Pee-Wee's Playhouse
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Captain Carl (real name: Carl, originally called "Kap'n Karl" in The Pee-wee Herman Show) is a gruff and gritty sea captain, who would reluctantly put up with Pee-Wee and his childish antics out of friendship.

Hartman first appeared as Captain Carl as part of The Pee-wee Herman Show at the Roxy Theater in Los Angeles in 1981. The main plotline involved Miss Yvonne having a secret wish that Carl would like her. Carl appears to be apprehensive of women (and landlubbers in general that are not Pee-wee), but appears to change his tune after Pee-wee wishes to Jambi that Carl would love her. After Pee-wee gets upset that he never got his wish to fly and instead wished Carl to like Miss Yvonne, Miss Yvonne gets the entire cast together to talk to Jambi, and it is revealed that Carl already liked Miss Yvonne. When the show was revived in Los Angeles and on Broadway in 2010, due to Hartman's murder in 1998, Carl was replaced by Cowboy Curtis.

In the first episode, Captain Carl called Pee-Wee from the Picture Phone, saying that he was lost at sea. Pee-Wee then asked Globey, Conky and Magic Screen for help, and Conky and Globey revealed where Captain Carl was. After Pee-Wee asked what Captain Carl should do, Magic Screen, Conky and Globey suggested that Captain Carl “make a right” (as in a right turn). Captain Carl did precisely that, and said, “Thanks, everybody! You saved me from death’s door!”

Everyone then screamed, and Carl laughed, saying, “Oh, I get it — the secret word!”

Once when Pee-Wee pretended to run a restaurant, Captain Carl acted as the customer, but left angered over the fact that he felt ripped off for a peanut butter sandwich, while Pee-Wee failed to realize he did not run a good business.

Captain Carl does have faults of his own. For instance, when Pee-Wee won two tickets to a Hawaiian-themed restaurant, Carl tried to get himself invited as he has sailed to Hawaii and told Pee-Wee about Polynesian customs, leading to an argument with Tito, Mrs. Steve, Conky, Chairry, Magic Screen and Miss Yvonne. After Pee-wee had no choice but to use Tito's silver whistle to silence everyone, Carl later apologized to Pee-Wee and the others when they realized the extent of their bickering.

Despite Pee-Wee's antics, Captain Carl does seem to be patient and generous with Pee-Wee. He once gave Pee-Wee a gift of a sailor's spyglass, and Pee-Wee (having just learned a lesson from Reba the Mail Lady about correspondence mail) says he will get to work on a thank you note immediately.

Capt

Carl in the Season 1 finale episode Party

Played by Phil Hartman, who had worked with Paul Ruebens as part of the Groundlings comedy troupe and helped found the Pee-Wee Herman Show. Hartman also appeared with Pee-Wee in the film Pee-Wee's Big Adventure, which he also contributed to the script with Reubens and Michael Varhol, in a cameo as a news reporter.

The character only appeared in Season 1, and was dropped when Phil Hartman had further SNL commitments, which meant that Phil could not make the move to California to begin filming the remaining seasons.

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