Sam Amico
The Big Adventure has come to an end. Paul Reubens, the man who played fictional comic character Pee-wee Herman, has died. He was 70.
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Reubens reportedly died after a private bout with cancer. A statement con the Pee-wee Herman Instagram account confirmed the news.
“Last night we said farewell to Paul Reubens, an iconic American actor, comedian, writer and producer whose beloved character Pee-wee Herman delighted generations of children and adults with his positivity, whimsy and belief in the importance of kindness,” it read. “Paul bravely and privately fought cancer for years with his trademark tenacity and wit. A gifted and prolific talent, he will forever live in the comedy pantheon and in our hearts as a treasured friend and man of remarkable character and generosity of spirit.”
That statement captioned a post that was supposedly written by Reubens/Herman himself.
“Please accept my apology for not going public with what I’ve been facing the last six years,” wrote Reubens. “I have always felt a huge amount of love and respect from my friends, fans and supporters. I have loved you all so much and enjoyed making art for you.”
Reubens was born Paul Rubenfield in Peekskill, N.Y., in 1952. He spent much of his childhood in Oneonta, N.Y., and attended Boston University. He started to perform at local comedy clubs in the late 1970s and even made several appearances on The Gong Show.
He eventually moved to California and joined a Los Angeles-based comedy team known as The Groundlings, staying with the group for six years. Late comedian/actor Phil Hartman was also a member of The Groundlings.
It was there that Reubens invited the idea of Pee-wee Herman as part of an improvisation about a wanna-be comic who was lousy at telling jokes and would therefore never make it. Hartman was credited with helping to develop the character.
Pee-wee Herman rode the success of an HBO show, eventually starring in the Pee-wee’s Big Adventure movie and the weekly Pee-wee’s Playhouse Saturday morning program that ran from 1986-91. His innocent style and trademark laugh made him a hit with adults and kids alike. Whenever Reubens was interviewed, he remained in character, speaking to talk-show hosts and the media as Pee-wee.
But all of it came to a crashing halt when he was arrested for indecent exposure at an adult movie theater in 1991.
“At the center of a national sex scandal, Reubens backed away from Pee-wee and began doing press as himself,” Variety wrote. “He wouldn’t again reprise the iconic role until 2010, when he revived The Pee-wee Herman Show on Broadway and made several other appearances, on WWE Raw and in a couple of digital sketches for Funny or Die. In 2016, Reubens co-wrote and starred in Netflix’s Pee-wee’s Big Holiday, a sequel to 1988’s Big Top, which would serve as Reubens’ final film role before his death.”
Reubens also had a small role in The Blues Brothers and a bit of a larger role in the 2001 film Blow, starring Johnny Depp. Also, in the mid-1990s, he had a reoccurring role on the TV series Murphy Brown.
