Paul Reubens, born Paul Reubenfeld, has made his celebrity mark in ways both good and not so good. His more positive celebrity came by way of his hit movie Pee-wee's Big Adventure (1985), in which he played the title role.
Reubens worked up his Pee-wee persona in the 1970s while doing improv with the comedy troupe The Groundlings. He appeared in The Blues Brothers (1980), had a couple more small parts in films,and in 1981 appeared in LA's club Roxy. But his big break was the Big Aventure movie in 1985. Other small roles have followed since that time.
The Pee-wee Herman character was small, slight, dweebish, shy and naive in an elfin way. Children identified with him; many adults found him slightly creepy.
Reubens' ability to charm the small fry earned him his own Saturday morning TV show in 1986: Pee-wee's Playhouse.
It was following the close of that show that, while visiting his parents in Sarasota, Florida, Reubens attended an X-rated triple feature at an adult theater. Undercover cops there arrested him and he was charged with indecent exposure for playing with himself during one of the shows. Reubens issued denials bu pled no contest and paid a small fine.
In 2002, he again was arrested, this time on child pornography charges. Police searched his home and found a collection of erotica that Reubens said he considered art. He was allowed to plead to a lesser obscenity charge.
Some people still find him creepy, but Hollywood is a very forgiving place.
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