Paul Reubens has passed away at the age of 70, after privately battling cancer for years. I had no idea he was so sick before now. Reubens is best known as Pee-wee Herman, the character he created at the improv comedy troupe Groundlings. Reubens was more than Pee-wee though, and even after scandals and one arrest, he still found work. Mostly because he had a lot of friends in the industry, especially in the comedy world. He also gave wonderful and memorable performances in 30 Rock, Blow, Buffy the Vampire Slayer (the movie), Mystery Men, Batman Returns and on and on. He was a gifted comedian, writer, actor and children’s entertainer.
Paul Reubens, the actor best known for portraying the irrepressible, joyfully childlike Pee-wee Herman, died Sunday night after a private bout of cancer. He was 70.
“Please accept my apology for not going public with what I’ve been facing the last six years,” wrote Reubens in a statement posted to Instagram after his death. “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.”
“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,” wrote Reubens’ estate in the caption. “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.”
This is just so sad. Variety included his scandals in their write-up but I just don’t have the heart to talk about it. He had so many fans who grew up with Pee-wee and he had so many supporters in Hollywood.
Photos courtesy of Cover Images.
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- -Glendale , CA – 05/12/2012 Disney XD TRON Uprising Screening -PICTURED: Paul Reubens -PHOTO by: Sara De Boer/startraksphoto.com -SDL_9221 Startraks Photo New York, NY For licensing please call 212-414-9464 or email sales@startraksphoto.com Featuring: Paul Reubens Where: Glendale , California, United States When: 12 May 2012 Credit: Sara De Boer/startraksphoto.com
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- -New York, NY – 5/7/2015 – Paul Reubens aka Pee-Wee Herman Filming Pee-WeeÕs Big Holiday in Downtown Manhattan. -PICTURED: Paul Reubens (aka Pee-Wee Herman) -PHOTO by: Brian Flannery/startraksphoto.com -BRI_1867a Editorial – Rights Managed Image – Please contact www.startraksphoto.com for licensing fee Startraks Photo New York, NY For licensing please call 212-414-9464 or email sales@startraksphoto.com Startraks Photo reserves the right to pursue unauthorized users of this image. If you violate our intellectual property you may be liable for actual damages, loss of income, and profits you derive from the use of this image, and where appropriate, the cost of collection and/or statutory damages. Featuring: Paul Reubens (aka Pee-Wee Herman) Where: New York, New York, United States When: 07 May 2015 Credit: Brian Flannery/startraksphoto.com
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- September 21, 2006: Paul Reubens attending the Comedy Central celebration of South Park’s 10th Season held at “The Lot” in Los Angeles, California. Credit: Carlos Diaz/INFGoff.com Ref: infusla-03 Featuring: Paul Reubens Where: Los Angeles, California, United States When: 21 Sep 2006 Credit: Carlos Diaz/INFGoff.com
Gone too soon but no longer in pain. RIP
I’m having trouble understanding why he gets a pass – he was arrested for exposure and child porn (though those charges were dropped). An actor who gears his work towards kids and also exploits them? This isn’t tax evasion.
I agree!
He was in a porn movie theater when the “exposure” occurred. It wasn’t in a public park or something; I assume cops were looking to inflate their arrest numbers.
As I understand it, he was doing inside an adult theater what people usually do inside an adult theater. It was in a conservative part of an already conservative state, and when the cops realized who he was, they decided to make an example of him.
Regarding the “child porn” charge, I was under the impression that he had purchased some vintage artwork that some people found questionable, and because he already had a target on his back thanks to his arrest, the whole thing was overblown, and that’s why the charges were eventually dropped.
Obviously, I wasn’t there for any of this, so I’m happy to be corrected if I’m wrong.
My understanding also was he had an extensive collection of vintage gay and straight erotica art, including where some depicted people that could be construed as under age; as you noted he had a target.
I’m old enough to remember his arrest in the theater and most people I know thought it was more a stupid decision on his part vs anything scandalous. Imagine most of the people (men) making it a big deal or joke have probably done it too, just not been caught. Remember in the early 90’s there weren’t unlimited 24/7 options to access pornography.
