King of Cartoons

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources.
Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. (help, get involved!)
Any material not supported by sources may be challenged and removed at any time. This article has been tagged since December 2006.

The King of Cartoons was a character on Pee-wee's Playhouse, played by two African-American actors, Gilbert Lewis in the first season, and William Marshall for the remainder of the run.

The King's appearance marked the segment of each episode in which an old (often public domain) and very brief cartoon would be shown. In the first season, after being introduced by Dixie, who was often rude and masculine-acting, he would enter the playhouse holding a film projector, which he pointed directly at the camera. He would then turn the projector on, and light would glow from its lens. The camera would zoom into the lens, which would "transport" the viewer(s) into the viewing of the cartoon. In season two, he brought a 1950s-era television to the Playhouse for the 1920s-1930s cartoon viewing. After Dixie left the show, he was introduced by the three flowers on Pee-wee's windowsill. They would introduce the King via a short song (that, for some reason, had trumpets in the music).