Paul Reubens | |
Date of Birth | August 27, 1952 |
Date of Death | July 30, 2023 |
Character | Russell MacDougall |
First Appearance | "Hackidu" |
Number of episodes | 1 |
Paul Reubens (August 27, 1952 – July 30, 2023) was an American actor and comedian. He was best known for creating and portraying the character Pee-wee Herman.
Biography[]
Reubens joined the Los Angeles troupe The Groundlings in the 1970s, and started his career as an improvisational comedian and stage actor. It was with the Groundlings that Reubens developed the Pee-wee character. After a failed audition for Saturday Night Live, Reubens started a stage show starring Pee-wee, The Pee-wee Herman Show. Pee-wee became an instant cult figure and, for the next decade, Reubens was completely committed to his character, doing all of his public appearances and interviews as Pee-wee. He produced and wrote a 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.