Paul Reubens

Writer

**Paul Reubens** (/ˈruːbənz/; né **Rubenfeld**; born August 27, 1952)[1] is an American actor, writer, film producer, game show host, and comedian, best known for his character Pee-wee Herman. Reubens joined the Los Angeles troupe The Groundlings in the 1970s and started his career as an improvisational comedian and stage actor. In 1982, Reubens put up a show about a character he had been developing for years. The show was called *The Pee-wee Herman Show* and it ran for five sold-out months with HBO producing a successful special about it. Pee-wee became an instant cult figure and for the next decade, Reubens would be completely committed to his character, doing all of his public appearances and interviews as Pee-wee. In 1985 *Pee-wee's Big Adventure*, directed by the then-unknown Tim Burton, was a financial and critical success, and soon developed into a cult film. *Big Top Pee-wee*, 1988's sequel, was less successful than its predecessor. Between 1986 and 1990, Reubens starred as Pee-wee in the CBS Saturday-morning children's program *Pee-wee's Playhouse*.

Thereafter, Reubens decided to take a sabbatical from Pee-wee. In July 1991, Reubens was arrested for indecent exposure in an adult theater in Sarasota, Florida. The arrest set off a chain reaction of national media attention that changed the general public's view of Reubens and Pee-wee.[2] The arrest postponed Reubens' involvement in major projects until 1999 when he appeared in several big-budget projects including *Mystery Men* and *Blow* and started giving interviews as himself rather than as Pee-wee.

Since 2006, Reubens has been making cameos and guest appearances in numerous projects, such as *Reno 911!*, *30 Rock*, *Dirt*, *Pushing Daisies*, and *The Blacklist*. Since the 1990s, he has worked on two possible Pee-wee films: one dark and adult, dubbed *The Pee-wee Herman Story*, and one a family-friendly epic adventure called *Pee-wee's Playhouse: The Movie*.[3] In 2010, he starred on Broadway in *The Pee-wee Herman Show*.

In 2016, Reubens helped write and starred in the Netflix original film *Pee-wee's Big Holiday*, reprising his role as Pee-wee Herman.

## Early life and education

Reubens as a high school senior, 1970

Reubens was born Paul Rubenfeld in Peekskill, New York, and grew up in Sarasota, Florida, where his parents, Judy (Rosen) and Milton Rubenfeld, owned a lamp store. His mother was a teacher. His father was an automobile salesperson who had flown for Britain's Royal Air Force and for the U.S. Army Air Forces in World War II, later becoming one of the founding pilots of the Israeli Air Force during the 1948 Arab-Israeli War.[5] Paul has two younger siblings, Luke (born 1958), who is a dog trainer,[6] and Abby (born 1953),[7] who is an attorney, and board member of the American Civil Liberties Union of Tennessee.[8][9][10]

Reubens spent a significant amount of his childhood in Oneonta, New York. As a child, Reubens frequented the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus, whose winter headquarters was in Sarasota. The circus's atmosphere sparked Reubens' interest in entertainment and influenced his later work.[11][12] Reubens also loved to watch reruns of *I Love Lucy*, which made him want to make people laugh.[13]At age five, Reubens asked his father to build him a stage, where he and his siblings would put on plays.[14]

Reubens attended Sarasota High School, where he was named president of the National Thespian Society. He was accepted into Northwestern University's summer program for gifted high-school students and also joined the local Asolo Theater and Players of Sarasota Theater, appearing in several plays.[6] After graduation, he attended Boston University and began auditioning for acting schools. He was turned down by several schools, including Juilliard, and twice by Carnegie-Mellon, before being accepted at the California Institute of the Arts and moving to California, where he worked in restaurant kitchens and as a Fuller Brush salesman.[6]

In the 1970s, Reubens performed at local comedy clubs and made four guest appearances on *The Gong Show* as part of a boy–girl act he had developed with Charlotte McGinnis, called *The Hilarious Betty and Eddie*.[6] He soon joined the Los Angeles–based improvisational comedy team The Groundlings and remained a member for six years, working with Bob McClurg, John Paragon, Susan Barnes, and Phil Hartman. Hartman and Reubens became friends, often writing and working on material together.[15] In 1980, he had a small part as a waiter in *The Blues Brothers*.

