Captain Carl

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Phil Hartman as Capt. Carl.

Captain Carl was a character featured on the Saturday morning children's show "Pee-wee's Playhouse". Portrayed by Phil Hartman, he was depicted as a gritty, unshaven sea captain with a gruff voice, but a somewhat shy demeanor. He was a friend of Pee-wee Herman and the sometime love interest of Miss Yvonne.

The character actually originated on The Pee-wee Herman Show, a stage production and later an HBO special. This show featured many of the concepts and characters that would be used in Pee-wee's Playhouse, but was unquestionably more adult-oriented. In this production, Captain Carl was depicted as a much more bawdy and salacious character than he was in the later children's series. In probably his most memorable moment in the show, he recites a sea shanty, intended as an epigram for the "children" watching at home:

"Oh, a sailor travels to many lands,

Any place he pleases.

And he always remembers to wash his hands,

So's he don't gets no diseases!"

As the premise of the show was toned down when it became Pee-wee's Playhouse, so was the character. Captain Carl was one of the many visitors who would come by Pee Wee's playhouse and show him interesting things from the ocean. Although his tolerance for Pee Wee's silliness and secret words was often tested, underneath his rough exterior, he was a nice guy who was willing to admit when he was wrong (after some persuading from the rest of the gang) as well as always sticking up for the little guy, mainly Pee-wee but sometimes others.

The character, along with Dixie, Tito the Playhouse Lifeguard, Mrs. Steve, the Salesman, and the original Playhouse Gang were dropped from the show after the first season.

See also