Paul Reubens

The star of the show, The Pee-wee Herman Show, Paul Reubens, is a critically acclaimed comedian, actor, writer, producer, and host of the game show. Reubens has played in Tim Burton directed Pee-wee’s Big Adventure. 

Rubens was soon viewed as a cult figure, to further increase the hype, he began to appear as his character in ever shows and interviews he did. Rubens has been arrested for child pornography while filming for the legend Sir Elton John.

Paul Early life and Education

Born on 27^th August 1952, Paul Rubenfeld grew up in a modest household in Peekskill, New York. His father Milton Rubenfeld was an automobile salesperson an army veteran whereas his mother, Judy Rose Rubenfeld was a teacher. The family also owned a small lamp store. Paul has a younger brother Luke and a sister Abby. Abby is an American Civil’s Right attorney.

Ruben’s interest in the entertainment industry was sparked by Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus, which he used to frequent as a kid while growing up in Oneonta, New York. He was inspired by the TV drama I Love Lucy and used to watch its reruns, the drama sparked Reubens interest in comedy.

Paul attended Sarasota High School and completed his undergraduate studies from Boston University and later he was accepted at California Institute of the Arts.

Paul’s Career

Paul came up with the idea of Pee-wee Herman while he was improvising for The Groundlings. The character’s persona as a comic was someone who failed at telling jokes with eccentric attitude.

In 1981, the Pee-wee Herman show took off at The Roxy Theatre. Reubens accelerated the process of making the show because he was very cross with Gilbert Gottfried for making fun of Paul on Saturday Night Live continuously.

Due to the wildfire success of the live show, The Pee-wee Herman show was soon picked up by mainstream Media and it began to air on HBO. Paul’s fame began to increase rapidly as more and more people began to like his weird role as the peevish character.

In 1985, the Warner Bros hired Reubens to write a movie script for his character. The movie was released with name Pee-wee’s Big Adventure and was declared a blockbuster. 

Clip: Paul’s character Pee-wee Herman

Due to the movie’s success, Paul Reubens received a CBS offer for children show, Pee-wee’s Playhouse, which also did well. However, his movie Big Top Pee-wee couldn’t perform well on box office.

Throughout the years, Paul has done multiple movies and TV shows along with hosting game shows. Despite all of the work he has done, his iconic and unforgettable is still the character of Pee-wee.

Paul Affairs and Relationship 

Paul was married to Charlene Gail Chandi Heffner and got divorced in 1991. The couple got married after ten years long dating history but got separated after a mere 5 years of marriage.

After getting divorced from his first wife, Reubens was spotted with Debi Mazar. Oddly, their relationship also lasted for 5 years.

He also had a short affair with Brooke Ashley and was also seen dating Drena De Niro. Paul was also married to his ex-wife Ashley Brooke. Currently, Paul is single and has not revealed any further details about his dating life. Moreover, some sources also claim he is a gay which might be a truth or just a hox. 

Paul Controversies

Unlike Paul TV character who is jolly funny, Paul Reuben life is full of controversies as well. Reuben got his first blow when he was arrested by police in Sarasota, Florida for masturbating during the screening of a movie at an adult movie theater. He was again arrested in 1983 for possession of marijuana. He was placed on a two-year probation.

Again in the year 2002, while Reubens was filming a video for Sir Elton John, he came to the knowledge that his house was being searched by a police after a tip. The police discovered several damning evidence and the most scandalous of all were the child pornographic videos. He was charged with possession of obscene material improperly depicting a child under the age of 18 in sexual conduct.

However, Ruben was vindicated from the charges of child pornography in 2004 after pleading guilty to a lesser crime. He made several TV appearances but was not received well by the audience.

Paul Net worth

Paul earns a good sum of money in his career. His movie Pee-wee’s Big Adventure earned $40,940,662 USD at the box office and its sequel Pee-wee’s Playhouse earned $14 million USD. Paul’s salary from CBSPee-wee’s Playhouse was $325,000 per episode.  

Allocating information from several sources it is found out that, Paul Reubens current net worth is around $5 million USD.