The creator of TV character Pee-wee Herman has posthumously come out as gay as part of a documentary about his life that premiered last week at Sundance Film festival.
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Actor Paul Reubens played the character Pee-wee Herman on the influential children’s TV show Pee-wee’s Playhouse from 1986 to 1991 and starred in 1985 comedy Pee-wee’s Big Adventure – Tim Burton’s directorial debut. He would also appear in the films Batman Returns, Mystery Men, and The Nightmare Before Christmas before reviving the Pee-wee Herman character in the 2010s on Broadway and in the Netflix film Pee-wee’s Big Holiday.
He died in July 2023, aged 70, following complications with lung cancer.
However, prior to his passing he sat down for 40 hours of interviews with Matt Wolf for a two-part HBO documentary Pee-wee As Himself. Debuting later this year, the project sees him discuss hiding his sexuality out of fear of not working again.
“I was as out as you could be, and then I went back in the closet” he said. “My career would have absolutely suffered if I was openly gay, so I went to great lengths for many, many years to keep it a secret”.
He also discussed losing a partner, named Guy, to the AIDS epidemic in the ‘90s, saying: “To talk about seeing someone at death’s door, that’s what that was”.
Composer Danny Elfman, Paul Reubens, and director Tim Burton at the premiere of ‘The Nightmare Before Christmas 3D’ in 2006 (credit: Vince Bucci/Getty Images)
During the documentary, Reubens also discussed wanting to set the record straight after police charges of possessing child pornography in the early ‘00s. The charges were later dropped.
“More than anything, the reason I wanted to make a documentary was to let people see who I really am and how painful and difficult it was to be labelled something that I wasn’t” he said.
Reubens’ passing prompted many tributes from the entertainment world. Musician Jack White paid tribute to him following his death, calling him a “good friend” and Pee-wee Herman a “genius character”. Devo’s Mark Mothersbaugh also said Pee-wee’s Playhouse “changed the trajectory” of his career.
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