Paul Reubens

Verified Timeline

Lore & Background

Reubens was born in Peekskill, New York, on August 27, 1952, and grew up in a Jewish family. His parents, Judy and Milton Rubenfeld, owned a lamp store; his mother was a teacher, and his father was an automobile salesperson who had flown for Britain's Royal Air Force and the U.S. Army Air Forces in World War II, later becoming one of the founding pilots of the Israeli Air Force. Reubens spent his early childhood in Oneonta, New York before moving to Sarasota, Florida at age nine. He attended Sarasota High School, where he was named president of the National Thespian Society, and later graduated from the California Institute of the Arts with a BFA in Theatre in 1973. At CalArts, he was described by The New Yorker as 'the wildest of a wild bunch'; his classmates included Katey Sagal, Michael Richards, and David Hasselhoff, who was his roommate for a time. After graduating, Reubens joined the Groundlings in the 1970s. The character of Pee-wee Herman originated during a 1978 improvisation exercise, 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 he would never make it. Fellow Groundling Phil Hartman helped develop the character, and John Paragon helped write the show. Pee-wee's first name came from a one-inch Pee Wee brand harmonica Reubens had as a child, and the surname Herman was the last name of an energetic boy he knew from his youth. Reubens auditioned for Saturday Night Live on the same day as Gilbert Gottfried; Reubens told Entertainment Weekly hiring both was not an option because they were 'the same type of performer', and he knew immediately Gottfried would get the job. Reubens was so angry and bitter that he decided to borrow money and start his own show in Los Angeles using the Pee-wee character. With help from other Groundlings, 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. He performed midnight shows for adults and weekly matinees for children, later entering the mainstream when HBO aired the show in 1981. Reubens produced and wrote the 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, which significantly harmed his career. He 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.

Reader's Guide

Paul Reubens's significance lies in his creation of Pee-wee Herman, a character that maintained enduring popularity with both children and adults. Pee-wee's Playhouse garnered 15 Emmy Awards during its initial run, and was aired again on late-night television in the 2000s, during which TV Guide dubbed it among the top ten cult classic television programs. Reubens 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). Despite career setbacks from legal troubles, Reubens continued acting in numerous television shows such as Murphy Brown, 30 Rock, Portlandia, and The Blacklist. He also appeared in big-budget projects including Mystery Men (1999) and Blow (2001). Reubens died in July 2023 from cancer. His legacy includes a distinctive comedic persona that influenced popular culture and a body of work spanning improvisational comedy, film, and children's television.

Did You Know?

• Reubens's father, Milton Rubenfeld, was one of five Jewish pilots to fly against Arab forces in smuggled fighter planes during the 1948 Arab–Israeli War.
• At age five, Reubens asked his father to build him a stage where he and his siblings would act out plays.
• Reubens was accepted into Northwestern University's summer program for gifted high-school students.
• The original small, gray suit Pee-wee wore had been handmade for Groundlings Director and Founder Gary Austin, who passed it on to Reubens.
• Reubens made 14 guest appearances on The Gong Show starting in 1977, including a boy–girl act called The Hilarious Betty and Eddie.