Paul Reubens was an icon of children’s TV, best known for playing the character Pee-wee Herman. The actor’s death following a private battle with cancer was announced on Monday, July 31. He was 70 years old. Following his death, he posthumously released a statement. ‘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 for my friends, fans, and supporters. I have loved you all so much and enjoyed making art for you,’ he said.
Born in Peekskill, New York, Paul began working in television after completing school at the California Institute for the Arts. After a few appearances on programs like ‘The Gong Show,’ Paul joined the improv troupe The Groundlings, where he began to develop the character that would become Pee-wee Herman.
After a failed ‘Saturday Night Live’ audition, Paul began ‘The Pee-wee Herman Show’ as a live stage show. He became a mainstream star when HBO showed the performance in 1981. He began making many public appearances as Pee-wee, including in films like ‘Cheech And Chong’s Next Movie’ in 1981. The character proved so popular that it led to the movie ‘Pee-wee’s Big Adventure’ and TV show ‘Pee-wee’s Playhouse,’ which ran from 1986 until 1991.
Following a 1991 arrest, Paul avoided the public eye, but slowly began making appearances in other non-Pee-wee-related projects like ‘Murphy Brown’, ‘The Nightmare Before Christmas’, ’30 Rock’, and ‘Blow.’
In 2010, Paul starred in a new version of ‘The Pee-wee Herman Show,’ which ran on Broadway and was taped for HBO. In 2016, ‘Pee-Wee’s Big Holiday’ was released on Netflix. He continued to take on small acting and voice-acting roles in recent years.
Following the sad news of his death, scroll through our gallery to see photos of Paul over the years.
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