Paul Reubens Net Worth 2024

What was Paul Reubens’ Net Worth and Salary?

Paul Reubens, additionally identified by his character/alter ego, “Pee-Wee Herman”, was an American comedian, actor and tv persona who had a net worth of $5 million on the time of his passing.

He was greatest identified for his character Pee-wee Herman, a unusual and eccentric man-child he first launched within the late Seventies throughout his time with The Groundlings, an improvisational and sketch comedy troupe.

In 1981, Reubens remodeled the Pee-wee character right into a cult stage present, “The Pee-wee Herman Show,” which was later tailored into an HBO particular. This success led to the creation of the youngsters’s tv present, “Pee-wee’s Playhouse” (1986-1990), and the function movies “Pee-wee’s Big Adventure” (1985) and “Big Top Pee-wee” (1988). His efficiency in “Pee-wee’s Playhouse” received him an Emmy Award in 1987.

Beyond Pee-wee, Reubens had a various profession, showing in movies similar to “Batman Returns” (1992), “Mystery Men” (1999) and “Blow” (2001), and tv exhibits like “30 Rock” and “Black Mirror”. Despite a couple of controversial moments in his private life, Reubens was broadly beloved for his creativity and dedication to his craft.

On July 31, 2023, Paul Reubens handed away on the age of 70.

Early Life

Paul Reubens was born Paul Rubenfeld in Peekskill, New York, on August 27, 1952. His mother and father, Judy (née Rosen) and Milton Rubenfeld, owned a lamp retailer in Sarasota, Florida, the place he was raised together with his two youthful siblings, Abby and Luke. His father, Milton, had beforehand been an vehicle salesman, had additionally flown for the British Royal Air Force and the U.S. Army Air Forces in World War II, and was a founding pilot of the Israeli Air Force. During his childhood, Reubens spent loads of time in going to circus exhibits of the Ringling Bros. And Barnum & Bailey Circus, as their winter headquarters had been situated in Sarasota, Florida. This early publicity to the circus sparked his curiosity in leisure, and was influential on his personal entertaining type.

He was a pupil at Sarasota High School, the place he extremely energetic within the theater and served because the president of the National Thespian Society. He was accepted into the summer time program for presented high-school college students at Northwestern University. He attended college at Boston University, and auditioned for a number of appearing colleges. Eventually, after rejections from colleges together with Juilliard and Carnegie-Mellon, he moved to California to attended the California Institute of the Arts. While at college, he labored in restaurant kitchens and as a Fuller Brush salesman, and in addition carried out at native comedy golf equipment within the Seventies. He was a member of the Los Angeles improvisational comedy crew The Groundlings for six years.

Early Pee-Wee Herman

The character “Pee-Wee Herman” was created throughout a 1978 improvisational session with The Groundlings. He relies on the concept of a person who desires to turn out to be a comic book, however is so dangerous at telling jokes that it’s apparent to everybody that he’s by no means going to succeed. He adopted Pee-Wee’s signature means of talking in 1970, when Reubens was in a manufacturing of “Life with Father” and was forged as extraordinarily obnoxious character. The title “Pee-Wee” got here from the Pee Wee model harmonica, and the title “Herman” is the title of a boy Reubens knew rising up.

Television Success

Initially, Reubens had auditioned for the 1980-1981 season of “Saturday Night Live”, however Gilbert Gottfried, who had an identical appearing type and was shut mates with a producer of the present, received forged as an alternative. Bitter concerning the rejection, Reubens borrowed cash and began his personal present in Los Angeles primarily based on the Pee-Wee Herman character. He was supported by different Groundlings, like John Paragon, Phil Hartman, and Lynne Marie Stewart. “The Pee-Wee Herman Show” ran for 5 sellout months at The Roxy Theatre; he carried out midnight exhibits for adults, and matinee exhibits for kids. HBO helped him take his present mainstream, airing “The Pee-Wee Herman Show” in 1981 as a part of their “On Location” collection. As the recognition of Pee-Wee grew, Reubens started making all public appearances and interviews in character, and billing the character as Pee-Wee himself quite than his actual title, with the aim to “get the general public to suppose that that was an actual individual.” Further appearances on exhibits like “Late Night with David Letterman” within the mid-Nineteen Eighties as Pee-Wee, in addition to taking “The Pee-Wee Herman Show” on the street and performing across the nation, helped to extend his fame and success.

Film Success

Based on the success and recognition of “The Pee-Wee Herman Show”, Warner Bros. determined to get Reubens to jot down a full-length Pee-Wee Herman movie. “Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure” (1985) follows Pee-Wee as he goes on a nationwide journey to get better his stolen bike. Reubens and the film’s producers selected Tim Burton to direct the movie after they noticed his work on “Vincent” (1982) and “Frankenweenie” (1984). The film was an enormous success, grossing over $40 million domestically in opposition to it is modest $7 million funds. Despite blended important opinions, the present has gone on to realize cult movie standing. In 1986, CBS approached Reubens to create his personal live-action youngsters’s program. He was not solely an actor on this system, but additionally produced and directed the collection. “Pee-Wee’s Playhouse” aired from 1986 to 1990, and had a funds of $325,000 per episode. Although it was focused in direction of children, many adults additionally loved it as nicely.

1991 Arrest and Comeback

As you in all probability know, Paul Reubens’ profession had a horrible setback in 1991 when he was arrested in Florida and charged with indecent publicity. The scandal dirty his squeaky-clean picture and CBS dropped reruns of Pee-Wee’s Playhouse from its lineup.

Slowly he made a profession comeback because of appearances in such movies as “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” (1992), “Matilda” (1996), “Mystery Men” (1999) and “Blow” (2001). He subsequently landed a recurring function on the favored sitcom “Murphy Brown”.

In 2010 he introduced Pee-Wee to Broadway, starring in “The Pee-Wee Herman Show”.

He made his debut because the voice of Jokey within the in style family comedy “The Smurfs” the next 12 months, and labored on its 2013 sequel as nicely.

In 2016 Netflix debuted “Pee-wee’s Big Holiday.”

Personal Life

In addition to his 1991 arrest, Herman was arrested in 1971 for loitering and prowling (prices had been dropped). In 1983, he was positioned on probation for 2 years as a result of possession of marijuana. And, in 2002, he was arrested and charged with possession of obscene materials improperly depicting a baby beneath the age of 18 in sexual conduct. He maintained his innocence, saying that the alleged supplies found in his residence had been, as an alternative, a part of his classic erotica assortment.