You Can Buy Pee-wee Herman’s Big Adventure Bike Next Week
The premier gallery and auction house Van Eaton Galleries has officially announced that they will be holding a massive auction event called PopCulture: Collection of Jay Ward, where attendees will have the chance to buy the bike from Pee-wee’s Big Adventure. The iconic item was used on the big screen by legendary comedian Paul Reubens in the 1985 movie.
The red and white stunt bicycle was one of the 14 bikes used during production of the classic film. Thirteen of the said bikes were created by Pedal Pusher vintage bike shop in Newport Beach, while one was custom-built by Gary Littlejohn, a stuntman who helped create the world’s first BMX bikes. This particular bicycle is officially one of the only surviving bikes that can be screen-matched to exact moments in the film, including the popular scene where Pee-wee crashes into a curb during the Warner Brothers lot chase as Pee-wee rockets over the house and Reubens swings on a vine like Tarzan.
When will Pee-wee Herman’s Big Adventure bike be up for auction?
The PopCulture: Collection of Jay Ward auction is scheduled to take place on May 3 and May 4, 2025, beginning at 10:00 a.m. PT. Prior to this, the public exhibition of the items included in the auction will held at the Van Eaton Galleries located at 12160 Ventura Blvd in Studio City, California until May 1, 2025.
The original 1985 movie was directed by Beetlejuice filmmaker Tim Burton from a screeplay written by Reubens, Phil Hartman, and Michael Varhol. Besides Reubens, the cast also featured Elizabeth Daily as Dottie, Mark Holton as Francis Buxton, and Diane Salinger as Simone. The acclaimed comedy currently holds a Certified Fresh rating of 89% on Rotten Tomatoes, based on 53 reviews.
“In the movie, Pee-wee Herma, an eccentric child-like man, loves his red bicycle and will not sell it to his envious neighbor, Francis. While Pee-wee visits his friend Dottie, the bike is stolen,” reads the synopsis. “Thinking his bike is at the Alamo, Pee-wee sets off on a trip, where he meets many remarkable people, including waitress Simone and a motorcycle gang. Eventually, Pee-wee discovers that his bike is being used in a movie and tries to recover it.”
