‘Pee-wee’s Playhouse,’ ‘It’s Always Sunny’ star Lynne Marie Stewart dead at 78
Lynne Marie Stewart, the comic actress famed for “Pee-wee’s Playhouse” and “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia,” has died at the age of 78.
The sad news was announced Friday by Stewart’s longtime friend, actress Cassandra “Elvira” Peterson, in a tribute shared to Instagram.
A cause of death has not been disclosed.
“My heart is breaking upon hearing the news of my dear friend Lynne Stewart’s passing,” Peterson wrote. “One of the kindest, sweetest, funniest women who ever lived. The iconic Miss Yvonne of ‘Pee-wee’s Playhouse.’ She’ll always be ‘the most beautiful woman in Puppetland.’”
Stewart was born in Los Angeles and got her start in comedy as a member of The Groundlings, the famed improv and sketch comedy troupe based in Hollywood.
It was there that she met “Pee-wee” creator Paul Reubens, and the two struck up a friendship.
Stewart has guest roles on iconic sitcoms such as “M*A*S*H*,” “Laverne & Shirley,” “The Golden Girls,” and “Night Court.”
She also appeared in the iconic 1973 flick, “American Graffiti.”
In 1981, she played Miss Yvonne in “The Pee-wee Herman Show,” and later reprised the same role in the CBS children’s spin-off “Pee-wee’s Playhouse,” which aired from 1986 to 1990.
She appeared in several other titles with Reubens, including “Pee-wee’s Big Adventure” in 1985 and “Big Top Pee-wee” in 1988.
For 18 years, from 2005 through to 2023, Stewart starred in the cult comedy show “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia,” playing Charlie Kenny’s mother, Bonnie.
Following news of Stewart’s death, several other stars took to social media to pay tribute, including Maya Rudolph, who shared a snap of the actress as Miss Yvonne from “Pee-wee’s Playhouse.”
