Pee-wee Dared to be Different
I was sorry to read about the death of Paul Reubens, known mostly as “Pee-wee Herman” to those who remember him. My assistant, who's now 27, doesn't know who he is, but knows the name. For those of us who were young adults in the '80s and '90s, he was one of our favorites and someone whose humor was a part of our daily lives. I can still hear my friends saying in a Pee-wee Herman voice, “I’m trying to use the phone!”
I have a few friends who knew him well in the early '80s, and I've never heard a bad word about him. Ever. They always said he was nice to everyone, even when he became a megastar. When he became a household name in the mid-'80s, the only thing that stuck in my mind was that, no matter what, he was a good guy. You couldn't help but cheer him on.
When he was arrested in the '90s, none of us could connect the dots. Everything the media said at the time didn't align with the character we all idolized. It made me stop and think that his private life must have been fairly dark, and I felt bad for him while the world was merciless. Hollywood can be a very cruel place, and like a light switch being flipped, suddenly his career was over. Nobody said a word about him except to make fun of him.
I wanted to write about Paul because, since his movies in the mid-'80s and his series that ended in 1990, nobody has been able to create a more beloved character. It makes me realize just how difficult it is to achieve something truly original. It's hard to believe that it all came crashing down around him 33 years ago and there has never been anyone who was as delightfully creative and funny since. I can’t think of another character created out of thin air who was as adored. If you want to see true originality, watch any episode of Pee-wee’s Playhouse.
It wasn't just his sense of humor, it was also his bottomless, unexpected, unapologetic creativity, and that's what I loved most about him. He could do things and make it funny when nobody else could even try. Who didn't laugh hysterically at the “big shoe dance” in the biker bar? Or remember “Large Marge” ? They were dumb concepts, and made us groan when we saw them in the theater for the first time, but we were still laughing about them days later. His humor was original but most of all, sticky. He’d say or do something and you’d think, “Wow, that was dumb” but then you were still laughing at it days later. Pee-wee didn't have a narrow cult following like so many others comedians; he was watched by just about everyone.
What made him so fun was his willingness to try just about anything while remaining in character. He was living it. He wasn't like other comedians whose characters were limited to very specific jokes based on a single premise. Pee-wee was defined, and most of all, believable and he could do just about anything and still be Pee-wee Herman. It was a character just about everyone wanted to know.
Now that he's gone, what struck me most about Hollywood were all the big names who have come out with a Pee-wee story of their own. Most of all about his generosity and kindness to others who were trying to make it in Hollywood. The guy was genuinely loved by those in media, in part because of his commitment to the craft of pure entertainment.
I’ll miss his humor.