Pee-wee's Playhouse star John Paragon has passed away at the age of 66. The actor, who is best known for playing Jambi the Genie on the hit show, died in April – however his cause of death remains unclear according to the Riverside County Coroner, per <a href="https://www.tmz.com/2021/06/17/pee-wees-playhouse-jambi-the-genie-john-paragon-dead-dies/">TMZ</a>. For his role on the hit show, John's face appeared in a glittering box whenever Pee-wee Herman made a wish. He wore a red, bejeweled turban for the role and blue facepaint. Paragon also voiced Pterri the Pterodactyl on the show. Watch John as Jambi the Genie below:  [[youtubewidget||https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aaii5R2Lo8U]] However, he played a role behind the camera too, having written a number of Playhouse episodes. He also co-authored Pee-wee's Playhouse: Christmas Special in 1988 with Paul Reubens. The special was so well received that it was given an Emmy Award nomination for Best Writing in a Children's Special. Paragon didn't just write for Playhouse either – he also wrote various other media that he appeared in including Elvira: Mistress of the Dark, Twin Sitters, and The Paragon of Comedy. He went on to act in Seinfeld and appeared in various movies including The Frog Prince, Eating Raoul and Echo Park. Playhouse ran from 1986 to 1991 on CBS Saturday mornings, and even after it ended, Paragon went on to reprise his role as Jambi for the Broadway adaption of The Pee-wee Herman Show in 2010. Paragon is pictured below with Tracey Newman in 2014. <img class="wp-image-1263113799 " src="https://img.vt.co/2021/06/Pee-Wee-1.jpg" alt="John Paragon and Tracey Newman" width="585" height="942" />[[imagecaption|| Credit: Alamy / WENN Rights Ltd]] TMZ reports that his most recent work was for Walt Disney Imagineering, which saw him come up with ideas for improv performances at the Disney theme parks. This role also saw him play  Lucky the Dinosaur during the animatronic figure's test runs. The 66-year-old was born in Alaska but went on to move to Colorado before joining the  Los Angeles improvisation group The Groundlings, and it was there that he met Paul Reubens aka Pee-wee Herman. We'd like to extend our sincere condolences to Paragon's family and friends at this sad time. <h6>Featured image credit: Alamy / Everett Collection Inc</h6>

Pee-wee's Playhouse star John Paragon dies aged 66 with cause of death 'unclear'

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