RIP: Paul Reubens, "Pee-wee Herman"

[thewayne]

*sigh* 70 years old, lost the fight against an unspecified cancer.

Altogether now: FUCK CANCER!

Reubens was nominated for at least 14 Emmys for Pee-wee's Playhouse, personally winning two. He did a wide variety of stage and movie work, personally I will always appreciate him for The Spleen in Mystery Men and for his role in the movie Buffy The Vampire Slayer with Rutger Hauer:
Reubens (Head Flunky Vampire): "She tore my arm off!"
Hauer (Vampire King): "Do something about that, it looks terrible."

Most infamously, his career skidded to a halt in '91 when he was caught wanking in a porno theater. CBS cancelled reruns of Pee-wee's Playhouse, Pee-wee merchandise was taken off the shelves, and he disappeared for a few years. Several celebs stood by him, saying it was a victimless crime, and he eventually was able to resume a film career.

A very interesting career, detailed in this Rolling Stone obit. I had forgotten that the first Pee Wee movie was Tim Burton's directorial debut!

https://www.rollingstone.com/tv-movies/tv-movie-news/paul-reubens-dead-obituary-1234797859/

Comments

[devilc]

I remember that 1991 incident really clearly and have always thought it was so unfair and cruel.

Fuck. Cancer.

[dewline]

I wasn't a fan of his. Even so...damn cancer in all its forms.

[thewayne]

I never watched Playhouse, lots of my friends thought it was quite good.  As I said, I liked his performances in the two movies that I mentioned.

[warriorsavant]

"She turned me into a newt!" Look "Uh, it got better."

[disneydream06]

I read that he apologized to his fans for keeping his cancer a secret.
I think that's sad.
And I praise him for not making his illness a spectacle like most celebrities.
Hugs, Jon

[thewayne]

It's a personal thing when it comes to a major illness, it was his decision.  I can respect it either way.  Too many celebrities would be absolutely lost if they weren't in the spotlight, I think he didn't want the spotlight for his illness.  But that's a guess.

[disneydream06]

That would be my guess too. :(

[silveradept]

I only watched a little bit of Playhouse, and I suspect it was a show that was just a little bit too far ahead of itself. I think it would have worked much better for an audience raised by Blue's Clues and similar shows, translating it out of the animated realm into the prop realm.

That said, he did a lot of fun roles even after the adult theater incident, and as far as I know, he hasn't been accused of very bad treatment of others, like so many other supposedly wholesome folks, so. Still, it'll be sad not to see him pranking Anthony Anderson or appearing doing very comedic things here and there.