Jambi

The head of a man with a blue-green face and a red turban appears before a black background.

Portrayed by actor John Paragon, Jambi the Genie was a character on the television show Pee-wee's Playhouse (1986-1990) starring Paul Reubens. Previously, Jambi had also appeared in Reubens' live stage show, The Pee-wee Herman Show, which began in 1980.

Jambi is ostensibly a floating head in a jeweled box found in Pee-wee's playhouse. Anytime someone on the show utters the phrase "I wish..." Jambi's box opens and he says, "Wish? Did somebody say 'Wish'?" He then grants the wish with the following magic words, often followed by an increasingly complex sequence of additional nonsense words: "Mecca lecca hi, mecca hiney ho..." Paragon reprised the role of Jambi in the 2010 Broadway production of The Pee-wee Herman Stage Show: The Return, which was also aired as an HBO special.