“Please accept my apology for not going public with what I’ve been facing the last six years,” Reubens wrote on an Instagram message posted today. “I have always felt a huge amount of love and respect from my friends, fans and supporters. I have loved you all so much and enjoyed making art for you.”
The post’s caption, written by his estate, reads: “Last night we said farewell to Paul Reubens (photo), an iconic American actor, comedian, writer and producer whose beloved character Pee-wee Herman delighted generations of children and adults with his positivity, whimsy and belief in the importance of kindness. Paul bravely and privately fought cancer for years with his trademark tenacity and wit. A gifted and prolific talent, he will forever live in the comedy pantheon and in our hearts as a treasured friend and man of remarkable character and generosity of spirit.”
By 1982, Reubens was spotlighting the fully-formed character (Pee-Wee-Herman) — dressed in a too-small gray suit, white shirt and red bow-tie, his short hair slick with what an earlier era might have called greasy kid stuff — in a live act called The Pee-wee Herman Show, a routine already so popular that HBO handed Reubens his own special built around the stage show.
Rarely seen in public out of character, Reubens meshed so well with the child-like (but occasionally naughty) Pee-wee that the actor and character developed both a small but devoted following that quickly expanded to the mainstream. In 1985, he starred in Tim Burton’s breakthrough hit film Pee-wee’s Big Adventure, which Reubens co-wrote with Hartman. It features numerous quotable lines and Pee-wee’s wild dance to “Tequila” on the tables in a biker bar that saved him from a beating. Three years later, Reubens starred in the sequel Big Top Pee-wee.
In addition to Pee-wee Herman, Reuben also played roles in other films and series. He appeared in the films The Blues Brothers (1980), Batman Returns (1992), Matilda (1996) and Blow (2001).
He received a 1995 Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series for his guest role on the 1980s and 1990s sitcom Murphy Brown. He also had guest roles in Everybody Loves Raymond, Ally McBeal, 30 Rock, Dirt, Pushing Daisies, The Blacklist, Gotham and most recently in What We Do in the Shadows and The Conners.
In the Steven Soderbergh HBO murder mystery series Mosaic, he played a regular role in 2018 alongside Sharon Stone, among others.
Reubens also lent his voice to many animated series, such as Tron: Uprising, Robot Chicken, Star Wars Rebels, and American Dad! His last television role was this year in Bob's Burgers.
Reubens is survived by sister Abby and her wife Helia, brother Luke, and nieces Lily and Sarah.