Paul Reuben is an American actor, comedian and tv personality popularly known by his alter ego/ character “Pee-Wee Herman”,. Paul Reubens has a net worth of $5 million dollars.
Early Life
Paul Reubens was born on August 27, 1952, in Peekskill, New York. His parents Milton Rubenfeld and Judy were the owners of a lamp store in Sarasota, Florida where he was raised along with his two younger siblings, Luke & Abby.
His father Milton was an automobile salesman previously and also for the British Royal Air Force and Us Army in World War II. In his childhood, Reubens spent a lot of time visiting circus shows of Ringling Bros, Barnum & Bailey Circus.
This early circus exposure made him interested in entertainment and came up with his own influential entertainment style. Paul was a student of Sarasota High School, where he took part in theatre and also served as the president of the National Thespian Society.
He got accepted into a summer program for gifted high school students. Paul also attended Boston University and multiple acting schools. After getting rejected from different schools he moved to the California Institute of Arts.
While completing his education he also worked in restaurant kitchens and Fuller Brush Salesman. He was a member of the Los Angeles improvisational comedy team for six years known as “The Groundings”.
Career
His famous character “Pee-Wee-Herman” was created in 1978 with The Groundlings. The character is based on the idea of a man who wishes to become a comic but is bad at jokes which makes everyone sure that he will not succeed.
He started adopting Pee-Wee’s signature style in 1970 when he was a part of the “Life with Father ” productions. Pee-Wee name is derived from the Pee Wee Harmonica brand and Herman is the nickname of baby Reubens.
Initially, Reubens auditioned for the 1980-1981 season of “Saturday Night Live” however Gilbert Gottfried who had a similar acting style was close with the show producer and got the cast.
Bitter with rejection, Reuben borrowed money to start his own show in Los Angeles based on the Pee-Wee character. The Groundlings was in full support including Phir Hartman, John Paragon and Lynee Marie Stewart.
The show ran for five months sellout at the Roxy theatre and he performed midnight shows for adults and matinee shows for the kids. HBO offered to take the show mainstream, airing “The Pee-Wee Herman Show”in 1981.
As the show started getting more fame, Paul started doing public appearances and interviews in the character. He further made appearances on shows like “Late Night with David Letterman” and even performed the show on the road around the country to get more success and fame.
Based on the popularity and success of the show Warner Bros. asked Paul to write a complete Pee-Wee Herman movie. In 1985 Pee-Wee Herman Adventure began when he goes on a nationwide journey to find his stolen bike.
Producer Reubens chose Tim Burton to direct the film after seeing his work on Frankenweenie and Vincent. This movie was a huge hit and earned $40 million domestically against their modest budget of $7 million.
Despite getting mixed reviews the show achieved a cult film status. CBS approached Reubens in 1968 asking him to create a live-action child program. He not only acted but was also the director and producer of the show. “Pee-Wee Playhouse” aired on tv from 1986 to 1990 with a budget of $325,000 per episode. Although the show was targeted for kids, adults enjoyed the show as well.
In 1991 Paul’s career had a major hit back when he got arrested for indecent exposure in Florida. This scandal spoiled his image and Pee-Wee was dropped from the lineup.
He tried to restart his acting career by playing roles in various films like Matilda, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Mystery Men, Blow. Later he landed a role in a popular tv series “murphy Brown”. He also voiced for Jokey in The Smurfs in 2011 and also worked for its sequel in 2013.
Personal Life
Paul Reubens was also arrested in 1971 in addition to 1991 for prowling and loitering. In 1983 he was put on probation for two consecutive years due to marijuana possession.
In 2002 he was charged and arrested for possessing obscene material of depicting a child under 18 years of age in sexual acts. However, he maintained his innocence saying that the pornography found was from his vintage collection.
