I heard that throughout the shows' entire run (including the first season), Paul had an ego problem, and treated his once good friend, Phil Hartman, like crap, and as a result, never spoke to him again. Does anyone know for a fact if this is true or not?
shareI am honestly not sure. I have heard that same thing though.
Viktoriya <3's Verka
*~*Ukrainian and Proud*~*
i think you mean eggo problem, they had to bring in cases of maple syrup daily at one point
but then again, i'm not so sure, lol - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3PSVP9LuRhU
"i think you mean eggo problem, they had to bring in cases of maple syrup daily at one point"
LMAO!
Is it fair that we live this way?
Victimized for a life we didn't ask for.
*Ukrainian and Proud*
I remember somebody on the E! True Hollywood Story talking about how he would pretty much be happy to use his success to help "lesser" people but that there was an element of superiority to it, almost like he had power or control over those people, and when they actually had some success of their own and didn't "need" him they'd cut him loose. Phil Hartman was the main example of this. I could be wrong but I believe it was Nicole Panter who said this.
Of course, there's as much evidence to refute this as there is to support it. Phil Hartman joined the cast of SNL the same year "Pee-wee's Playhouse" debuted. During that year it was possible for him to pull double-duty because both shows were filmed in NYC. It's easy to say that Reubens cut Hartman loose after he managed to find some success on his own at SNL but the more obvious explanation is that Hartman couldn't do SNL in NYC and "Pee-wee's Playhouse" in LA (where the show moved during season 2, at which point there was no more Captain Carl) at the same time.
Furthermore, you have people like Laurence Fishburne who were already established pre-"Playhouse" (he was in "Apocalypse Now, for Christ's sake) and was in major movies like "Red Heat", "King of New York", "School Daze" and "Nightmare on Elm St. 3" while working on the show.
But yeah, it's not uncommon to see some sort of Reubens/Hartman fallout alluded to but I think it's a lot of wild rumor. I believe Reubens had kind words to say about Hartman upon his unfortunate death and I know Hartman defended Reubens after his sex scandal (he compared it to getting a life sentence for having a joint in your pocket) and there's nothing to suggest that there was any bad blood between the two of them, even if they didn't ever work together after the first season of "Pee-wee's Playhouse".
On top of that, you have people like Fishburne who still have good things to say about him (he says people bring it up like it's something to be ashamed of and he defends it and is willing to play Cowboy Curtis again) and Lynne-Marie Stewart, who literally appeared in every major Pee-wee production on television and in film and it doesn't seem like he's some sort of treacherous tyrant.
Here's what I got between Paul and Phil.
When Paul was asked to host SNL, Paul told them that he'd only do it if his writers (which included Phil) could work with the SNL writers to write sketches that would suit the Pee-wee Herman character. During this time, I believe Phil asked Paul to put in a good word for him to Lorne Michaels and to help him land an audition to be a member of SNL. Phil knocked it out of the park, and became a member on the show. A little on down the line, Phil decided to leave Pee-wee's Playhouse so he could focus more on his work on SNL and Paul felt a little betrayed. I think after that, although they remained friends, their friendship wasn't what it used to be.
Time to hurt demon feelings!-http://tinyurl.com/2hxvv9