'Pee-Wee's Playhouse' Star Lynne Marie Stewart Says Paul Reubens Was 'Funny To The End'

Pee-Wee’s Playhouse was filled with talented creators at every turn. Actors like Phil Hartman, Laurence Fishburne, and S. Epatha Merkerson played characters on the show. Pop stars Mark Mothersbaugh and Todd Rundgren composed music for various episodes, with Cyndi Lauper singing the theme song (albeit secretly). Painter and puppeteer Wayne White contributed to the design of the show. Rob Zombie was a production assistant! It was a murderer’s row of creativity, and Lynne Marie Stewart still managed to shine.

Stewart performed with Paul Reubens in the Groundlings in the ’70s. She has an extensive career spanning film and television. She’s a comedic force, bringing laughter and joy to every performance she gives. Audience members now may know her as Charlie’s mom on It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia. But, for decades, she was best known as Miss Yvonne, the most beautiful woman in Puppet Land.

The show ran for four years, and she appeared often. Stewart also appeared in Reubens’s films Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure and Big Top Pee-Wee. In addition to being collaborators, the two were good friends. When Reubens was spending his last days in the hospital, Lynne visited him. She recently reminisced about seeing her friend, when she spoke to PEOPLE.

Reubens passed away in 2023. “I got to be in the hospital with him,” Lynne told the outlet. “He said, I have loved deeply, and I’ve been loved in return. I said, ‘Paul, you’re loved all over the world.’ And I was so glad to be able to tell him that.” I’ve read that quote several times this morning and it still brings tears to my eyes. Pee-Wee’s Playhouse has a big presence in my home (and always has) and it makes me very happy to know, at the end, Reubens knew how loved he was.

It turns out that Reubens was also cracking jokes in his final days. “He was funny to the end,” Lynne Marie Stewart explained. “I said to him, ‘You fulfilled a little girl’s dream.’ He was like, ‘Oh, do I have to hear this story again?’ And so he never lost it. He never lost his sense of humor.” It makes sense that such a talented, funny man would attract talented, funny people. There’s no surprise. It’s just nice to have that confirmed.