Paul Reubens, born Paul Rubenfeld on August 27, 1952, in Peekskill, New York, grew up in Sarasota, Florida, where his parents owned a lamp store. He joined the local Asolo Theater at 11 and appeared in various plays over the next six years. After graduating from Sarasota High School in 1970, he attended Boston University for a year before moving to Hollywood to pursue an acting career.
Reubens joined the improvisational comedy troupe The Groundlings, where he created characters such as Moses Feldman, Jay Longtoe, and Pee-Wee Herman, who debuted in 1978. Pee-Wee was a geeky man-child with a sarcastic enthusiasm for 1950s and 1960s popular culture. The character's popularity grew, and Reubens became a star of the 1980s and early 1990s.
Pee-Wee appeared in The Groundlings show, and the character's popularity led to a five-month sold-out run at the Roxy nightclub in Los Angeles. HBO taped the performance and aired it as a special. Reubens became a frequent guest on David Letterman's show and a favorite at Caroline's in New York. He even sold out Carnegie Hall in 1984.
Reubens wrote and starred in the feature-length film Pee-wee's Big Adventure (1985),which grossed $45 million. He then created the live-action children's program Pee-wee's Playhouse (1986) for CBS, which ran for five years and received an eye-popping budget of $325,000 per episode.
However, Reubens' image was broken in 1991 when he was arrested for sex charges after being caught by police during a sting operation. The media frenzy surrounding the incident led to the cancellation of Pee-wee's Playhouse and related merchandise. Reubens agreed to pay a $50 fine and produce a public service message for the Partnership For Drug-Free America.
The scandal marked the near death of Pee-Wee Herman, and Reubens appeared as the character for the last time at the MTV Music Video Awards. He later appeared in a series of offbeat character roles, including Batman Returns (1992),Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1992),and The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993).
