{"id":855,"date":"2026-08-09T15:22:58","date_gmt":"2026-08-09T15:22:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/adsandthings.com\/winews\/2026\/08\/09\/s-epatha-merkerson-says-paul-ruben-tried-to-mess-up-her-pee-wees-playhouse-audition-recalls-telling-the-story-at-his-funeral-exclusive\/"},"modified":"2026-08-09T15:22:58","modified_gmt":"2026-08-09T15:22:58","slug":"s-epatha-merkerson-says-paul-ruben-tried-to-mess-up-her-pee-wees-playhouse-audition-recalls-telling-the-story-at-his-funeral-exclusive","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/adsandthings.com\/winews\/2026\/08\/09\/s-epatha-merkerson-says-paul-ruben-tried-to-mess-up-her-pee-wees-playhouse-audition-recalls-telling-the-story-at-his-funeral-exclusive\/","title":{"rendered":"S. Epatha Merkerson Says Paul Ruben Tried to Mess Up Her \u201cPee-wee\u2019s Playhouse \u201dAudition, Recalls Telling the Story at His Funeral (Exclusive)"},"content":{"rendered":"

The actress recalls not knowing who Reubens was going into the interview<\/p>\n

\"Paul
Paul Reubens and S. Epatha Merkerson
Credit: Brian D. McLaughlin\/Michael Ochs Archives\/Getty<\/i><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

NEED TO KNOW<\/h3>\n
    \n
  • S. Epatha Merkerson recalls her audition for Pee-wee\u2019s Playhouse,<\/em> where Paul Reubens humorously disrupted her performance<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
      \n
    • Merkerson shared the story at Reubens\u2019 memorial and reflected on his kindness<\/li>\n
    • Pee-wee\u2019s Playhouse<\/em> was Merkerson\u2019s first TV role and fostered lifelong friendships with cast and crew members<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

      Before S. Epatha Merkerson graced television screens across the United States in Law & Order <\/em>as Lieutenant Anita Van Buren, she played another civil servant, Reba the Mail Lady, on Pee-wee\u2019s Playhouse.<\/em><\/p>\n

      When catching up with PEOPLE, Merkerson, 73, recalls how she got the role for the show. When she went for the initial audition, she says the woman there \u201creally didn\u2019t have a sense of humor.\u201d<\/p>\n

      \u201cI said, \u2018There\u2019s no sides?\u2019 And she said, \u2018No, it\u2019s a character. She\u2019s the mail lady, and you\u2019re bringing Pee-wee Herman mail.\u2019 I was doing a play at the time, and I didn\u2019t take the time to find out who Pee-wee Herman was,\u201d she says. \u201cThat was a mistake that I made that I fixed after that.\u201d<\/p>\n

      Merkerson happened to have mail on her, so she used it as a prop in the audition.<\/p>\n

      \u201cI pulled out my mail out of my little bag and started saying, \u2018Oh, here\u2019s something from Con Edison,\u2019 and, \u2018Oh, and here\u2019s something from the Museum of Natural History,\u2019 and I started singing \u2018Dem bones, dem bones, dem dry bones\u2019 and it literally cracked me up, and she didn\u2019t think it was funny,\u201d Merkerson recalls.<\/p>\n

      The woman at the audition asked her to do it again, and she did. Once she left the audition, she says she initially didn\u2019t hear anything and thought it was a \u201clesson learned.\u201d<\/p>\n

      \"S.
      S. Epatha Merkerson
      Credit: Paras Griffin\/Getty<\/i><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

      \u201cThen all of a sudden, two weeks later, I got this call, and I walked into this room, and there were two producers, the director, this guy named Paul Reubens, and a woman who I thought was going to be my reader,\u201d Merkerson shares. \u201cAnd the guy, Paul Reubens, had on short cutoffs, and he had long hair and a goatee. I don\u2019t know who this is. I\u2019m just meeting him. He goes, \u2018No, no, I\u2019m reading with you.\u2019 I sat down, and he kept really messing with me. And at one point, I leaned over, and I said, \u2018Dude, I\u2019m trying to get this job. Okay? Do you want to chill out?\u2019 And he just started laughing.\u201d<\/p>\n

      Despite his antics, she ended up landing the job.<\/p>\n

      Merkerson never asked Reubens about that moment, but retold the story at his memorial, after he died on July 30, 2023, at the age of 70, of lung cancer.<\/p>\n

