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Paul Reubens
American comic actor Pee-Wee Herman was born Paul Rubenfield, which he later shortened professionally to
Paul Reubens. While growing up in Sarasota, FL, Reubens began acting in junior high school, carrying this extracurricular interest through several colleges before graduating from the California Institute of the Arts. A natural-born clown, Reubens joined an improv group called the Groundlings, which during its existence would boast such formidable talent as Phil Hartman and Jon Lovitz. In 1978, Reubens developed the comic persona of Pee-Wee Herman, a childlike, squeaky-voiced kiddie show host reminiscent of Pinky Lee (with a little Soupy Sales thrown in). Soon "The Pee-Wee Herman Show" became a nightclub act unto itself; this multi-layered skewing of the whole children's entertainment ethic included a huge supporting cast, deliberately repulsive puppets, bizarre props, and, of course, Pee-Wee himself, who cavorted about the set like a baby speed freak. Reubens, who for all intents and purposes was Pee-Wee Herman at this point, was given frequent TV exposure thanks to Late Night With David Letterman and the home-video version of The Pee-Wee Herman Show. With former Groundling Phil Hartman, Pee-Wee/Reubens co-scripted the 1985 film Pee-Wee's Big Adventure. Though it was the inaugural project of director Tim Burton, it was not Pee-Wee's first film (he'd already shown up in The Blues Brothers [1980] and Cheech and Chong's Nice Dreams [1981]). A surrealistic reworking of the...
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