As Stand-in, Staging Assistant, and occasionally the character Marv; my eight and a half year stay on Murphy Brown was a joy. Making a difference. That was one of the things I enjoyed most about working on the show. Each person cast, and crew were part of the team, or family. Yes, we had our differences from time to time, but for the most part, they were there for you. In that type of atmosphere if you saw something, that would aid the show, or hurt it; you were free to point it out to the director, assistant directors, writers, are who ever needed hear it.
We had just finished the camera rehearsal on a Thursday night, and the Executive Producer, John Bowman, was standing near by, looking at the set.
I glanced over at the Secretary’s desk, the “dreaded desk,“ where Murphy always ended up with the Secretary from Hell. Something said to me "Pee Wee Herman." I made that suggestion to John, that "Pee Wee Herman would make a great secretary." His reaction was like a lighting bolt, "Yeah, the man should be working." Within a few weeks, Paul Reubens was on the show. Paul’s timing, drive, and talent, and sense of whimsy, made the whole cast work extra hard, just to keep up with him. They loved the new challenge, and they loved Paul. He was a breath of fresh air. Even the camera crew was impressed, and it is not easy to impress a camera crew.
I got all my Pee Wee Herman, videos and laser disk autographed. One of the other stand-ins found a Pee Wee Herman Doll for me at a yard sale. Paul also autographed that. Yes, I was a happy camper. That rated right up there with having my picture taken with Capt. Kangaroo.