The Jeff Rubin Jeff Rubin Show: Director and Star of ‘Beauty Is Embarrassing’ - Pee Wee’s Playhouse Art Director Documentary

Even if you’ve never heard Wayne White’s name, you’ve almost definitely enjoyed his work. Wayne was a designer on shows like Pee-Wee’s Playhouseand Beakman’s World, as well as music videos like Smashing Pumpkins’ Tonight Tonight. Wayne has since developed a second career in the fine arts world and is the subject of the wonderful new documentary Beauty is Embarrassing.

This week on The Jeff Rubin Jeff Rubin Show you will hear from both Wayne and the film’s director, Neil Berkley. We discuss the influence of Pee-Wee, what shows are continuing it’s legacy today, and what message Wayne implanted in the unsuspecting brains of children.

“The challenge for me was whether to show process or not. What I tried to do was say, yes I do have process, and we see him paint, but he is always talking about something else. He is always advancing the story. I wanted very little talking heads, but instead there is a lot of him at the easel painting, and telling me about coming from the south. I show him making but we don’t go into detail about how he mixes paint, because I wanted a lot of people to find appeal in the movie.”

- Neil Berkely on how he wanted to show Wayne White’s creative process. 

“I knew that there was a generation of kids, that were definitely influenced by Pee Wee. The 30-something generation now, was the Pee Wee kid generation, and I knew that we were reaching you guys, but I just never experienced it in person. This is every artists dream come true, to go out and meet his public like this, and it is mind blowing, it really is. It is touching.”

- Wayne White on what this documentary has meant to him. 

As always the show is available at iTunes, YouTube, and JeffRubinJeffRubinShow.com

Download now. (MP3)