As a product of the ’80s, I will always have a soft spot for Pee Wee Herman. His too-small 1950s suit, his man-child persona, and of course, that laugh. I can’t hear the song “Tequila” without breaking out the Pee Wee dance. And to be honest, I always thought he got the shaft. Yes, he was busted for indecent exposure for pleasuring himself in a porno theater. But compare that to what many celebrities get caught doing these days, and he’s practically in line for sainthood. It should also be noted that originally, the character of Pee Wee Herman was never intended for children. Anyone who saw his 1982 HBO special, “Pee Wee Herman Live at the Roxy Theater” knows this. Anyway, the disgraced comedian is staging something of a comeback, in the form of an all-new stage play.

Pee-Wee Herman’s ready for a comeback — and he’s starting in Los Angeles with a stage play.

“I’m opening a big show in January — ‘The Pee-Wee Herman Show’ — based on my original stage production, but completely new and rewritten,” Herman, played by creator Paul Reubens, said.

The play could lead to a national tour and maybe another Pee-Wee Herman movie, show producer Scott Sanders told CNN.

“I’m crossing all my fingers and toes that after Los Angeles, I’ll get Pee-Wee to say yes, that he’ll go and do this elsewhere,” Sanders said.

The stage show will include all the characters from Pee-Wee’s Playhouse — his CBS television series — including Chairry, Genie, Conky, Magic Screen, Miss Yvonne and Cowboy Curtis, Herman said.

“People are going to see a brand new show, full of incredible, incredible puppets, characters, live action, costumes, a plot, music, Club Nokia,” he said.

Club Nokia is the downtown Los Angeles venue where the show will run for four weeks, starting on January 12.

Reubens has rarely appeared in his child-like Pee-Wee persona since 1991, when he was arrested on an indecent exposure charge in a Florida theater.

The character, initially created for an adult alternative comedy audience in 1980, became a big hit with kids because of two movies and a Saturday-morning CBS show that ran for six years. It was canceled after his arrest.

Director Alex Timbers, who grew up watching Pee-Wee Herman, thinks the new show will appeal to all ages.

“He’s the impulsive character who will do what you’re feeling inside,” Timbers said.

Sanders suggested parents could safely bring children 10 and older to see Pee-Wee. “It would be rated PG if it were a movie,” he said.

“Pee-Wee’s got a lot of mischief in him and he’s subversive, but he’s also kind and warm and loving,” Sanders said.

All of the original actors from the TV show will reprise their roles for the stage play, except for Laurence Fishburne, who played Cowboy Curtis.

Fishburne, who has won Emmys and was nominated for an Oscar since his Pee-Wee’s Playhouse days, is busy portraying Dr. Raymond Langston in the CSI TV series, Sanders said. But Herman did call Fishburne to get his approval to hire another actor for the part, he said.

“Just before he hung up, Laurence said to Pee Wee, ‘But listen, if you decide you’re going to do another movie, I’ll get that Jheri curl out and I’ll be there for Cowboy Curtis,” Sanders said.

In fact, a new movie has been rumored, but Pee Wee Herman was coy when asked about it.

“A movie could be in the cards,” Herman said. “Do you know something I don’t know?”

But there is no question he has high expectations for his show.

“I hope the whole world, and people on the moon, and Mars and all over the universe get to see me, not just the people on Earth,” Herman said. “I don’t want to be limited to just Earth.”

[From CNN]

One person who will sadly be missing from the reunion is Phil Hartman, the slain comedian who played Captain Carl. He was great! It does seem to make sense to revive Pee Wee, with 1980s nostalgia at an all time high these days. I just hope this time around, Paul Reubens, the actor who created and plays the character, behaves himself. Reubens has had a few small but memorable roles outside of his alter ego. A longtime friend of Tim Burton, who directed “Pee Wee’s Big Adventure,” Reubens lent his familiar voice to “A Nightmare Before Christmas.” He’s also made guest appearances on “30 Rock,” “Reno 911!” and the cartoon “Chowder.”

Here’s one of Pee Wee’s most memorable moments:

Sources at Comedy Central are worried about the future of “The Sarah Silverman Program.” The award-winning show is a victim of the economic slump and is currently on hiatus while the show’s producers- including Sarah Silverman herself – try to figure out how to produce the show on a smaller budget. I guess nobody is safe these days!

The economic downturn is jeopardizing “The Sarah Silverman Program,” one of Comedy Central’s signature series.

The show’s executive producers — Silverman, Dan Sterling and Rob Schrab — have threatened to quit after the cable network told them the budget for their series would be slashed by more than 20%.

