“I always called him Pablo,” Merkerson wrote in a statement to EW.
“I will truly miss my friend.”
Merkerson made her TV debut as Reba the Mail Lady onPee-wee’s Playhousein 1986.
S. Epatha Merkerson, Paul Reubens.CBS/Everett
She currently stars in the NBC seriesChicago Med.
“We met at my audition forPee-wee’s Playhouse,” she recalled.
“I did not know of the character…my nephew Sean told me who he was.
S. Epatha Merkerson, Paul Reubens.Peter Kramer/Getty
He looked like a 60s reject!
I think Paul saw the confusion on my face and he teased me all through the audition.”
She continued: “When I left there I thought, ‘I’ll never get that job!’
I couldn’t concentrate, he kept making me laugh!
We became fast friends.
I’m gonna miss you, Pablo!”
Reubens' death was announced on Monday afternoon.
“I have loved you all so much and enjoyed making art for you.”
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