This should have been something that people saw coming, especially since Paul Reubens has been a part of pop culture for decades now. What a lot of people might not know is that the character of Pee-Wee Herman, while definitely his most renowned character, is not the first role he ever took on. It is the one that made him famous since it’s the character that he’s best known for, and unlike many other actors, he did go on to embrace the character in a big way since this became the majority of his career given that it worked so well. But it does feel as though people should be able to get to know the man behind Pee-Wee since Reubens had a vision of making people laugh when he was just a kid and it’s pretty obvious that he achieved his goal in a very corny but effective manner. Seriously, Pee-Wee is a cringe-worthy character sometimes but he’s also someone that a lot of kids have grown up with and someone that has managed to be a fairly positive influence over the course of his career since while he’s not someone that everyone might want to emulate he’s still a character that many can agree is a lot more wholesome than others.
That’s likely to be debated thanks to the fact that he was arrested a couple of times over the course of the past few decades, and had to retreat from public life for a bit to get away from the continual ridicule that was being heaped on his name and on his show thanks to the arrest in an adult theater. Quite a few celebrities came to his defense at that time, as did many upon many fans that were outraged that his show, which had already ended, wasn’t being played on various stations. Eventually he would come back into the public eye, but despite the support he found, things had definitely changed since the overall feeling that Reubens was to be trusted implicitly was no longer as strong among some folks. When he stayed on the straight and narrow as far as many were concerned though he gradually started to regain a lot of the trust that had been lost over the years, until now it’s fair to say that while many people still remember the troubling times that almost crippled his career, they still remember the good times as well since he’s been doing far more good in his career over the years than anything, and to be certain, his career has always leaned towards a positive note considering that he’s gone out of his way to create an image for his viewers that is anything but controversial. His private life is another matter, much like any other actor’s, but like many actors, it’s been used against him more than once.
The two-part feature coming to HBO Max should be rather interesting since it would be nice to get to know Reubens a little better and discover what it was that brought him to the part of Pee-Wee Herman and how the character came to be in the first place. He’s been featured in several movies and TV shows over the years since he had a small role as a waiter in The Blues Brothers, and he showed up in Meatballs II as well. He was even featured in the WWE for an episode and has made it a habit to show up in various other shows over the years, as well as lending his voice out for various roles and for video games. In other words, he did manage to make a comeback of sorts, and people have been glad to see it since he’s been banking on the Pee-Wee character in a big way, but he’s also been taking on other roles that have helped him to expand his repertoire and his resume in a very big and impressive way. Can anyone believe that Reubens is now 68? The guy has been in the business longer than many people and despite the difficult times he’s had he’s still here, and he’s still doing what he can to entertain people in a very effective way.
It’s kind of amazing that there hasn’t been a celebrity roast of him yet, but perhaps someone is saving that for later since one can only imagine some of the jokes that are going to pop up for such an event. It would be funny, there’s no doubt about it, but whether or not Paul would want to sit and take that kind of abuse, good-natured as it’s supposed to be, is hard to say. But this two-part event should be enough to give Paul’s career the kind of explanation it deserves. This way people can actually see who he is, and what he’s been all about for so long.
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