Photo by Frank Sun, cropped (CC BY-SA)
The Lowdown
Before The Matrix and Law & Order, Laurence Fishburne and S. Epatha Merkerson both worked on Pee-wee’s Playhouse — Cowboy Curtis and Reba the mail lady.
Key Takeaways
- Fishburne played Cowboy Curtis on Pee-wee’s Playhouse.
- Merkerson played Reba the mail lady on the same series.
- Merkerson told Fresh Air that Dick Wolf said he cast her on Law & Order because his kids loved Pee-wee’s Playhouse.
The Connection
From Playhouse to prestige TV
Fishburne’s Cowboy Curtis and Merkerson’s Reba share a kids’-TV credit that most viewers never connect to Morpheus or Lieutenant Anita Van Buren.
In a Fresh Air interview, Merkerson recalled Wolf saying his children were huge Playhouse fans — a casting anecdote that ties the mail lady to one of television’s longest-running lieutenants.
The Connection is the shared Playhouse workplace plus Merkerson’s documented Wolf story — not a claim that Fishburne and Merkerson shared later projects.
Who’s Who
- Laurence Fishburne: Cowboy Curtis; later Morpheus in The Matrix.
- S. Epatha Merkerson: Reba; later Lt. Anita Van Buren on Law & Order.
Where It Happened
- Pee-wee’s Playhouse.
- Law & Order (Merkerson casting anecdote).
More Context
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Actor · Director
Born in 1961, Laurence Fishburne is an American actor and director who played Bill Foster in Ant-Man and the Wasp (2018).