FAQ About Pee-wee Herman/Paul Reubens

I. The Character

Who is Pee-wee Herman?

Pee-wee Herman was created by Paul Reubens while he was a struggling comedian in the late 70's at The Groundlings School of Improvisation. Pee-wee was a giggling man-child of indeterminate age and sexuality who possessed a sarcastic enthusiasm for the popular culture of the '50s and '60s. The gawky character's wardrobe consisted of a gray suit (several sizes too small), a white shirt accessorized with a red clip-on bow tie, and white patent-leather loafers. Pee-Wee wore his jet-black hair military short with a defiant tuft in front, and he accentuated his lily-white complexion with rosy cheeks and crimson lips. Reubens drew inspiration for Pee-wee's gawky mannerisms from an unfortunate youth he had attended summer camp with, and derived his creation's boyish voice from a character he played as a child actor.

II. The Incident

What actually happened July 26, 1991?

On summer hiatus, Reubens was visiting his parents in Sarasota and sought escape from boredom by catching a showing of the X-rated film Nancy Nurse. Unfortunately, Reubens fell victim to a police sting operation and was arrested, along with 3 other men, on indecent exposure charges when detectives allegedly saw him er...insert your euphemism here. A local reporter recognized the name on the police blotter the next morning, and within 48 hours, Paul's mugshot was on the front page of newspapers nationwide. Immediately after the incident, all traces of Pee-wee was virtually erased. CBS pulled the remaining reruns of "Pee-wee's Playhouse," Disney-MGM Studios suspended a two minute video that Reubens had narrated for its backstage tour, and toy stores removed all Pee-wee related merchandise from their shelves. For the record, Paul Reubens has always denied that he was doing anything bad in that theater - other than watching.

Did they really remove Pee-wee's star from Hollywood Bulevard?

Contrary to popular belief, Pee-wee's star was not removed

III. Other

Where can I reach Paul Reubens?

Officially, his fan address is at: P.O. Box 29373 Los Angeles, CA 90029 USA

Where can I talk about Pee-wee?

Usually the best place to talk about Pee-wee is in Newsgroup Forums like alt.comedy.paul-reubens or alt.tv.pee-wee-herman. Or in Yahoo Groups like Paul Reubens.

Is there an official Pee-wee website?

Well, sorta. There's peewee.com, but that's an official Pee-wee's Playhouse website. Once The Pee-wee Herman Story officially is released, then you can assume there definately will be a official PEE-WEE website.

When is the next Paul Reubens movie coming out?

Currently, there are no new projects...but you can keep checking here for more information..