Lynne Marie Stewart, Miss Yvonne on Pee-Wee’s Playhouse, Dead at 78
She also starred as Charlie’s mom, Bonnie, in It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia.
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Lynne Marie Stewart, known for her roles on Pee-Wee’s Playhouse and It’s Always Sunny Philadelphia, has died at 78. Her friend and fellow actress Cassandra ‘Elvira’ Peterson shared the news on Instagram on February 21. “My heart is breaking upon hearing the news of my dear friend @lynnestewart78 Lynne Stewart’s passing,” Peterson captioned a photo of herself and Stewart. “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.’” Jonathan Stark, who was a stage manager on the original Pee-Wee Herman Show, also confirmed Stewart’s death in a lengthy Facebook tribute on Friday, writing in part, “I lost a friend today. And the world lost a great soul.”
Stewart made her film debut in 1971 in Jack Nicholson’s Drive, He Said. During the ‘70s, Stewart was a member of The Groundlings, the influential comedy troupe based in her hometown of Los Angeles, California. It was through The Groundings that she met Paul Reubens, who created and portrayed the character Pee-Wee Herman. Stewart played Miss Yvonne in the stage show The Pee-Wee Herman Show and CBS’s Pee-Wee’s Playhouse, and also popped up in several other projects throughout the Pee-wee-verse. Credits across her career include Laverne & Shirley, American Graffiti, M*A*S*H, Arrested Development, Night Court, The Golden Girls, Raising Hope, among others. More recently, she was known for starring as Bonnie on It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia. Charlie Day played her son, janitor/man-child Charlie Kelly. “RIP TV mom,” Day wrote on Instagram after her death. “Thanks for 20 years of laughs. You deserve a standing ovation. ????????????.”
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