Paul Reubens

Paul Reubens Bio

Paul Reubens (formerly Paul Rubenfeld) was born on August 27, 1952 in Peekskill, NY. He grew up admiring Barnum & Bailey Circus and his favorite television show was I Love Lucy. His education history is impressive and includes time at Northwestern University, Boston University, and the California Institute of the Arts. Reubens joined the improv comedy group known as the Groundlings, which is how he became great friends with fellow celebrity Phil Hartman.  

Reubens is most well known for his part as Pee-wee Herman, a character that he created himself during his time with the Groundlings. He was rejected from Saturday Night Live when he auditioned in 1980, and his disappointment and anger made him determined enough to create his own show, The Pee-wee Herman Show. The show was a huge hit and it was picked up by HBO in 1981. Though his character was strange, fans and critics loved it. This led Warner Bros. to sign Pee-wee’s Big Adventure in 1985, which was produced by the popular Tim Burton. This project was so successful that CBS offered for Reubens to direct and star in a children’s show, Pee-wee’s Playhouse. He agreed, and this show ran for five seasons and got him a whopping 15 Emmy Awards.

Reubens has had some legal setbacks throughout the past couple of decades; however, that did not stop him from appearing as a guest star in top television shows such as Reno 911!, 30 Rock, and Pushing Daisies. He has also continued to make a recent comeback with Pee-wee Hermann, most recently in Pee-Wee’s Big Holiday, which premiered on Netflix in 2016.