Posted in: HBO, TV | Tagged: paul reubens, pee-wee herman

Pee-wee as Himself: Paul Reubens Takes Final Bow in HBO Documentary

HBO's Pee-wee as Himself examines Paul Reubens' life and alter ego, Pee-wee Herman, with interviews with the late actor and his loved ones.

When Paul Reubens, born Paul Reubenfeld, passed at the age of 70 on July 30, 2023, the world was shocked by the suddenness of the news, with a parting message left on his social media page from his loved ones under his most iconic persona, Pee-wee Herman, apologizing to fans and revealed his private battle with cancer. As a personalized farewell to fans as the actor and his childlike character, Reubens chronicled his life with director Matt Wolf (The Stroll) in the HBO documentary Pee-wee as Himself.

Paul Reubens and Loved Ones Tell His Life Story in 'Pee-wee as Himself'

Pee-wee as Himself is a two-part documentary of the performer who initially started as an actor making his debut in The Brotherhood in 1968 before joining the famed comedy troupe The Groundlings, where it helped hone his comedic chops and improvisational skills including developing his most famous character, Pee-wee Herman, a clown like character in a grey suit and red bowtie, and signature laugh, evokes the likes of another legendary comedian, Jerry Lewis. After a string of on-screen roles throughout the late 70s and early 80s, the actor adopted Pee-wee in name professionally after his failed audition for Saturday Night Live, starting with The Pee-wee Herman Show in 1981. He originally tailored his act for adults before a few tweaks were made for a more family-friendly affair, leading to his CBS Saturday morning TV series Pee-wee's Playhouse, which ran from 1986 to 1990. The shows featured the earliest appearances of Phil Hartman and Laurence Fishburne, who played Captain Carl and Cowboy Curtis, respectively.

Reubens would make regular appearances on talk shows, TV shows, and films as his alter ego, including a guest appearance on NBC's SNL. In non-Pee-wee roles until Reuben's infamous arrest in 1991 at an adult theater, the actor was only credited by his own name a couple of times, and others used the alias, Paul Mall. Reubens made a comeback, using his own name starting with the 1992 sequel Batman Returns, reuniting with director Tim Burton, who was part of his early success with 1985's Pee-wee's Big Adventure. He supplemented his comeback with an equally memorable role in the 1992 film Buffy the Vampire Slayer, playing the vampire, Amilyn, in arguably the funniest staking death scene of all cinema history.

While embracing regular roles, Reubens embraced Pee-wee once more in the late 2000s in a variety of appearances and shorts, even taking the character to Broadway in 2011's The Pee-wee Herman Show on Broadway on HBO and his final film in that role in 2016's Pee-wee's Big Holiday on Netflix. The two-part documentary will chronicle Reubens' life from his days in Sarasota, Florida, and his rise as an entertainer, not only crafting a legend in Pee-wee, but also amassing an impressive career in his own name with a combined 127 credits across his 50+ year career. Pee-wee as Himself was edited from over 40 hours of interview footage, over 1,000 hours of archival footage, and tens of thousands of never-before-seen photographs. The documentary will feature interviews from Reubens' sister Abby Rubenfeld, artists Gary Panter and Wayne White, actors Lynne Stewart, John Moody, Alison Mork, Natasha Lyonne, S. Epatha Merkerson, Fishburne, Debi Mazar, David Arquette, Laraine Newman, and Cassandra Peterson, and filmmakers Tim Burton and Judd Apatow.

Pee-wee as Himself is an Elara & First Love Films Production. Directed and executive produced by Matt Wolf; produced by Emma Tillinger Koskoff; executive produced by Emma Tillinger Koskoff, Ronald Bronstein, Eli Bush, Benny Safdie, Josh Safdie, Reubens, Candace Tomarken, and Kyle Martin. For HBO: executive producers, Nancy Abraham, Lisa Heller, and Sara Rodriguez. Both parts of Pee-wee as Himself air back-to-back on HBO and stream on Max on May 23rd.

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