      \u201cAt his memorial, I told that story, and the producer came over to me, and he said, \u2018You know what? We saw your audition. He loved your audition.\u2019 And that\u2019s how I got Pee-Wee\u2019s Playhouse,<\/em>\u201d she shares.<\/p>\n

      Pee-wee\u2019s Playhouse <\/em>was Merkerson\u2019s first TV gig. She shares that Reubens \u201ctook to me immediately.\u201d<\/p>\n

      \u201cI don\u2019t know, maybe it was because of my silliness in the audition. He messed with me even on our first day of shooting. The director said, \u2018Hey, listen, we need to get this shot. Do you mind getting through the scene?\u2019 And Paul was doing stuff to make me laugh because he knew he could make me laugh. And I leaned over, and I said, \u2018Paul, give me a break. You tried to mess me up at the audition, and now you\u2019re trying to mess me up with the director,\u2019 \u201d she says. \u201cHe said, \u2018But it\u2019s called Pee-wee\u2019s Playhouse,<\/em> so this is my show.\u2019 \u201c<\/p>\n

      Pee-wee\u2019s Playhouse <\/em>ran from 1986 to 1990 and also featured Laurence Fishburne, Lynne Marie Stewart, Phil Hartman and John Paragon.<\/p>\n

      \"Paul
      Paul Reubens
      Credit: Randy Holmes\/ABC via Getty<\/i><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

      At Reubens\u2019 memorial, everyone there \u201cfound out a lot of wonderful things that Paul did,\u201d according to the actress.<\/p>\n

      \u201cHe would send gifts for two dozen people whenever their birthdays were. We always thought it was something very specific that he chose for us. It would be something weird, like a rose in a little jar that when you spoke, it would light up, stuff like that. It turns out we all got the same gift, and we found that out at the memorial. But it was just sweet, lovely things like that,\u201d Merkerson recalls.<\/p>\n

      Of Reubens, she says, \u201che was a good guy.\u201d<\/p>\n

      \u201cThat was my introduction to television. It was a great opportunity, and I got to meet some really lovely people that I\u2019m still friends with over all these years. Because that was the \u201880s, and I\u2019m still friends with people that I worked with on that show, so it was more than just a gig. It was a connection. It was a real connection to people,\u201d Merkerson shares.<\/p>\n

      Merkerson recalls that the show was \u201cso much fun because you never knew what was going to happen.\u201d<\/p>\n

      \u201cAt one point, I asked Reubens, \u2018Could I come in early just so I can watch things?\u2019 Because there was so much for your eyes to see,\u201d she continues. \u201cThe creative crew on that show, they were astounding. He would let me come in a day early so I could come to set and just watch. I watched them do the opening claymation. I sat and watched that for four hours, painstakingly moving each piece.\u201d<\/p>\n

      She says, \u201cYou\u2019d open a door, and there would be something behind the door that would just make you laugh.\u201d<\/p>\n

      \u201cIt was just so much fun. I stayed in touch with both he and Lynne Marie Stewart all these years,\u201d Merkerson shares. \u201cI miss him, because every now and then I would just get a message from either one of them just out of the blue that would just make my day.\u201d<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

      The actress recalls not knowing who Reubens was going into the interview Paul Reubens and S. Epatha MerkersonCredit: Brian D. McLaughlin\/Michael Ochs Archives\/Getty NEED TO KNOW S. Epatha Merkerson recalls her audition for Pee-wee\u2019s Playhouse, where Paul Reubens humorously disrupted her performance Merkerson shared the story at Reubens\u2019 memorial and reflected on his kindness Pee-wee\u2019s […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rop_custom_images_group":[],"rop_custom_messages_group":[],"rop_publish_now":"initial","rop_publish_now_accounts":[],"rop_publish_now_history":[],"rop_publish_now_status":"pending","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-855","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-everything-else"],"wpmagazine_modules_lite_featured_media_urls":{"thumbnail":"","cvmm-medium":"","cvmm-medium-plus":"","cvmm-portrait":"","cvmm-medium-square":"","cvmm-large":"","cvmm-small":"","full":""},"categories_names":{"1":{"name":"Everything Else","link":"https:\/\/adsandthings.com\/winews\/category\/everything-else\/"}},"tags_names":[],"comments_number":"0","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/adsandthings.com\/winews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/855","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/adsandthings.com\/winews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/adsandthings.com\/winews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adsandthings.com\/winews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adsandthings.com\/winews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=855"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/adsandthings.com\/winews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/855\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/adsandthings.com\/winews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=855"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adsandthings.com\/winews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=855"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adsandthings.com\/winews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=855"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}