Pee-wee Herman creator, Paul Reubens, passed away at the age of 70 after suffering from cancer in a six years long battle. On Sunday night, his publicist made it public. “Please accept my apology for not going public with what I’ve been facing the last six years,” Paul said in a statement released Monday with the announcement of his death. “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.”
More about Paul Reubens’ character:
Paul was best known for the film Pee-wee’s Big Adventure and the television series Pee-wee’s Playhouse. The Pee-wee character had become a cultural constant for much of the 1980s, before an indecent exposure arrest in 1991 sent him into entertainment exile for years.
Herman created Pee-wee when he was part of the Los Angeles improv group The Groundlings in the late 1970s. The live Pee-wee Herman Show debuted at a Los Angeles theatre in 1981 and was a success with both kids during matinees and adults at a midnight show.
Paul Reubens took Pee-wee to the big screen in 1985’s Pee-wee’s Big Adventure. The film, in which Pee-wee’s cherished bike is stolen, was said to be loosely based on Vittorio De Sica’s Italian neo-realist classic, The Bicycle Thief. The film, directed by Tim Burton and co-written by Phil Hartman of Saturday Night Live, sent Pee-wee on a nationwide escapade. The movie was a success, grossing $40 million, and continued to mint dollars after that.
