A New Documentary Examines the Life of Paul Reubens, Creator of Pee-Wee Herman
Pee-wee as Himself, a new two-part documentary about Sarasota's Paul Reubens—a.k.a. Pee-Wee Herman—is now streaming on HBO Max.
Reubens, who died in 2023 after a long battle with cancer that he kept private for years, created the of Pee-wee character while performing as part of The Groundlings, an underground comedy troupe in Los Angeles. HBO picked up a show about Pee-wee in 1981, and Reubens went on to star in films including Pee-wee’s Big Adventure (1985) and Big Top Pee-wee (1988). The seminal children's TV show Pee-wee’s Playhouse aired on CBS from 1986 to 1990. In 2016, Reubens reprised his role as Pee-wee with Pee-wee's Big Holiday, and he also continued to do voiceover work.
Image: Wikimedia Commons
The documentary charts Reubens' rise from Groundlings cast member to international star, with Reubens providing director Matt Wolf with hours of film footage and thousands of photos.
But Reubens' career was far from just funny voices, high-water trousers, bow ties and celebrity friends, several of whom are featured in the film. In 1991, Reubens was arrested in Sarasota for indecent exposure, and in 2002, he was charged with misdemeanor possession of child pornography that police found in Reubens' "extensive collection of kitsch memorabilia and vintage pornography," according to NPR. The documentary doesn't turn its head away from the backlash Reubens received for the charges, or from unpacking his reputation as a ambitious perfectionist with a deep desire for control.
Image: Dennis Keeley/HBO
Though Reubens never got to see the final cut of the documentary, he was intimately involved with the project, taping 40 hours of interviews before cutting off communication with Wolf and the film's production team after a year.
"More than anything, the reason I wanted to make a documentary was to let people see who I really am and how painful and difficult it was to be labeled something I wasn't a pedophile," he says in a voiceover recorded the day before he died that's included in the film. "I knew it was going to change everything moving forward."
One of Pee-wee Herman's most famous, enduring catchprases was, "I know you are, but what am I?" Pee-wee as Himself attempts to the answer that question not just for Pee-wee, but for Reubens, too.
