From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. John Dixon Paragon (born 9 December 1954) is an American actor, writer, and director. He was born in Anchorage, Alaska, on an Army base. He grew up and attended schools in Fort Collins, Colorado. Paragon is probably best known for his work on children's show Pee-wee's Playhouse where he played Jambi the Genie and voiced Pterri the Pterodactyl. In addition to writing many of the regular season episodes of Playhouse, Paragon also co-wrote (with Paul Reuben...