R.I.P. Paul Reubens, Pee-wee Herman actor

Paul Reubens, best known for his beloved children’s TV character Pee-wee Herman, has died. He was 70. Reubens’ team broke the news on his official Facebook and Instagram pages Monday, revealing that the actor had been privately fighting cancer for six years.

The post reads:

Last night we said farewell to Paul Reubens, an iconic American actor, comedian, writer and producer whose beloved character Pee-wee Herman delighted generations of children and adults with his positivity, whimsy and belief in the importance of kindness. Paul bravely and privately fought cancer for years with his trademark tenacity and wit. A gifted and prolific talent, he will forever live in the comedy pantheon and in our hearts as a treasured friend and man of remarkable character and generosity of spirit.

A rep for Reubens confirmed the news Monday afternoon, saying “Paul was beloved and he will be terribly missed.”

The announcement also included a posthumous note from Reubens himself: “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.”

After graduating from Boston University and California Institute of the Arts, Reubens joined the Los Angeles improv troupe The Groundlings in the 1970s. It was here that he first conjured Pee-wee Herman, the iconic, gray-suited, childlike character that would become his signature.

After losing out on a spot on Saturday Night Live’s 1980-1981 season to Gilbert Gottfried, Reubens took Pee-wee to the stage at L.A.’s Roxy Theatre for a landmark, five-month run. The character spread nation-wide when HBO broadcast Reubens’ special in 1981 leading the comedian to further lean into Pee-wee’s identity, making several cameos and late-night talk show appearances fully in-character.

Pee-wee Herman made his theatrical debut in 1985 with the Tim Burton directed Pee-wee’s Big Adventure (which became something of a cult classic), and later in the 1988 follow-up Big-Top Pee-wee. He is perhaps best-known for his trippy Saturday-morning children’s show, Pee-wee’s Playhouse, which ran on CBS from 1986-1990. The show, which Reubens co-wrote and co-directed, won 22 Emmy Awards during its run and made Pee-wee a household name.

Unfortunately, Reubens himself was turned into the punchline after a 1991 arrest in an adult movie theater and later 2002 scandal involving his personal pornography collection. Nevertheless, he continued to stay active with an Emmy-nominated turn in Murphy Brown, small parts in films such as Buffy The Vampire Slayer and Batman Returns, and a slew of voice acting roles, including a character in Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas.

Reubens brought Pee-wee back onto the L.A. scene in 2010 with an updated version of his original stage show, The Pee-wee Herman Show, that transferred to Broadway later that year. He also made a third Pee-wee feature film—Pee-wee’s Big Holiday, co-produced by Judd Apatow and co-starring Joe Manganiello—which debuted on Netflix in 2016.

Before his death, Reubens completed a first draft of his memoir. Per his reps, he was also working on two more Pee-wee movie scripts, as well as several projects for television, including a Western called Fancypants.

Throughout his career, Reubens always looked for ways to make people smile. “I’m not sure there’s anything else out there I’d really be suited for,” he told The A.V. Club in 2006. “I think my entire career path was determined for me when I was 6 years old, watching reruns of I Love Lucy on TV and thinking about making people laugh.”