Press Release
Globey, the lovable, expressive talking globe – with a French accent, no less – from the beloved 1980s Saturday morning kids’ show Pee Wee’s Playhouse (Broadcast Arts Productions, 1986), will make his auction debut on Feb. 12, 2015, at Heritage Auctions in Beverly Hills, offered as part of a special grouping that follows the laugh Art of LAIKA auction happening the same day.
Globey is one of a dozen lots in the auction that related to Pee Wee Herman’s legendary and extremely popular show, which has a cult following to this day. This marks the first time that Globey, or any of the Pee Wee pieces in the grouping, have been offered at auction.
“One of the most recognizable and beloved characters on Pee Wee’s Playhouse was Globey,” said Jim Lentz, Director of Animation Art at Heritage Auctions. “He’s a lovable puppet of a globe, with a very expressive face placed square in the middle of the Pacific. He could spin and would often help Pee Wee with geography, astronomy or history questions.”
This is the actual handmade puppet from Season One, constructed of foam rubber, 17″ tall with a 51″ circumference and a genuine landmark piece of television history.
Another recognizable part of the Playhouse that is included in the auction is the Totem Pole Screen Used Prop, which is famously featured in the wacky interior of the show. Pee Wee’s Playhouse was filled with a plethora of visual stimulus, and in the first season we saw this folk art-style totem pole inside. It’s two-sided and made with clay, on a wooden base. Also being offered is the original Sphinx Screen-Used Prop famously seen on top of the Playhouse in the opening credits, just below the “Pee Wee” sign.
Rounding out the screen-used prop group from Pee Wee’s Playhouse in the auction is Pee Wee’s Ant Farm, Ants and Palm Trees, which also featured prominently among Pee Wee’s friends in the Playhouse. Occasionally in the show Pee Wee would check in to see what his ants were up to and a short animated sequence would follow the ants engaged in some human-like activity, even once escaping the farm.
Further highlights include:
Pee Wee’s Playhouse Dinosaurs Concept Original Artwork Group (Broadcast Arts Productions, 1986): Pee Wee’s dinosaur family was a den of miniature clay dinosaurs who lived in a mouse hole in the playhouse. This is amazingly detailed pen and ink concept artwork of the dinosaur family.
Pee Wee’s Playhouse Jambi Concept Original Artwork (Broadcast Arts Productions, 1986): Jambi was a blue (later green) genie who lived in a jeweled box in Pee Wee’s Playhouse, usually appearing once a show to grant Pee Wee a wish with the words: “Mecca Lecca Hi, Mecca Hiney Ho.” Here is an early piece of concept artwork for a 1972 Volkswagen camper van with a pop top that was proposed to serve as “Jombi’s” box.
Pee Wee’s Playhouse Concept Original Artwork by Wayne White Group (Broadcast Arts Productions, 1986): This lot contains five pieces of original mock-up concept artwork by White for four proposed Pee Wee’s Playhouse characters, each on one piece of white paper, for the characters Anita, Daphne, Mabel and Colonel Boogie (two drawings).
Pee Wee’s Playhouse Playhouse Interior Concept Original Artwork (Broadcast Arts Productions, 1986): Early concept artwork for the creation of Season One of Pee Wee’s Playhouse interior. The drawing shows early designs for Chairy, the Dinosaurs, the Ant Farm, the Fish Family and Pee Wee’s Library with a large image of Pee Wee in over-sized glasses is on the door.
Pee Wee’s Playhouse Concept Original Artwork by Phil Trumbo (Broadcast Arts Productions, 1986): Original concept artwork for Pee Wee’s Exercise Belt, a vintage vibrating exercise machine, sometimes used by Ms. Renee in the playhouse. Pee Wee would occasionally get stuck on it, requiring Conky to get him out.
Pee Wee’s Playhouse Mr. Kite Concept Original Artwork (Broadcast Arts Productions, 1986): Mr. Kite was a pink kite that occasionally appeared in one of the Playhouse windows. Pee Wee would ask for a weather report and Mr. Kite would kindly oblige. This is a pair of rare early original art concept pages done for the development of Mr. Kite.
Pee Wee’s Playhouse Andy, The New Kid’s Desk Concept Original Artwork (Broadcast Arts Productions, 1986): Original concept artwork for a Playhouse prop labeled “Andy the new kid’s desk.”
Pee Wee’s Playhouse Flowers Original Concept Artwork Group (Broadcast Arts Productions, 1986): Three flowers, living in a flowerbed on the windowsill to the right of the playhouse door, were regularly featured on the show. They originally had distorted robotic voices, but were replaced with normal falsetto voices in Season Two. This is a group of five pieces of original artwork showcasing the development of the flowers.
Heritage Auctions is the largest auction house founded in the United States and the world’s third largest, with annual sales of more than $900 million, and 900,000+ online bidder members. For more information about Heritage Auctions, and to join and receive access to a complete record of prices realized, with full-color, enlargeable photos of each lot, please visit HA.com.
