Paul Reubens wanted this thrift store painting real bad
But Allee Willis was having none of it
Paul Reubens (you know, Pee-wee Herman) had his eye on one of my walls.
Not the wall itself. What was on it.
“Limbo Girl.”
A bad thrift store painting. Which, around here, means solid gold. Allee found it at the Rose Bowl swap meet in 1985 and declared it one of her two all-time favorites. Signed “Eileen Farley, 11/11/70, P.R.” and bursting with style choices only a true outsider artist could make.
Allee loved “Limbo Girl” for…
The curls of blue in the hair.
The rope detail right across the chest.
The dramatically shaded crotch.
The nose shadows on both sides.
The moustache-that-isn’t-a-moustache.
And the gloriously off-ratio waist-to-head situation.
“Limbo Girl'“ even made it onto MTV (back when MTV was cool). When Allee art directed Just Say Julie, its star (UPtown) Julie Brown insisted she go in her bedroom set.
Paul coveted it even before that. Maybe they thrifted it together. Who knows. But once he laid eyes on it, he could not let it go. He joked about stealing it constantly. The more he wanted it, the more Allee refused. It became a thing.
You’ll see:
—Willis Wonderland
P.S. By the way, “Limbo Girl” is still on my walls. Right where she belongs in the music studio.
Big thanks to the Willis Wonderland Foundation for giving me a voice.
They honor the legacy of Hall of Fame songwriter and creative powerhouse Allee Willis by empowering the next generation of creatives. Be sure to see what they’re up to with their Musical Wonders music education program. If you’d like to support what they’re doing (trust me, you do), please go ahead and make a tax-deductible donation today.
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LOVE!!