## Pee-wee Herman

Main article: Pee-wee Herman

Reubens giving an interview in character at the 1988 Academy Awards

The character of "Pee-wee Herman" originated during a 1978 improvisation exercise with The Groundlings, where Reubens came up with the idea of a man who wanted to be a comic but was so inept at telling jokes that it was obvious to the audience that he would never make it.[16] Fellow Groundling Phil Hartman would afterwards help Reubens develop the character while another Groundling, John Paragon, would help write the show.[17][18] Despite having been compared to other famous characters, such as Hergé's Tintin and Collodi's Pinocchio,[19][20] Reubens says that there is no specific source for "Pee-wee" but rather a collection of ideas. Pee-wee's voice originated in 1970 when Reubens appeared in a production of *Life with Father*, where he was cast as one of the most obnoxious characters in the play, for which Reubens adopted a cartoon-like way of speaking that would become Pee-wee's.[21][22] Pee-wee's name resulted from a one-inch Pee Wee brand harmonica Reubens had as a child, and Herman was the surname of an energetic boy Reubens knew from his youth.[11][22] The first small gray suit Pee-wee ever wore had been handmade for director and founder of the Groundlings Gary Austin, who passed it on to Reubens, while "someone" handed him the "little kid bow tie" before a show.[23][24]

### *The Pee-wee Herman Show*: 1981–1984

Main article: The Pee-wee Herman Show

Reubens as Pee-wee Herman at the 1988 Academy Awards.

Reubens auditioned for *Saturday Night Live* for the 1980–1981 season, but Gilbert Gottfried, who was a close friend of the show's producer and had the same acting style as Reubens, got the place[14][24] (ironically, Gottfried would later get in trouble for joking about Reubens' indecent exposure arrest as an award presenter at the Emmys).[25] Reubens was so angry and bitter that he decided he would borrow money and start his own show in Los Angeles using the character he had been developing during the last few years, "Pee-wee Herman".[26]

With the help of other Groundlings like John Paragon, Phil Hartman and Lynne Marie Stewart, Pee-wee acquired a small group of followers and Reubens took his show to The Roxy Theatre where "*The Pee-wee Herman Show*" ran for five sellout months, doing midnight shows for adults and weekly matinees for children, moving into the mainstream when HBO aired *The Pee-wee Herman Show* in 1981 as part of their series *On Location*.[27] Reubens also appeared as Pee-wee in the 1980 film *Cheech & Chong's Next Movie*.[6] Although it was Reubens in the role of Pee-Wee, the end credits of the movie billed him as *Hamburger Dude*. Reubens' act had mainly positive reactions and quickly acquired a group of fans, despite being described as "bizarre",[28] and Reubens being described as "the weirdest comedian around".[29] Pee-wee was both "corny" and "hip", "retrograde" and "avant-garde".[30]

When Pee-wee's fame started growing, Reubens started to move away from the spotlight, keeping his name under wraps and making all his public appearance and interviews in character while billing Pee-wee as playing himself; Reubens was trying to "get the public to think that that was a real person".[16][27] Later on he would even prefer his parents be known only as Honey Herman and Herman Herman.[21]In the early and mid-1980s, Reubens made several guest appearances on *Late Night with David Letterman* as Pee-wee Herman which gave Pee-wee an even bigger following.[28] During the mid-1980s, Reubens traveled the United States with a whole new *The Pee-wee Herman Show*, playing notably at the Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis, Caroline's in New York City and, in 1984, in front of a full Carnegie Hall.[15]

### *Pee-wee's Big Adventure*: 1985

Main article: Pee-wee's Big Adventure

The success of *The Pee-wee Herman Show* prompted Warner Bros. to hire Reubens to write a script for a full-length Pee-wee Herman film. Reubens' original idea was to do a remake of *Pollyanna*, which Reubens claims is his favorite film. Halfway through writing the script, Reubens noticed everyone at Warner Bros. had a bike with them, which inspired Reubens to start on a new script with Phil Hartman.[31] When Reubens and the producers of *Pee-wee's Big Adventure* saw Tim Burton's work on *Vincent* and *Frankenweenie*, they chose Burton to be the film's director.[32] The film tells the story of Pee-wee Herman embarking on nationwide adventure in search of his stolen bicycle. The movie went on to gross $40,940,662 domestically, recouping almost six times its $7 million budget.[33] At the time of release in 1985, the film received mixed reviews, but *Pee-wee's Big Adventure* developed into a cult film.[34]

### *Pee-wee's Playhouse*: 1986–1991

Main article: Pee-wee's Playhouse

After seeing the success of *Pee-wee's Big Adventure*, the CBS network approached Reubens with an ill-received cartoon series proposal.[20] In 1986, CBS agreed to sign Reubens to act, produce, and direct his live-action children's program, *Pee-wee's Playhouse*, with a budget of $325,000 per episode, the same price as a prime-time sitcom,[27] and no creative interference from CBS; although CBS did request a few minor changes throughout the years.[13] After casting actors like Laurence Fishburne and S. Epatha Merkerson, production began in New York City.[24] The opening credits of the show were sung by Cyndi Lauper. *Playhouse* was designed as an educational yet entertaining and artistic show for children and, despite being greatly influenced by 1950s shows Reubens watched as a child like *The Rocky and Bullwinkle Show*, *The Mickey Mouse Club*, *Captain Kangaroo* and *Howdy Doody*, it quickly acquired a dual audience of kids and grownups.[19][22][23] Reubens, always trying to make of Pee-wee a positive role model, was after making a significantly moral show, one that would teach children the ethics of reciprocity.[23] Reubens believed that children liked the *Playhouse* because it was fast-paced, colorful and "never talked them down"; while parents liked the *Playhouse* because it reminded them of the past.[23]