He didn’t get a pass bc his career tanked afterwards and he didn’t work in Hollywood for 20 years. He was “discovered” pleasuring himself in an adult (ie porn) movie theater (exposure) by the police. There were a lot of Hollywood stings happening at that time and those cases could make or break a cop and prosecutor’s career. They caught many actors and musicians in compromising and embarassing situations.
There’s a lot of nostalgia surrounding Pee Wee and I liked the character. He was a child favorite/phenomenon. I remember the movies and tv shows bc prior to the scandal, he was everywhere. There was even a dance called the Pee Wee Herman. You can see Jerome from The Time do a little bit of it towards the end of Janet Jackson’s Control music video. The scandals shocked, horrified and saddened many of his fans like myself. But a six year cancer battle? RIP.
I have the same trouble. He exposed himself in a theater that didnt allow it. Then Police found porn that he and his lawyer said was vintage erotica… depicting young teen Boys.
Lastly, he “agreed” to register as a sexual offender to avoid extra charges… so innocent on his part eh?
But I guess its true that when you die people forgive and forget, and will even turn you into an icon.
Just here to say, whoa! Miss Janet! Just watched that video, what a great bit of nostalgia that was!
As for PeeWee Herman, I found his kid show entertaining, although I do get tired of the ‘but it’s art!’ excuse. That’s what they told Brook Shields that Pretty Baby was. It’s art! Same with the CK ads. Art!
RIP, though, that’s a tough way to go.
As it turned out he was exonerated from the exposure charge as well. They had CCTV of him in the lobby timestamped at the time the cops said they caught him.
It pretty much wrecked his life at the time. And all for a bunch of bullshit so the cops could look tough.
I am not one to defend men, but the child sexual assault materials charges were sketchy at best.
First off, the entire thing started because another actor, Jeffrey Jones, trying to lessen his own CSAM charges.
Herman had a vast collection of historical erotica, and there were two videos and a couple of nude photographs that may have been of underaged teenage boys. The photographs were from the 1910-1920s and were considered photographic studies by many art historians.
There were no felony charges filed, and he pled to a simple misdemeanor.
He didn’t get a pass. He and his career suffered pretty hardcore for masturbating to adult porn in an adult theatre. That “crime” then put him under a microscope for the vintage art collection he had, which was seen as child porn by people who don’t get art. Man, does context matter.
RIP, PeeWee.
he considered them art, no doubt, but some were of teen boys from magazines created and intended as erotica. that they were vintage and that no one cared about taking pictures of nude teens when they were taken isn’t really the point. i do think he got a raw deal although I’m pretty sure he pled to a misdemeanor?? But I think we need to be careful not to be too casual in suggesting that these were artist images that just happened to include nude teen boys – at least some of them were produced as erotica and I’m not comfortable saying that teen boys have the ability to consent to that.
and I think he has always maintained that he was not masturbating btw
You answered your own question….he was arrested in a PORN theater, and the other charges were dropped.
No, he was arrested for exposing himself in a PORN theater that PROHIBITED exposure. Of course he will mantain he wasn’t masturbating.
Again he took 2 charges, one for the theater incident, one for the “erotica” of teen boys. He registered as sex-offender in exchange for heavier charges dropped.
I honestly just hope this doesn’t turn out like a Jimmy Savile thing…
He said he wasn’t masturbating, because he wasn’t. CCTV timestamp revealed that he was actually in the lobby at the time the cop said he saw him. So that got thrown out.
Porn theaters are for watching porn. It was all a big lie, for the sole purpose of harassing him.
Good grief, heard about Pee Wee (Paul) getting busted (railroaded) at adult theater, but never heard of him getting busted for pornography.
So now I’ve had to go do the deep dive.
First is EW 8/16/91 “Pee Wee Herman Scandal” by Mark Harris & Ty Burr:
https://ew.com/article/1991/08/16/pee-wee-herman-scandal/
Second is NBC News 4/2/2004 “Pee Wee Herman creator speaks out” by Stone Phillips:
https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna4653913
Bottom line for me is I’m still sympathetic to this character, both before and after learning about his cancer.
