Paul Reubens, Pee-wee Herman and the Legacy They Left Behind

Pee-wee Herman is a loner. A rebel. At least that’s what he once told his soon to be girlfriend, Dottie.

Now the man behind the Herman is set to have his story told in documentary form thanks to HBO. “Pee-wee As Himself” is set to premiere and will feature a behind the scenes look at what made Herman’s actor Paul Reubens the comedic powerhouse he turned out to be.

Over the course of two nearly feature length episodes, Reubens’ life and career will be told through the lens of his friends, co-stars, and even himself in posthumously released interviews. 

The Boy From Florida

Any fan of Reubens can tell you the man was private. If it wasn’t on stage, it wasn’t going to be. His initial jump into the world of performance came during his time at Sarasota High School where he was active in the arts program. In 1970, he graduated and was awarded the “Most Talented” superlative. Sarasota still celebrates the actor’s talents to this day. 

After time at Boston University and the California Institute of the Arts, Reubens would appear on “The Gong Show,” a televised amateur talent show that aired on NBC. He then joined the Los Angeles improvisational group The Groundlings where he partnered with comedic names like Edie McClurg and Phil Hartman. 

It wasn’t until 1978 that the Pee-wee Herman character appeared. He was derived as a person who wanted to tell jokes but was so awkward that he couldn’t. Hartman helped Reubens flesh out Herman as fellow Groundling John Paragon helped with writing.

The impish voice of Herman came from Reubens past of working on a play where he took on a cartoonish way of talking. Additionally, the name “Pee-wee” is from a one inch harmonica Reubens had when he was a child. “Herman” is from a friend of Reubens’ past who had more energy than anyone he knew.

The Many Adventures of Pee-wee Herman

“The Pee-wee Herman Show” premiered at the Roxy Theatre in the early 80’s after Reubens auditioned for “Saturday Night Live” and didn’t get it. Two versions of the show were developed: matinees for kids and midnight shows for adults. HBO would air a version of the adult show for an episode of its “On Location” series. Herman made his film debut during “Cheech & Chong’s Next Movie” followed by the sequel “Cheech & Chong’s Nice Dreams.”

Herman would tour the nation with “The Pee-wee Herman Show,” making television appearances on “Late Night with David Letterman” at points too. All of this would culminate in Reubens drawing a cult following. 

1985 saw Reubens and Tim Burton team up to make “Pee-wee’s Big Adventure” with help from Warner Bros. The movie became a success both financially and critically. CBS would sign Reubens to create a live action show with the Herman character called “Pee-wee’s Playhouse” in 1986.

Laurence Fishburn, S. Epatha Merkerson and Cyndi Lauper all had a hand in shaping the show via characters and music. 1988 saw a followup film called “Big Top Pee-wee” with Paramount Pictures that didn’t perform as well as the first. Reubens would begin to feel immense burnout from the Pee-wee character after five seasons of the show along with two movies. 

Bowing Out and Bouncing Back

In the 90’s, Reubens didn’t do much work. After two arrests – one in 1991 and another in 2002 – set his career back, the actor kept to himself most of the time. He’d take on small parts in “Batman Returns,” “Matilda,” and “Murphy Brown” – the latter of which won him an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series.

The 2000’s opened up more doors for Reubens, who began to make regular televised appearances on late night shows, cartoons like “Chowder,” as well as live action comedies like “Reno 911!” For the first time since 1992, Reubens brought back Herman at the 2007 Spike TV Guys Choice Awards. 

Reubens wanted to play Herman again. In 2009, the actor staged a revival of “The Pee-wee Herman Show” at the Music Box Theatre in Hollywood. The show grew to be so popular that dates were added in early 2010 before relocating to New York’s Stephen Sondheim Theatre in November of that year. HBO even taped a 2011 performance for air.

Producer and writer Judd Apatow created a film with Reubens and writer Paul Rust featuring what would be Herman’s final movie. “Pee-wee’s Big Holiday” premiered on Netflix in 2016.

Unfortunately, Reubens had two undeveloped Pee-wee scripts that would see the character featured in an adult setting as well as a “Playhouse” road trip adventure. 

Reubens, Herman and the Legacy of Both Men

While Reubens died without giving Herman a proper send off, “Pee-wee Herman as Himself” will be the actor’s way of allowing the audience to see who he really was. He never came out of the closet. He also never married but had a couple of platonic, non-romantic relationships.

Perhaps the man who was closed off will allow us to see a little bit more of himself in the documentary. Who knows, fans may even get more details thanks to a memoir Reubens was able to finish before he passed.

Both episodes of “Pee-wee as Himself” premiere back to back on HBO on May 23. They’ll be available to stream on HBO Max.

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