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A master at creating characters that stick in the public’s consciousness, PAUL REUBENS added to his stable of iconic comic personalities when he appeared as "The Spleen" in Mystery Men.
Reubens is best known for his character "Pee-wee Herman." Created in 1978 while a member of the Los Angeles-based improvisational group, "The Groundlings," Pee-wee steadily grew from a cult following to pop culture phenomenon. In 1981, Reubens performed The Pee-wee Herman Show to sellout audiences for five months at the Roxy Theatre in Los Angeles. HBO taped one of the performances and it aired as a special, introducing "Pee-wee" to a national audience.
In 1985, Reubens starred as "Pee-wee Herman" in the hit comedy, Pee-wee’s Big Adventure. Directed by Tim Burton, Reubens co-wrote the film. After the success of the film, Reubens turned to television, creating Pee-wee’s Playhouse for CBS.
During the highly successful run of the show from 1986-1991, Reubens changed the face of Saturday morning television, transforming it into a genre that parents and children could watch and enjoy together. In total, the series received 22 Emmy Awards. Reubens also co-wrote, produced and directed the program. Pee-wee Herman was even honored with a star on the legendary Hollywood Walk of Fame.
He was also recently seen on television as the assistant from hell on the classic situation comedy, Murphy Brown. The role of producer wannabe nephew of a network president earned Reubens an Emmy nomination as Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series.
After a memorable cameo with Frankie and Annette in the Lyndall Hobb’s comic homage to beach party movies, Back to the Beach, the Pee-wee character returned to the big screen with a vengeance in Big Top Pee-wee, directed by Randall Kleiser. Reubens also co-wrote and produced the film.
Additional film credits for Reubens include Tim Burton’s Batman Returns, Caroline Thompson’s Buddy, Danny DeVito’s Matilda, Ken Kwapis’ Dunston Checks In and Fran Kazui’s Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Reubens also lent his voice to the hit Eddie Murphy comedy, Dr. Doolittle, as well as Henry Selick’s animated film, The Nightmare Before Christmas.
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