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Paul Reubens Bio
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Paul Reubens
Comedic actor and writer Paul Reubens was born Paul Rubenfield on Aug 27, 1952 in Peekskill, New York. Paul’s family later moved to Sarasota, FL, where he grew up in a circus-like atmosphere, literally. Various big-top performers called Sarasota their home, including The Ringling Brothers and Barnum and Bailey Circus. Reubens took an interest in acting while he was in junior high school. He joined the local Asolo Theater at 11 years old, appearing in various productions throughout his teens. Paul attended Boston University for one year before eventually heading to the west coast to study theater at California Institute of the Arts. After graduating, Paul joined an improvisational group called the Groundlings, which included future Saturday Night Live comedians Phil Hartman and Jon Lovitz.
During the early 80s, Reubens appeared in such comedies as The Blues Brothers (1980) and Cheech and Chong's Next Movie (1980) and Nice Dreams (1981). While performing with the Groundlings in 1978, Reubens developed the character of “Pee-Wee Herman.” The Pee-Wee Herman Show was then presented at various Hollywood nightclubs. In 1985, Reubens parlayed the rising popularity of his club act into a feature film, Pee-Wee's Big Adventure, which marked the directorial debut of Tim Burton. The Warner Bros. studio had reservations about the bizarre nature of the film and was initially slow to release it. However, the movie was a hit at the box office, and soon Pee-Wee mania had hit full-force.
One year after the release of Pee-Wee’s first film, Paul struck while the iron was hot by launching the CBS Saturday morning children’s show, Pee-Wee's Playhouse. The show quickly became popular with young and old audiences alike, featuring a fun-house set with odd-ball sketches and characters (Lawrence Fishburne played “Cowboy Curtis”) and amusing absurdities such as a giant, boulder-sized ball of tinfoil.
In 1988, Reubens starred in his next Pee-Wee film, Big Top Pee-Wee. The film did not live up to the popularity of Pee-Wee's Big Adventure, and he became frustrated with the character that had made him famous. He began going by his real name again and built hype in the media by announcing plans to “kill-off” his alter ego. In 1991, Paul was arrested at a movie theater in Florida for exposing himself in public at a porn movie screening. Pee-Wee Herman merchandise was pulled from stores and CBS cancelled Pee Wee’s Playhouse reruns.
After finally shedding the character of Pee-Wee, Reubens made various appearances in films throughout the rest of the 90s. He played the Penguin's father in Batman Returns (1992), Dracula in Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1992), and once again teamed up with director Tim Burton to lend his voice to Burton’s 1993 animated film, The Nightmare Before Christmas. Reubens also starred in Matilda (1996), as well as Mystery Men (1999) with Ben Stiller and Janeane Garofalo.
The beginning of the new millennium saw Reubens scoring more prominent roles as he himself grew increasingly further from his public indiscretion and his alter-ego, Pee-Wee. In 2000, he starred in Blow with Johnny Depp and Penélope Cruz. In 2001, Reubens landed a hosting gig on the popular trivia game show You Don't Know Jack. In recent years, he has alluded to plans of reviving the character of Pee-Wee Herman on the big screen in a film which that would chronicle an entertainer’s fall from grace.
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Paul Reubens - Starred in 'Blow' alongside Jaime King . |
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Paul Reubens - Joined an improvisational group called The Groundlings which included Phil Hartman . |
Paul Reubens - Joined an improvisational group called The Groundlings which included Jon Lovitz .
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Paul Reubens - His film 'Pee-Wee's Big Adventure' was directed by Tim Burton .
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