It was 36 years ago, on this very date, January 11th, that Pee-Wee Herman went on his cross country “big adventure” in search of his most prized possession that had been stolen by spoiled brat nemesis, Frances Buxton. His beloved red and white custom bike, with enough secret gadgets and gizmos that would make 007 or Lucius Fox sweat with envy.
He met an array of characters along his journey that includes a sketchy “psychic”, a gum chewing docent at the historic Alamo, a felon on the run, a gang of bikers and their babes, and a train hopping snaggletoothed hobo. But the one encounter that stands out most, that is arguably the most remembered, with the most iconic scene of the film, is with truck driver Large Marge.
She found him stranded on the side of the road in the pitch black desert, and opened her rig door inviting him in to safety. At first glance, Large Marge deceptively looks like a grandmother type, only in lumberjack flannel.
But as soon as the door shuts, her ominous story begins about “the worst accident I ever seen”, and proceeds to spin the tale as if it’s a spooky campfire story, slowly building with tension. Pee-Wee looks on captivated, but frightened:
“On this very night, ten years ago, along this same stretch of road in a dense fog just like this. I saw the worst accident I ever seen. There was this sound, like a garbage truck dropped off the Empire State Building.
And when they finally pulled the driver’s body from the twisted, burning wreck. It looked like…THIS!!”
She contorts her face in grotesque shapes, not only scaring the begeezus out of Pee-Wee, but in less than 2 minutes screen time, also ripping that generation of movie watchers out of the safety of childhood daydreams and playgrounds, and turning us into future adults that give a nervous untrusting eye to any truck driver we see on long road trips for the rest of our lives.
To Pee-Wee’s relief, just as her horror story ends, she rolls up to The Wheel Inn diner, and lets him out. But not before delivering her most famous line, a line almost as iconic as the film itself, “Be sure and tell’em, Large Marge sent ya!”
Mention that quote to a certain era of folks, and most likely, they will repeat her spooky monologue in full. At the very least, they will recite the opening line, “On this very night, 10 years ago”. Apparently, however, the real life workers at the Wheel Inn were rumored to hate that quote because so many people stepped in over the years just to say it and have a laugh. I could imagine that got very old, very quickly.
As Large Marge cackles and drives off, Pee-Wee closes the door and makes his way into the diner, bypassing the giant roadside attraction of life-size dinosaurs next to it.
Pee-Wee, obviously a bit shaken from his experience, walks into the restaurant, and does, in fact, state that Large Marge had sent him. The diners’ mouths drop and gasp, silverware falls clink-clanking onto the dishes and tables, eyes widen. And Pee-Wee is once again regaled with the legend of Large Marge by one of the diner regulars, and a presumable truck driving colleague of Marges’.
In this telling, it’s revealed that it was her in that “worst accident” anyone had ever seen, and that Pee-Wee had been riding shotgun with her ghost, as the cameras’ eye pans over to a shrine of a solemn, pleasant faced Large Marge.
The Wheel Inn opened in 1958, and thrived through the 90s. It, along with the 40 foot dinosaurs just outside its door, was a popular roadside stop and was not only featured in Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure, but was also featured in other films and music videos:
Unfortunately, The Wheel Inn was closed permanently in 2013. It has since been demolished. Before it was torn down, I was on a road trip with some friends, and was able to, umm, “gain entry” <wink, wink> into the old diner and have a look around.
However, the famous Cabazon dinosaurs are still there. Originally known as the Claude Bell dinosaurs, named after their sculptor. Claude Bell is also responsible for creating sculptures at SoCal amusement park Knott’s Scary Farm.
He started with “Dinny”, the brontosaurus, in 1964, whose belly now holds a creationist museum and gift shop. I’m not sure why the dino is named “Dinny”. I couldn’t find that info in my research.
“Mr. Rex”, obviously the T-Rex, wasn’t constructed until 1981. And yes, with admission to the museum and “dino park”, you can now climb up to his mouth the way Pee-Wee and Simone do in the film to watch the sunrise, however there is no giant relaxing “tongue couch” to kick back on.
Good research and write, Nate. Enjoyed the journey with you.