In 1986, Reubens (billed as Paul Mall) was the voice of the ship's computer in *Flight of the Navigator*. In 1987, Reubens provided the voice of REX, the main robot in the George Lucas produced Disneyland attraction, Star Tours,[6] and reprised the role of Pee-wee Herman in cameo appearances in the film *Back to the Beach* and TV show *Sesame Street*, the latter of which made a cameo in *Playhouse*.[35]

Right after the success of *Pee-wee's Big Adventure* Reubens began working with Paramount Pictures on a sequel entitled *Big Top Pee-wee*. Reubens and George McGrath's script was directed by *Grease* director Randal Kleiser. The film was not as successful as its predecessor, receiving mild reviews and doing just over one third as well in the box office,[36][37] earning only $15 million.[38]

Reubens attended 1988 Academy Awards with *Top* co-star Valeria Golino, which stirred rumors that the two were dating.[39][40] The following year Reubens exchanged vows with Doris Duke's adopted daughter, Chandi Heffner, at a mock wedding over which Imelda Marcos presided, in Shangri-La, Doris Duke's mansion in Honolulu, Hawaii.[11]

*Pee-wee's Playhouse* aired from September 13, 1986, until November 10, 1990. Reubens had originally agreed to do two more seasons after the third, and when CBS asked Reubens about the possibility of a sixth season he declined, wanting to take a sabbatical.[24] Reubens had been suffering from burnout from playing Pee-wee full-time and had been warning that Pee-wee was temporary and that he had other ideas he would like to work on.[6] The parties agreed to end the show after five seasons, which included 45 episodes and a Christmas Special.[41] *Playhouse* garnered 15 Emmy Awards, all of them in the Creative Arts Emmy Award category.

### Pee-wee's legacy

Reubens had not always thought of his character as one for children, but sometime during the mid-1980s, he started forming Pee-wee into the best role model he possibly could, making of his show a morally positive show that cared about issues like racial diversity.[23] Reubens was also careful on what should be associated to Pee-wee. Being a heavy smoker, he went to great lengths never to be photographed with a cigarette in his mouth, even refusing to endorse candy bars and other kinds of junk food, all the while trying to release his own sugar-free cereal "Ralston Purina Pee-wee Chow cereal", a project that died after a blind test.[11]

Reubens in 1985 receiving *Harvard Lampoon*'s Elmer Award for lifetime achievement in comedy.[21]

With his positive attitude and quirkiness, Pee-wee became an instant cult figure, earning a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame by 1989,[11] and successfully building a Pee-wee franchise, with toys, clothes and other items generating more than $25 million at its peak in 1988.[42] Reubens also published a book as Pee-wee in 1989 called *Travels with Pee-Wee*.[43] CBS aired reruns of *Playhouse*until July 1991, when Reubens was arrested, pulling from their schedule the last two remaining reruns.[44] Fox Family Channel briefly aired reruns of the *Playhouse* in 1998.[24] In early July 2006, Cartoon Network began running a teaser promo during its Adult Swim lineup. A later press release and many other promos confirmed that the show's 45 original episodes would nightly air from Monday to Thursday starting on that date.[45] *Playhouse* attracted 1.5 million viewers nightly. In 2007, *TV Guide* named *Playhouse* one of the top 10 TV cult classics of all time.[23] Several children's television personas cite Pee-wee Herman as an inspiration, including Blue's Clues's Steve Burns[46] and SpongeBob SquarePants's Stephen Hillenburg.[47]

In November 2004, all 45 episodes of the *Playhouse*, plus six episodes that had never before been released on home video, were released on DVD split between two box set collections. On July 3, 2013, Shout! Factory announced that they had acquired the rights to the entire series from Reubens, which was released on Blu-ray on October 21, 2014. In addition, the entire series was digitally remastered from the original 35mm film elements and original audio tracks.[48][49][50][51]

Pee-wee's small glen plaid suits seemed ridiculous during the 1980s, but since the late 1990s have made him a "style icon",[52] with fashion houses and designers like Christopher Bailey, Ennio Capasa, Miuccia Prada,[53] Viktor & Rolf,[54] and Thom Browne creating tightly cut suits with high armholes and short trousers that have been compared to Pee-wee's.[55] In early 2007 Nike released a collection of Nike SB sneakers called "Fallen Heroes". The collection was loosely inspired by Milli Vanilli, MC Hammer, Vanilla Ice, and Pee-wee Herman. Pee-wee's sneakers use a gray and white color scheme with red detail, with an illustration on the insole of a man in a suit sitting alone in a theatre with his hand on his lap suggesting Reubens' 1991 theatre arrest.[56]

Reubens has mentioned he has plans for a museum, which would contain many of the *Playhouse* sets and props he still owns.