More than two months after “Sarah Silverman” ended its second season, the show has yet to be renewed for Season 3. (In 2007, the second-season pickup came 11 days after the series’ premiere.)

At the center of the holdup is the proposed budget for Season 3. Citing cuts imposed on the network by parent company MTV Networks, Comedy Central had proposed that the trio bring back the Writers Guild of America Award-nominated show at about $850,000 an episode, sources said, down from the $1.1 million an episode for the show’s second season.

In broadcast, single-camera comedies are produced for about $1.5 million-$2 million an episode, and the budget for any series normally climbs from year to year.

“Sarah Silverman” is a single-camera comedy that also features animated sequences and musical numbers.

The contracting ad market is hitting networks hard. MTV Networks’ parent Viacom in December laid off 7% of its work force, though Comedy Central largely was spared because it had been through the ringer following the 2003 acquisition of Time Warner’s 50% ownership in the network and had little left to cut.

Amid the economic woes, ABC Studios and 20th TV asked all of their showrunners to cut 2% of their series budgets.

Concerned they won’t be able to maintain the integrity of the show at the discounted price, Silverman, on behalf of the three executive producers, informed the network late last week that they can’t proceed with a third season. The move reportedly sent shock waves through Comedy Central’s executive offices, with top brass jumping into action to find a budget compromise that would keep the flagship live-action series on the air.

As of Friday night, the situation remained at a standstill. Both sides continued their back-and-forth during the weekend.

A resolution is expected as early as Monday, and people familiar with the situation were optimistic that the two sides would agree on financial terms to bring back the show.

[From Reuters]

I’m not surprised that some shows are being scaled back due to slow ad sales. But what does surprise me is that this show is being singled out as an expensive program. One million bucks per episode sounds like a lot of money – and it is – but when you put it into the context of network television, it’s not. NBC spent one million per episode of “Friends” just to pay Jennifer Aniston’s salary! Comedy Central is notoriously cheap – Jon Stewart loves to poke fun at the network on that very topic. Can’t Sarah’s network TV star boyfriend, Jimmy Kimmel, help her out here?

Here’s Sarah Silverman at the Writers Guild Awards on Feb. 8. Photo credits: Newscom.

If you were to ask anyone remotely familiar with Monty Python which sketch is best known, the overwhelming majority would undoubtedly say the dead parrot sketch shown above. In the bit, John Cleese returns his recently purchased dead parrot to the pet shop he bought it from. The pet shop owner, played by the second funniest Palin (link leads to video), Michael Palin, tries to convince Cleese that the parrot is not actually dead, nor was it when it was bought. Like everything Python, for years we’ve believed that the genius of Cleese and Palin was completely original, but like so many other things, it turns out the Greeks did it first.

dead, that’s what’s wrong with it.”

For those who believe the ancient Greeks thought of everything first, proof has been found in a 4th century AD joke book featuring an ancestor of Monty Python’s Dead Parrot sketch where a man returns a parrot to a shop, complaining it is dead.

The 1,600-year-old work entitled “Philogelos: The Laugh Addict,” one of the world’s oldest joke books, features a joke in which a man complains that a slave he has just bought has died, its publisher said Friday.

“By the gods,” answers the slave’s seller, “when he was with me, he never did any such thing!”

In a British comedy act Monty Python’s Flying Circus sketch, first aired in 1969 and regularly voted one of the funniest ever, the pet-shop owner says the parrot, a “Norwegian Blue,” is not dead, just “resting” or “pining for the fjords.”

[From Reuters]

The ancient joke book was written by a couple of wacky Greek comedians known as Hierocles and Philagrius. It is believed that they put together the compilation of jokes, but didn’t necessarily write them. The jokes, which many have said are still used today just in modernized versions, have been made into a multi-media e-book. 71-year old British comic Jim Bowen delivers the ancient joke in front of an audience for the recording, which can be purchased online.

The English-language book will appeal to those who swear that the old jokes are the best ones. Many of its 265 gags will seem strikingly familiar, suggesting that sex, dimwits, nagging wives and flatulence have raised laughs for centuries.

In many of the jokes, a slow-witted figure known as the “student dunce” is the butt of the jokes. In one, the student dunce goes to the city and a friend asks him to buy two 15-year-old slaves: No problem,’ responds the dunce. If I don’t find two 15-year-olds, I’ll get one 30-year-old.’

