss what it means for artists to publicly come out.
Cannonball is hosted by Wesley Morris and produced by Janelle Anderson, Elyssa Dudley, and John White with production assistance from Kate LoPresti. The show is edited by Wendy Dorr. The show is engineered by Daniel Ramirez and recorded by Maddy Masiello, Kyle Grandillo and Nick Pitman. It features original music by Dan Powell and Diane Wong. Our theme music is by Justin Ellington.
Our video team is Brooke Minters And Felice Leon. This episode was filmed by Alfredo Chiarappa, and edited by Jamie Hefetz and Pat Gunther.
Special thanks to: Lisa Tobin, Paula Szuchman, and Sam Dolnick.
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