Paul Reubens, American actor and comedian
Paul Reubens (; born Rubenfeld; August 27, 1952) is an American actor, comedian, writer, producer, and children's entertainer. He is known for his character Pee-wee Herman. Reubens joined the Los Angeles troupe The Groundlings in the 1970s, and started his career as an improvisational comedian and stage actor. In 1982, Reubens began appearing in a show about a character he had been developing for years. The show was called The Pee-wee Herman Show, and ran for five sold-out months; HBO also produced a successful special about it. Pee-wee became an instant cult figure and, for the next decade, Reubens was completely committed to his character, doing all of his public appearances and interviews as Pee-wee. His feature film, Pee-wee's Big Adventure (1985), directed by Tim Burton, was a financial and critical success, and soon developed into a cult film. Its sequel, Big Top Pee-wee (1988), was less successful. Between 1986 and 1990, Reubens starred as Pee-wee in the CBS Saturday-morning children's program Pee-wee's Playhouse.
Thereafter, Reubens decided to take a sabbatical from Pee-wee. In July 1991, Reubens was arrested for indecent exposure in an adult theater in Sarasota, Florida. The arrest set off a chain reaction of national media attention that changed the general public's view of Reubens and Pee-wee. The arrest postponed Reubens's involvement in major projects until 1999, when he appeared in several big-budget projects including Mystery Men (1999) and Blow (2001), and Reubens started giving interviews as himself rather than as Pee-wee.
Since 2006, Reubens has been making cameos and appearances in numerous projects, such as Reno 911! (2006), 30 Rock (2007), Pushing Daisies (2007), The Blacklist (2014–2015), Accidental Love (2015) and Mosaic (2018). He also played the voice role of Pavel in the Disney XD television series Tron: Uprising (2012–2013). Since the 1990s, Reubens has worked on two possible Pee-wee films: one dark and adult, dubbed The Pee-wee Herman Story, the other a family-friendly epic adventure called Pee-wee’s Playhouse: The Movie. In 2010, he starred on Broadway in The Pee-wee Herman Show. In 2016, Reubens co-wrote and starred in the Netflix original film Pee-wee's Big Holiday, reprising his role as Pee-wee Herman.
1952Aug, 27
Paul Reubens
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Events on 1952
- 2May
De Havilland Comet
The world's first ever jet airliner, the De Havilland Comet 1 makes its maiden flight, from London to Johannesburg. - 3Jul
RMS Queen Mary
The SS United States sets sail on her maiden voyage to Southampton. During the voyage, the ship takes the Blue Riband away from the RMS Queen Mary. - 7Jul
SS United States
The ocean liner SS United States passes Bishop Rock on her maiden voyage, breaking the transatlantic speed record to become the fastest passenger ship in the world. - 15Sep
Eritrea
The United Nations cedes Eritrea to Ethiopia. - 20Oct
Mau Mau Uprising
Governor Evelyn Baring declares a state of emergency in Kenya and begins arresting hundreds of suspected leaders of the Mau Mau Uprising, including Jomo Kenyatta, the future first President of Kenya.