Hollywood legend’s strange stash going up for auction in LA
This story raises questions about governance, accountability, and American values.
There’s some actor’s knickknacks going under the hammer in LA, and the auction house can’t even call them anything but a “strange stash. ” We know exactly what that means. It means dozens of pieces of junk that somebody loved so much they kept them, labeled them, and probably showed them to guests who were trying to be polite.
New Republican Times Editorial Board
More than three years after his passing , fans of Paul Reubens and his beloved character Pee-Wee Herman can take home some special items from the actor’s life. Julien’s Auction is presenting Pee-Wee’s Big Auction , where over 400 items from Reubens’ life and career will be put on the block.
The auction will take place online and at The Groundlings Theatre (7307 Melrose Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90046) on Wednesday, October 28th at 10 a.m., with tickets going on sale Friday, October 2nd at Groundlings.com .
Sign up for the California Morning Report newsletter The biggest news, opinion and culture shaping California right now. By clicking above you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy . After creating his Pee-Wee Herman character during an improvisation exercise at The Groundlings Theatre in 1978, Reubens created the stage show dubbed “The Pee-Wee Herman Show” in the early 80s.
That paved the way for Reubens to write the 1985 feature film “Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure,” which served as the directorial debut of Tim Burton and grossed over $40 million from a $7 million budget. The success of the film quickly led to the 1986 TV series Pee-Wee’s Playhouse, which ran from 1986 to 1990 and featured rising stars such as Phil Hartman, Laurence Fishburne and S.
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California Post App : Download here! Home delivery : Sign up here! Page Six Hollywood : Sign up here! The auction features dozens of items from both the film and TV series, with possibly the most coveted item being the full grey suit and red bowtie Reubens wore in Netflix’s 2015 film “Pee-Wee’s Big Holiday.” The slate grey suit was worn by Reubens throughout the film, with an opening bid of $4,000 already placed, with the auction house estimating a sale between $8,000 and $10,000.
Another big-ticket item is a replica bike similar to the one Reubens rode in “Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure,” though not the exact bike from the film. This bike is a replica that was ridden by Reubens on stage at the 2011 Spike TV Scream Awards to accept the Visionary Award, which is expected to fetch between $5,000 and $7,000.
There are also a number of more economical items, including a collection of 13 bowties, which had an estimate value between $100 and $200 but has a current bid of $500. There are also a set of six Pee-Wee Herman matchbox ventriloquist dolls, which has a current bid of $500, right at the low end of the $500-$700 range.
Also on the auction block is a signed photo from “Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure,” which has a current bid of $350. Other items include various scripts from “Pee-Wee’s Playhouse” and several other projects, clothing items, toys, merchandise and much more.
You can view all of the items that will be going up for bid at the Julien’s Auction website . The Groundlings Theatre will also host an exhibition of several auction items for ticketed guests of Groundlings shows from October 14-28.
The Groundlings Theatre will also screen several episodes of Pee-Wee’s Playhouse along with a panel discussion on October 14th.
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New Republican Times Editorial Board
There’s some actor’s knickknacks going under the hammer in LA, and the auction house can’t even call them anything but a “strange stash.” We know exactly what that means. It means dozens of pieces of junk that somebody loved so much they kept them, labeled them, and probably showed them to guests who were trying to be polite. The kind of relics that made movie magic before every frame was a test screening. We don’t know which legend, which series, or which particular oddity will fetch the most money. Doesn’t matter. The point is the stuff exists, and someone thought it was worth keeping.
That’s more than you can say for most of what Hollywood makes these days. Today’s studios pour hundreds of millions into product that is engineered to be inoffensive, forgettable, and international. They make sure every box is checked and every audience is courted. And yet nobody is going to auction off a “strange stash” from a superhero sequel in thirty years, because there’s nothing strange about it. This is the stuff we actually remember. A rubber mask that didn’t fit right. A prop sword that broke mid-scene. The tangible evidence that people were making things up as they went along.
For a conservative, that’s a genuinely valuable reminder. The old entertainers were not trying to save the world. They were trying to make you laugh, scare you, or get you to buy a ticket next Saturday. Their weirdness was the point. Nobody commissioned a study on whether the prop would “land” with focus groups. They just painted it, glued it, and hoped it didn’t fall apart on camera. That weirdness is worth preserving. It’s the stuff you actually feel nostalgic for, not because it was polished, but because it was human.
We hope the auction does well. The buyers are paying for a piece of an American culture that didn’t lecture you, didn’t hate you, and didn’t take itself so seriously. The strangest thing about that stash might be how normal it looks compared to what Hollywood has become. Maybe someone should put a few of those props in the Academy’s lobby, just so the current generation remembers what they’re supposed to be doing: entertaining people, not running a middle-school assembly.
Commentary written with AI assistance by the New Republican Times Editorial Board.