Paul Reubens

Paul Reubens (né Rubenfeld; August 27, 1952 – July 30, 2023) was an American actor and comedian, widely known for creating and portraying the character Pee-wee Herman.

Born in Peekskill, New York and raised in both Oneonta, New York and Sarasota, Florida, Reubens joined the Los Angeles-based troupe the Groundlings in the 1970s and started his career as an improvisational comedian and stage actor. Reubens developed his Pee-wee character at the Groundlings. After a failed audition for Saturday Night Live (Reubens was one of twenty-two finalists to be chosen as a regular on the show and thought his career was over when Gilbert Gottfried was chosen over him), Reubens debuted a stage show starring Pee-wee, The Pee-wee Herman Show, in 1981. Pee-wee quickly became a cult figure and, for the next decade, Reubens completely committed to his character, conducting all public appearances and interviews as Pee-wee. He produced and wrote a feature film, Pee-wee's Big Adventure (1985), directed by Tim Burton, which was a financial and critical success. Its sequel, Big Top Pee-wee (1988), was less successful. Between 1986 and 1990, Reubens starred as Pee-wee in the CBS Saturday-morning children's program Pee-wee's Playhouse.

Reubens was arrested for indecent exposure in an adult theater in Sarasota in 1991. The arrest garnered major national media attention, and though he received support from some colleagues in the entertainment industry, it significantly harmed Reubens's career. Reubens maintained a low profile through much of the 1990s as a result, before returning to appearing in big-budget projects including Mystery Men (1999) and Blow (2001). He subsequently began giving interviews as himself rather than as Pee-wee. Reubens was later investigated and charged with child pornography offenses in 2002, which he strongly denied. He later pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor obscenity charge as part of a plea deal.

Reubens acted in numerous television shows such as Murphy Brown, 30 Rock, Portlandia, and The Blacklist. He revived the Pee-wee character in the 2010s, performing on stage in The Pee-wee Herman Show, which ran in Los Angeles and on Broadway, and writing and co-starring in the Netflix original film Pee-wee's Big Holiday (2016).