He was such a big part of my childhood!! I loved Pee-Wes’s Big Adventure SO much. I probably watched it a 1000 times. And I was also hooked on his Saturday morning show. Someone on Reddit said yesterday that Pee-wee will be buried in the basement of the Alamo and I choked up a little. I was crushed over his arrest, since I was adult by then, but had always hoped his guest spots meant he was doing better.
Pee-Wee’s Playhouse was a saturday morning staple in our house when I was a kid and my brothers and I quoted Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure daily. When my younger brother asked to go out with me I’d always say “I’m a loner, a rebel…”
Even the Alamo Historical Society tweeted a tribute to him yesterday. They noted that they’ve been asked about the basement for 35 years now, all because of the enduring legacy of Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure.
Er, no, the Alamo is a National Park Service unit & is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. He’ll not be buried there. You don’t get to get buried in National Parks.
Haven’t National Parks been created where people are already buried?
@Kirk: yes, there will be historic cemeteries already in existence when the National Park was established; however, there will be no new burials. The only exception that I am aware of is at Kalaupapa National Historical Park, which is the Hansen’s disease (formerly known as leprosy) settlement. The settlement was established in 1866 when Hawaii was still a kingdom, and is still a living settlement today. It is also a national park unit, which is very unusual. The state’s Board of Health manages the health & welfare of the patients (there are about ten remaining), as well as the visitor access; the National Park Service manages the upkeep of the land, the cultural & natural resources, trails & roads, and so on. And it manages the historic cemeteries EXCEPT when a patient dies. The state decides on where to bury the individual & does the actual excavation & burial.
I can’t believe he was 70! I’d never thought about it, but if asked, I would have guessed he was much younger.
When he walked out on the the MTV Awards stage and asked “Heard any good jokes lately?”…he won me over. What a great way to handle his arrest. He was in a porn theatre. What do you think happens in a porn theatre. And the child pornography charges were dropped. He had vintage art that some loser cops decided were porn. Gimmeabreak. His comedy was never picking on anyone else or hurtful. It was cheerful and silly. He was a bright light and I was crushed yesterday to hear he was gone much much much too soon. I’ll have to go re-watch Big Adventure for the 7,000th time and just be grateful he existed, shared his talents and made me laugh so many times.
@LolaLola. My thoughts exactly. He explicitly said that he wasn’t a pedophile and it was important to him that people understood that. I loved him and always will.
I met him in LA on a movie set. He was out of costume, but was as nice as could be. We are from the same area of Texas. I thought the arrest was stupid at the time.
He must have done amazing birthday greetings…Phil Rosenthal, Joe Manganiello and Jimmy Kimmel all referenced the birthday wishes sent to them and their family members.
He was on Phil/David Wild’s Naked Lunch podcast last year and was really interesting to learn more about him, outside of the PeeWee character.
With Sinead and Pee Wee’s passing in the last week, two of my childhood idols are gone. I was reminded last night how quaint both of their “scandals” were and now people are understanding how it was to scandalize either of them.
What an incredible entertainer. I cried when I heard the sad news yesterday.
It saddens me that his memory is being tarnished by these b.s. charges. I lived in Sarasota at that time and I assure you the police could have spent their time more constructively than busting guys jerking it in a porn theater. The vintage porn charges were absurd. There have never been any victims to come forward with allegations against him and there never will.
Please focus on all the joy he brought and his beautiful positive message.
RIP, PeeWee
He was born exactly 10 years before me, along with that rat bastard Roger Stone. Guess who the universe takes first? I hope he rests easily.
Oh wow, that’s so sad to bring Pee-Wee up with “rat bastard Roger Stone.”
Loved Pee-Wee Herman in total!
What a gift!
Paul Reubens’ Pee Wee character was legendary. One of my best teenage memories is from his work – a singular memory of being in a movie theater and scream laughing with my best friend. 40 years later, this memory still brings a smile to me. Thank you, Paul, and rest in peace. God speed.