In another, someone asks to borrow the student’s cloak to go down to the country. “I have a cloak to go down to your ankle, but I don’t have one that reaches to the country,” he replies.

[From Reuters]

If nothing else, your 7-year old will be rolling. Although, it is mentioned that there is a portion of the recording that is only funny if you’re aware that lettuce was considered an aphrodisiac in ancient Greece. That gives Keanu Reeves’ obsession with the shredded lettuce sandwich a whole new spin, now doesn’t it? He may very well be a sexy genius!

There are alot of adjectives to describe Ricky Gervais, funny, clever, witty, just to name a few, but according to Gervais, himself, sexy isn’t one of them. The British comedian says he’s not sexy, but he’s ok with that.

The British comic star – who is in a long-term relationship with author Jane Fallon – has never thought of himself as an attractive man.

He said: “Looks are still the most important thing for women when it comes to meeting a partner. And that’s fair enough, but a sense of humour is really important too. For starters, it’s a great indicator of whether you are going to get on. If the first time you go on a date you don’t find each other funny, there’s a fundamental problem. Laughing at each other’s jokes is one of the keys to a good relationship.

“I don’t see myself as sexy but I am happy with that. I don’t think a comedian should even be concerned with being cool or sexy – as soon as you do, you aren’t a comedian any more.”

[From FemaleFirst]

Russell Brand might beg to differ, although, Gervais might beg to differ that Brand is funny, I don’t know. There are definitely sexy comedians out there, Eddie Izzard, anyone? I’ve got a fire in silly places for Craig Ferguson that no number of lines on his face will douse. So just like regular joes, they don’t have to be gorgeous to be sexy. There is so much more to sexy than looks.

Ricky Gervais has been in a relationship with author Jane Fallon for so long he can’t remember what it was like to be single. He says women don’t throw themselves at him because he’s “not sexy”, but also because they know he’s taken.

Ricky also revealed he would hate to be single because he would have no idea how to approach a woman he liked.

He added to Britain’s Cosmopolitan magazine: “Women certainly don’t throw themselves at me because I’m funny – they know I’m in a relationship anyway. I’ve been with my girlfriend Jane for so long now, I wouldn’t know where to start!

“I can’t even remember chatting anyone up!”

[From Female First]

There is something intrinsically sexy about people who make you laugh and they have to really be unattractive to fight that fundamental allure. Rosie O’Donnell, not sexy. Lee Evans, hilarious, but not sexy. Ricky Gervais is not unattractive, but he often plays characters that have unattractive personalities or are otherwise unapproachable. But I’d be willing to bet there are some closeted Ricky-loonies who would love to make him stumble through some awkward chat-up lines.

Picture note by Celebitchy: Here’s Ricky Gervais shopping for antiques on 9/28 in London and out with his partner, Jane Fallon, on 7/27/08. He’s also shown in the header outside the Regis & Kelly show on 9/15. He looks so happy to be papped.

To further prove that there is no justice in the world: Paris Hilton is getting her own superhero comic book. And not some cheesy stupid one that she’s having to pay someone a lot of money to make in her attempts to further over saturate the world with her Picasso-esq image. She’s collaborating with none other than Stan Lee, of X-Men, Spider-Man, Fantastic Four, and the Hulk fame. Not bad.

Paris Hilton has revealed she is creating a new superhero based on herself.

The hotel heiress has been working with Stan Lee, who co-created the Spider-Man comic books, to invent a character for a new MTV cartoon. While Paris refused to divulge any details of the new collaboration, she did reveal her favourite superhero power. She said: “I’d love to be invisible – that would be fun!” Paris is no stranger to lending her name to various projects. The 27-year-old beauty has her own perfume range, a line of hair extensions, a footwear line, and will release a sports collection later this year.

[From News.com.au]

How in the world does Paris Hilton go from cheap-ass perfume and even cheaper acrylic hair to working with someone as iconic as Stan Lee? I don’t know jack about comics, but even I know he is like the best of the best. Paris’ face shouldn’t even be allowed to grace one of those annoying cheesy caricature drawings half-assed artists doodle in two minutes in Central Park. When you look at her closely, Paris actually does sort of look like a life-sized caricature. Especially those feet.

I can’t help but wonder just how accurate the Stan Lee SuperParis will be. Will she have a magical bird nose that senses when baby animals need worms? What kind of superpower will that half-open eye have? Maybe the ability to somehow never have corrective surgery, despite being stuck to a woman who won’t stop pimping herself.

Here’s Paris Hilton shopping at Barneys New York in Beverly Hills on Saturday. Images thanks to WENN.