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John Paragon

1954-12-09 – 2021-04-03 (age 66) Los Angeles, California, USA
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Biography

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

John Dixon Paragon (born 9 December 1954) is an American actor, writer, and director.

He was born in Anchorage, Alaska, on an Army base. He grew up and attended schools in Fort Collins, Colorado.

Paragon is probably best known for his work on children's show Pee-wee's Playhouse where he played Jambi the Genie and voiced Pterri the Pterodactyl. In addition to writing many of the regular season episodes of Playhouse, Paragon also co-wrote (with Paul Reubens) the acclaimed Pee-wee's Playhouse Christmas Special in 1988, for which they were nominated an Emmy Award for Best Writing in a Children's Special.

Some of Paragon's other memorable roles include Cedric, one half of the gay couple Bob and Cedric on the television series Seinfeld; the title character in the children's movie The Frog Prince; the sex shop salesman in the cult favorite Eating Raoul; and the owner of a Strip-o-gram business in the 1986 film Echo Park.

Paragon got his start in the Los Angeles-based improvisation group The Groundlings alongside Reubens and Phil Hartman. He also collaborated with fellow Groundling Cassandra Peterson on numerous Elvira projects, including the recurring role of The Breather, an annoying caller, for her first television series on KHJ-TV-Los Angeles.

In recent years, Paragon has worked with Walt Disney Imagineering on ways to incorporate improvisational performance into attractions at Disney parks. In this capacity, he performed as the keeper of Lucky the Dinosaur during the test runs of the animatronic figure.

Paragon returned to his performance as Jambi the Genie in the Broadway outing of the new Pee-wee Herman stage show that began performances 26 October 2010 at the Stephen Sondheim Theater.

Description above from the Wikipedia article John Paragon, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.

Known For

Spaceballs
Spaceballs

1987

as Dink (voice) (uncredited)

Elvira: Mistress of the Dark
Elvira: Mistress of the Dark

1988

as Gas Station Attendant

Pee-wee's Big Adventure
Pee-wee's Big Adventure

1985

as Movie Lot Actor

Honey, I Blew Up the Kid
Honey, I Blew Up the Kid

1992

as Lab Technician

UHF
UHF

1989

as Richard Fletcher

Eating Raoul
Eating Raoul

1982

as Sex Shop Salesman

Pee-wee's Big Holiday
Pee-wee's Big Holiday

2016

as TV Cameraman

Cheech & Chong's Next Movie
Cheech & Chong's Next Movie

1980

as Director (Groundling)

Going Berserk
Going Berserk

1983

as Rooster

Double Trouble
Double Trouble

1992

as FBI Agent

The Rich Man's Wife
The Rich Man's Wife

1996

as Maitre D'

Red Riding Hood
Red Riding Hood

2006

as Fisherman

Things Are Tough All Over
Things Are Tough All Over

1982

as Red Carpet Man #1

Pandemonium
Pandemonium

1982

as Prisoner

Pee-wee's Playhouse Christmas Special
Pee-wee's Playhouse Christmas Special

1988

as Jambi / Pterri (voice)

Every Breath
Every Breath

1994

as Director

Get Out of My Room
Get Out of My Room

1985

as Robert Walters

The Pee-wee Herman Show
The Pee-wee Herman Show

1981

as Jambi the Genie

The Frog Prince
The Frog Prince

1986

as Ribbit / Prince of Freedly

Echo Park
Echo Park

1985

as Hugo