The entire realm of Hollywood is undoubtedly overcome with tremendous grief after learning about the passing of Pee-wee Herman actor Paul Reubens. Kicking off his career back in the late ‘70s, Reubens eventually skyrocketed to mainstream stardom after his success on The Pee-wee Herman Show — a stage-based comedy show which was eventually aired on HBO and became one of the most popular stage shows in all of media.
In the aftermath of the show’s overwhelming success, the fan-favorite character Pee-wee Herman instantly became a cult superstar — with Reubens eventually showing up to public appearances, media events, and talk show interviews portraying the character in a method-esque approach. In 1985, Reubens, along with acclaimed filmmaker Tim Burton, capitalized on the narrative triumph and crafted Pee-wee Herman’s first feature film, Pee-wee’s Big Adventure.
Of course, Reubens ever-budding success certainly didn’t stop there, as a sequel feature flick Big Top Pee-wee was released just 3 years later along with his children’s morning program Pee-wee’s Playhouse airing from 1986 to 1990. But in later years, Reubens started appearing in interviews as himself and starring in other film and television roles throughout his career.
What was his final acting role?
Prior to his heart-wrenching death, Reubens undoubtedly satisfied long-time Pee-wee Herman fanatics one final time when he starred in 2016’s Pee-wee’s Big Holiday. The aforementioned film, served as a standalone sequel to Big Top Pee-wee (1988) and etched itself in history as the final project in the long-standing Pee-wee Herman film series.
Coincidentally, it also served as Reubens’ final film role before his unfortunate death — which was confirmed earlier today in an official statement on his Instagram account. But despite Reubens taking his final curtain call as Pee-wee back in 2016, the fan-favorite character will surely continue to live on in the hearts and minds of fans for as long as television and streaming are available to take us on a stroll down memory lane.