Paul Reubens, aka Pee-wee Herman, Dead at 70

Please accept my apology for not going public with what I’ve been facing the last six years. 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.”

Paul Reubens

Paul Reubens, better known to the world as Pee-wee Herman, passed away Saturday after a long and undisclosed battle with cancer. The actor and comedian was 70.

Born in Peekskill, NY, Reubens' family moved to Sarasota when he was a child. He frequented circuses, which he said ignited an interest in entertainment and would later have a clear influence on his work.

Reubens became interested in play-acting at a very young age and was later president of the Sarasota High chapter of the National Thespian Society. He was accepted to the California Institute of Arts and began performing standup comedy before joining the Groundlings, a famous LA-based improv comedy troupe.

It was during his time with the Groundlings that Reubens would develop the Pee Wee Herman character with help from fellow Groundling member Phil Hartman. After scoring small roles in a couple of Cheech & Chong movies, HBO aired a theatrical show he had developed, The Pee Wee Herman Show, which had run for five sold-out months at the Roxy Theatre in Los Angeles.

The success of the production led to a movie deal with Warner Bros. in which Reubens would write the script for a film featuring the quirky character. Released in 1985, Pee-wee's Big Adventure was a surprise hit, grossing over $40 million on just a $7 million budget, while gaining cult classic status.

The film's success led to a television deal with CBS in which Reubens would produce a live-action children's television program to air on Saturday mornings. Pee-wee's Playhouse was a massive success, running for five seasons before Reubens stepped away, saying that he had become burnt out on the character.

Reuben's second feature film, Big Top Pee-wee, was released in 1988 but did not do nearly as well as its predecessor. Pee-wee was awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1989.

In 2006, the television series was re-aired by Comedy Central as part of its late-night Adult Swim block where it did surprisingly well, averaging around 1.5 million viewers per episode. In 2010, Reubens revived his stage show, which enjoyed sold-out runs in LA and New York, before once again being aired by HBO. In 2016, producer Judd Apatow revived the character for the Netflix film Pee-wee's Big Holiday.

Reubens passed away on July 30, 2023, at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles. He had been diagnosed with cancer six years prior, but had not made the diagnosis public.

A statement written by Reubens before he died was released posthumously: "Please accept my apology for not going public with what I’ve been facing the last six years. 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."