Thighs Wide Shut

Pee-wee’s Big Adventure is the best.  STILL the best.  Saw it the other night and it is STILL a fcuking amazing adventure.  ‘Big’ as an adjective doesn’t even begin to cover its giantness of how truly massive it truly is.  Truly.  Seriously.  TRULY SERIOUSLY!!!

Anywho, I dug up some odds and ends, after digging thru the Big Adventure IMDb page…

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this is what Large Marge (aka Alice Nunn) looked like as a younger lady.  she actually died 3 years after Big Adventure‘s release

when I saw the movie in theaters as a 7 year old, the part where she went all bugged-eyed caused my penis to invert, right into my body – and I coined the term ‘reverse boner‘.  I swear, this happened!  And I swear I invited this term!  although probably not at age 7

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remember Pee-wee’s gadgety house with Rube Goldbergian machinery?

it was apparently heavily influenced by the ‘Snub’ Pollard short film from 1923 called It’s a Gift

woah!!!!

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Amazing Larry (Lou Cutell) and Mario (Monte Landis) are both still alive!

Larry is 86 and Mario is 83!  Madam Ruby is still alive too and played David Silver’s granny on 90210!

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the giant Dinosaurs still stand

but the Wheel Inn Restaurant next to them has closed

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Elvira is in the movie!

credited with her lesser-known real name - Cassandra Peterson, although a picture of her as Elvira is also in the movie

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Dottie aka E.G. (Elizabeth) Daily

was so super sexy cute adorable in the 80s. she went topless two years earlier in Valley Girl [NSFW]

and also was the sultry singer at the big dance in Better Off Dead

later in life, she kept her inner-child going by providing the voice of the pig Babe, Tommy Pickles on ‘Rugrats‘ and Buttercup on ‘The Powerpuff Girls‘, and piped her pipes on ‘The Voice’!

she and Morgan Fairchild (who played the big screen version of Dottie) finally met on the set of the 2011 film Boy Toy

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the Santa Monica Mall/Third Street Promenade was not only home to Chuck’s Bike-O-Rama and Mario’s Magic shop, but also to Pretty In Pink‘s record store Trax, and numerous other filmed entertainments 

sadly, it doesn’t look like the 80s or Tim Burtony or Pee-wee-y anymore

btw – these ‘then & now’ Big Adventure filming location photos are beyond BLAMMMAZIN!!!  YOU HAVE TO LOOK AT EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THEM.  I COMMAND YOU!!!

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Francis Buxton‘s father - Ed Herlihy was famous for his voice - the voice of newsreels, and Kraft!

he played an announcer/newscaster in Zelig, Who Framed Roger Rabbit?, The King of Comedy, and Malcolm X

and he was also in Police Academy 2!

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the director of the orphan-nun movie - Zack Hoffman

was also the voice of GI Joe‘s Zartan!

FCUKING ZARTAN!!! Zartan was so rock n roll!!!

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ten 1953 Schwinn DX bikes were built for the film – and this one was sold (in pieces) for $36,600 back in March of 2014

no word on its current owner or status, but lets hope it has a good home

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the guy who played Warner Bros studio chief Terry Hawthorne - Tony Bill

is an actor (Shampoo), director (Untamed Heart) and producer, who won an Oscar for producing 1973’s The Sting!!!!!

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one the BMX biker kids - David Glasser 

is an up and coming movie producer

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two wrestlers wrestled with Pee-wee…

Big John Harris/Silo Sam

and Professor Tanaka (a tag team partner of Mr Fuji)

no word on if the two ever wrestled each other!

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Playhouse pals, and players in the original Pee-wee Herman Show stage production - Jambi (John Paragon), Miss Yvonne (Lynne Marie Stewart) and Mailman Mike (John Moody) all had bit parts in the movie

along with OG member and the film’s co-writer Phil Hartman + the film’s other co-writer Michael Varhol.  Edie McClurg was in the original stage show, and her brother Bob played a security guard in the movie

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two dudes must have made some impression on Tim Burton that they appeared in his next film – Beetlejuice

Carmen Filpi

and Simmy Bow

both are in the afterlife now, along with these cast members

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Simone (Diane Salinger) and Pee-wee didn’t say ‘au revoir‘ for long, as they reunited to play the Penguin’s parents – the Cobblepots in Burton’s Batman Returns!!!!!!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dkoi4z_dQso

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Francis (Mark Holton) hasn’t had a credited role since 2008, which is a shame cause the guy is simply incredible

but he’s still around… and as of 2015, he’s never visited the Alamo (which apparently now has 2 basements!!!)

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Pee-wee’s Big Adventure is one of my dad’s all time favorite movies.  same here.  we have good taste.  if you made it this far, you probably do too!