Christmas with Pee-Wee!

Lately, Pee-Wee Herman has been calling my name. I pulled out my blu-ray collection to watch “Pee-Wee’s Playhouse Christmas Special” and ended up viewing every episode in the series. They really hit the spot. If you’ve never seen Pee-Wee’s Christmas Special, it is the wackiest, most creative, and eye-popping holiday show you will ever see. Go ahead…disagree…and then please go away. This special episode of the Playhouse series debuted on December 21, 1988. After a leisurely camera pan around the exterior of the Playhouse itself, Pee-Wee leaps onto the screen with two Supremes-inspired backup singers (the one on the left is Niki Harris, backup dancer/vocalist from Madonna’s “Truth or Dare”) belting out his retro Christmas theme, “Pee-Wee’s Christmas.”



Paul Reubens (Pee-Wee) sent out a ton-o-letters to various celebrities to see if they’d want to be on his show. What he got was the kookiest assortment of up-and-comers and classic icons, like Annette Funicello, who is just as adorable as you would expect. 



The U.S. Marine Corps Choir serve as the backup dancers in the opening number. Well, actually, it’s the UCLA Men’s Choir filling in, as the Marine Corps were already booked.


“Playhouse” favorite Miss Yvonne (Lynne Stewart) appears, wearing an appropriately mile-high bedazzled Christmas hairdo and festive outfit. Stewart recalled that the original wig had lights on it, but the mechanism hidden under her dress began to spark and sizzle. That was the end of the lights...and almost the end of Stewart! Here she is bestowing the first of many Christmas fruitcakes upon Pee-Wee. The punchline of this running gag is not to be missed.



The tradition of Conky 2000 spewing out a secret word of the day is carried on, but this time Cher is on hand for it. Every time you hear the word “Year,” you need to scream real loud, ok?



The musical numbers are fantastic, with Grace Jones’ rendition of “The Little Drummer Boy”…



the “heavenly intonations” of the Del Rubio Triplets with “Winter Wonderland”…



K.D. Lang clowning to “Jingle Bell Rock”…



…and Charo’s “Feliz Navidad.”



When she hears the secret word, she gives her trademark “cuchi cuchi”!



Mrs. Renee (Suzanne Kent) appears with a Christmas fruitcake for Pee-Wee and also explains the Jewish holiday Hanukkah with assistance from Jambi as everyone sings the Dradel song.



This is one of the many things I love about the show. It educates the audience in a fun way about different ethnicities, cultures, and religions without beating the uninformed over the head as if they were the devil. Hey World....take note. THIS is the way you get people to understand how different people can coexist in peace and love.

There’s no singing from Little Richard, but plenty of wailing, as the legendary musician flails around the ice with a pillow on his rear to protect him from falling. According to the director, Richard asked if he should scream like a white woman or a black woman when he fell. You’ll have to be the judge as to which way he chose.



Santa makes a guest appearance just in time to assist with delivering the moral of this story…



which in true creative/fun Pee-Wee style is not like a sledgehammer over the head.

You can catch this episode on itunes for just $2.99 (no, I don’t get a cut of that!), and I guarantee that you will be very happy that you did. And if you’re not…then you probably don’t like this blog either.

For all those that celebrate, Have a VERY Merry Christmas, and I hope to see you in the New YEAR!!!! Scream real loud!

See more Pee-Wee Herman photos at my main website.

1960 Palm Springs Panorama

In my ongoing quest for interesting (to me, at least) vintage slides, I stumbled upon a number of images that were labeled as a hotel in Palm Springs, circa 1960.



I immediately recognized the hotel as the Riviera, which I have stayed at a number of times. At first glance, none of these shots were extremely interesting. Until…



I wondered if it would be possible to digitally “stitch” the images together to get a panorama shot? As it turned out, yes...it was possible, and here it is. MUCH more interesting!



I’m not sure if the 1960 photographer intended to get three consecutive coverage shots or not, but they definitely did! Unfortunately, none of the shots I’ve taken during my past visits matched up. Regardless, here’s how the pool (and there are at least two pools at this hotel) looked in 2018:





I guess I need to go back!

See more Riviera Hotel photos at my main website.

EarzUp! and Holidayland

The gang at EarzUp! kindly invited me back to ramble on and on during their recent podcast. This time, they requested the topic be Holidayland. Never heard of it? Probably because it was one of those very short-lived areas of Disneyland, lasting from June 1957–Fall 1961. Here are the photos that were shared during the youTube version of the podcast. The first is most likely from 1959/1960, showing the entrance to Holidayland, which plugs both the Matterhorn and Submarine Voyage attractions.



For an idea of where Holidayland was located, you can see the tent in the background of this 1958 image. Basically, behind where the Haunted Mansion would be built:



In my collection are a number of March 1957 images featuring Dick Simmons, in character as Sergeant Preston from the Yukon. He played this role from 1955-1958 on CBS Television. Since it was a Wrather Production, I am guessing that’s why he was at Disneyland, part of the Ken-L-Ration Dog Show/Contest. (Jack) Wrather was the owner of the original Disneyland Hotel.



Note the Holidayland playground equipment in the background, themed as a wagon and fort/castle:



A closeup of Simmons as Sgt. Preston:



In 1988, the Disneyland Hotel featured the Yukon Follies, which also had Sgt. Yukon. This character just was not going away.



Back to 1957…where guests could register their dogs:





Simmons getting close to two of the contestants:



Note the Mouse Ears on this dog:



It would appear that this lady’s duty was to type up the names of those entering on official Ken-L-Ration stationery. Was white-out invented back in 1957?



The entrance tent in the background:



The Holidayland Ball field, being used for the Ken-L-Ration contest:



The little booth on the left looks like it was borrowed from Fantasyland:



The Prettiest Dog was being picked at this time; note the scale on the table in the back:



Everyone seems to be wearing a visor, and yet the bleachers have zero cover to protect guests from the sun:





The next few shots are from the USC Digital Archives, showing the June 13, 1958 “Salute to Youth” program at Disneyland. Walt Disney and Art Linkletter are surrounded by Peter Eltgroth (St. Robert Bellarmine High School), Sandra York (Bell Gardens), Shirley Rose (Milliken High School), and Kip Eder (John Muir High School). The caption for the photo reads: Outstanding high school seniors and educators from Los Angeles and Orange County gathered at Disneyland Friday (June 13) for a 'Salute to Youth' program, honoring the achievements of the youth of Southern California.



The students are pictured above with Walt Disney and Master of Ceremonies Art Linkletter. Zooming in for a better look at Walt and his script:



Sandra and her perfect hair; note the guest badge she is wearing:



A group shot of the outstanding high school students and educators:





These June 1960 images show the Shriners enjoying a visit to Holidayland:









That Fez is a thing of beauty and craftsmanship:



Note the Disneyland postcards for sale:



This Shriner wife is enjoying (we hope) a picnic meal at Holidayland:



How about that vintage Disneyland paper cup?



Once again, more attraction posters, this time for the Monorail, the Columbia, The Grand Canyon Diorama, and the Jungle Cruise:



Our 1960 Shriner made his way into the park:





Want to see the youTube version of the EarzUp! Podcast? Here you go:



See more Disneyland Holidayland photos at my main website.