Remembering Paul Reubens_ Rare Moments With Pee-wee Herman

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00:00 (sad music)

00:02 - I think that I probably offer people

00:04 some sort of escape, you know,

00:06 back to childhood maybe.

00:08 I'm a loner, daddy.

00:10 A rebel.

00:11 - Paul Rubens, the zany comedian

00:13 better known as Pee-wee Herman, has died.

00:16 - You don't ever plan to grow up, do you?

00:18 - No, are you kidding?

00:20 Spoil all this fun?

00:21 No, no way, Jose.

00:23 ♪ At Pee-wee's Playhouse ♪

00:26 - The comic actor behind Pee-wee's Playhouse

00:29 and Pee-wee's Big Adventure passed away Sunday night

00:31 after a six year struggle with cancer that he kept private.

00:35 In a message to fans posted after his death,

00:37 he wrote, "Please accept my apology

00:39 "for not going public with what I've been facing.

00:41 "I have loved you all so much

00:43 "and enjoyed making art for you."

00:45 - You know, just a few short years ago,

00:48 I was a nobody, you know?

00:49 Now I'm a somebody and it's exciting!

00:53 La la la la la la.

00:55 - The comedian looked healthy and happy

00:57 during his last big public appearance.

00:59 It was on an episode of To Tell the Truth

01:01 in February of last year.

01:03 - I can't wait really to get before the cameras

01:06 and you know, ready for my close up now.

01:10 - E.T. first sat down with Pee-wee in 1984.

01:12 He was excited about making his big screen debut.

01:16 - I always say really that the only reason

01:18 for being in show business is to impress the people

01:20 that you went to school with, you know?

01:23 - This morning, the tributes poured in.

01:24 Jimmy Kimmel, Kelly Ripa, Ricky Lake, and Cher

01:27 all paid their respects.

01:29 - That was so cool, Cher.

01:31 - Thank you for sharing!

01:32 - You're welcome, Pee-wee.

01:34 - Cher, who appeared in a 1988 Christmas special,

01:37 quoted Shakespeare, "Good night, sweet prince.

01:39 "May flights of angels sing thee to thy rest."

01:42 (upbeat music)

01:45 Paul himself created the character and the voice for Pee-wee

01:48 in 1977 during his time with the improv group,

01:51 The Groundlings.

01:52 - I know you are, but what am I?

01:53 - In 1985, he hit the big screen for the first time

01:57 in Pee-wee's Big Adventure.

01:58 - Good morning, Pee-wee!

02:00 - Morning, Mr. Breakfast!

02:03 - In the movie, you can do all kinds of stuff, you know?

02:05 I could show my thoughtful side,

02:08 and I could show my, you know, sensitive side.

02:12 - The film was a critical and commercial success.

02:14 The next year, Rubens became a Saturday morning staple

02:17 with the debut of CBS's Pee-wee's Playhouse,

02:20 and E.T. was on set.

02:23 - Take a few pictures while I'm on set.

02:25 (laughing)

02:25 I'm a little nervous!

02:26 Anyway, well, this is my playhouse.

02:31 It stars me, Pee-wee Herman.

02:33 - The series ran five seasons

02:35 and helped launch the careers of Lawrence Fishburne.

02:38 - Howdy, cowboy crew!

02:39 - Howdy, Pee-wee!

02:41 - And the late Phil Hartman.

02:42 - What's the name?

02:44 Captain Carp.

02:45 - Then, in 1988, he returned to the big screen

02:48 with Big Top Pee-wee, where he flexed his chops

02:51 as a romantic leading man.

02:53 (romantic music)

02:55 - I'm much more sexy off-screen than, you know,

02:58 than I'd been in movies before, so I hope they're ready.

03:01 If they're not ready, then I'll be one of those guys

03:05 just, you know, on the pavement pulling your skirt,

03:08 going, "Gene, remember me?

03:10 "Pee-wee Herman.

03:11 "I could've been somebody

03:12 "if I hadn't made that sexy movie."

03:14 - But in 1991, Rubens' squeaky-clean image was tarnished

03:17 when he was arrested for indecent exposure

03:20 at an adult movie theater in Sarasota, Florida.

03:22 - We announce a plea of no contest.

03:25 - Rubens walked away from Pee-wee for nearly 20 years

03:28 until 2010, when he reprised

03:30 The Pee-wee Herman Show on Broadway.

03:33 (man screams)

03:34 Before his death, Rubens was developing

03:36 multiple Pee-wee projects, including a black comedy

03:39 called The Pee-wee Herman Story,

03:41 and a family film titled Pee-wee's Playhouse, The Movie.

03:44 - Pee-wee Herman, star.

03:46 (laughs)

03:47 (upbeat music)

03:50 you

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