Paul Reubens (born Rubenfeld; August 27, 1952-July 30, 2023) was an American actor, comedian, writer, producer, and children's entertainer. best known as Pee-Wee Herman, Pavel in Tron Uprising, Penguin's Father in Batman Returns, Bat-Mite in Batman: The Brave and The Bold, Prince Gerhardt Hapsburg in 30 Rock, and The Milkman in Penn Zero: Part-Time Hero.
Voices[]
Early Life[]
Reubens was born Paul Rubenfeld in Peekskill, New York in 1952, and grew up in Sarasota, Florida, where his parents, Judy (Rosen) and Milton Rubenfeld, owned a lamp store. His mother was a teacher. His father was an automobile salesperson who had flown for Britain's Royal Air Force and for the U.S. Army Air Forces in World War II, and later became one of the founding pilots of the Israeli Air Force during the 1948 Arab–Israeli War. Reubens's two younger siblings are Luke (born 1958), who is a dog trainer, and Abby (born 1953), who is an attorney and a board member of the American Civil Liberties Union of Tennessee.
Reubens spent much of his childhood in Oneonta, New York. As a child, Reubens frequented the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus, whose winter headquarters was in Sarasota. The circus's atmosphere sparked Reubens's interest in entertainment and influenced his later work. Reubens also loved to watch reruns of I Love Lucy, which made him want to make people laugh. At age 5, Reubens asked his father to build him a stage, where he and his siblings would put on plays.
Reubens attended Sarasota High School, where he was named president of the National Thespian Society. He was accepted into Northwestern University's summer program for gifted high-school students, joined the local Asolo Theater and Players of Sarasota Theater, and appeared in several plays. After graduation, he attended Boston University and began auditioning for acting schools. He was turned down by several schools, including Juilliard, and twice by Carnegie-Mellon, before being accepted at the California Institute of the Arts and moving to California, where he worked in restaurant kitchens and as a Fuller Brush salesman.
In the 1970s, Reubens performed at local comedy clubs and made four guest appearances on The Gong Show (out of a total of fourteen guest appearances) as part of a boy–girl act he had developed with Charlotte McGinnis, called The Hilarious Betty and Eddie. He soon joined the Los Angeles–based improvisational comedy team The Groundlings and remained a member for six years, working with Bob McClurg, John Paragon, Susan Barnes, and Phil Hartman. Hartman and Reubens became friends, and often wrote and worked on material together. In 1980, Reubens had a small part as a waiter in The Blues Brothers.
Death[]
Reubens died from cancer at age 70 on July 30, 2023, at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles. He had been diagnosed with cancer six years earlier but had not revealed his diagnosis to the public.
Trivia[]
- Paul is the sixth known cast member of the series to have passed away, The first was Elaine Stritch, the second John Witherspoon, the third Ben Cross, the fourth The Biz Never Sleeps and the fifth Gilbert Gottfried.
- Paul had so far guest-starred two Disney XD animated series.