Paul Reubens | The Man Behind the Bowtie | A Docu-Mini

Written, Presented & Compiled by Joe Ramoni

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Chapters:
00:00:00 - Intro
00:02:28 - Character Creation & Early Success
00:07:16 - The Pee-wee Herman Show (1981)
00:10:12 - Pee-wee's Big Adventure (1985)
00:14:38 - Pee-wee's Playhouse (1986)
00:18:14 - Big Top Pee-wee (1988)
00:21:05 - Retirement of Pee-wee
00:24:38 - Comeback

[moonboogien]

I'm a 44 year old man who's sense of humor was highly impacted by watching pee wee as a kid in the 80s.
Ive since introduced him to my kids and they love it too.
Truly a generation spanning talent.
This was awesome, thank you.

[cathr]

This is so awsome, thank you. I don't think I would have been the same person if I hadn't watched Pee Wee as a young child. I named everything, a jacket 'jackie' a chair 'cherry' (a straight copy) but even though my hateful older siblings made me ashamed of my love for Pee Wee seeing Paul Reubens' renaissance gladdened me and I owned the fact I was one of Pee Wee's 'kids.' Paul Reubens may not have had biological children but children like me who watched him automatically became his. A conflicted person but an awesome person. I really mourn him.

[MeeCee]

I think the reason why people love the Pee Wee Herman character so much is because he does what we all wish we could do. Just enjoy life. Pee Wee lives in the moment, goes cool places, meets interesting people, makes funny comments, and has a great time just being alive. He reminds us what life is all about.

[bryceharper]

I worked on film and television in crew for over a decade. I worked on Pee-wee Herman‘s last movie in New York City also filmed in California. And it was the only time in my career that I wanted to stay on sad after I was wrapped just to watch Pee-wee in characterand out of character when they cut. To see him perform was one of the thrills of my career. RIP Pee-wee I miss you and I know we always will.

[selfiekroos]

Last year
When Paul died
My inner child cried
RIPeeWee Herman 🐐

[NitroModelsAndComics]

Big tough Metal guy here. I wept on hearing he passed. He brought joy and laughs to uncounted fans. He was everything right about movies and comedy. His infectious laugh could light a room and he could get under your skin seemingly without effort.

Always remembered as a innocent in an ugly world.

[etxwfuq]

He seemed like such a genuinely cool dude, on and off stage. You seldom get that impression from celebrities, I feel. I truly do miss him, even if I’ve never met him. Thanks for being such a sweet childhood memory, Paul.

[danmatsav]

Thank you for not dwelling on "the incident."

Many of the people who are adults now very much want to strangle the adults from back then for canceling him.

[electroluxia]

Paul Reubens, uncowed and fearless, coming out on stage at the 1991 MTV Video Music Awards and immediately asking, "Heard any good jokes lately?, " was shear genius, shear gold, and shear beauty — the very definition of Fierce. He deserved a Nobel Prize for that slice of unmitigated brilliance, alone.

[PigeonDesign]

I was lucky to be living in NYC when Pee Wee was on Broadway during his comeback. An old friend called me with an extra ticket out of the blue. It was the best gift anyone has ever given me to this day. Little did I know that I would be in the second row, right in front of the stage. Pee Wee made eye contact with me several times throughout the show and the production was so amazingly funny. I felt like the same magic that I did as a little boy laying on the living room floor at 10 years old on Saturday morning...

[demetreasandrews]

I grew up and live in San Antonio. I had the opportunity to watch a screening of Pee Wee's Big Adventure across the street from the Alamo, followed by Paul Reubens telling stories about his life. I've loved him and his work since I was a kid, so it was such a great experience to be there

[roberttreacy]

Fun fact: Dottie, Pee Wee’s girlfriend from Big Adventure, was played by Elizabeth Daily, the voice of Tommy from Rugrats and Buttercup from The Powerpuff Girls.

[emmyali]

Pee Wee was an absolute LEGEND. He is a GenX icon, One thing he taught me that I will never ever forget is.... there's no basement in the Alamo!!!

[lizpeterson]

I'm in my 70s and I think Pee Wee gave us all our inner child back. The happy, silly, everything is imagination child that we all have in our core. I mean who would dance with bikers in your big shoes if not for imagination. We were able to laugh at "silly" even as adults.

[LaurieChantelle]

I’m always afraid to watch things like this because of inaccuracies, bore factor, etc… but this was FANTASTIC. Extremely accurate and very well done. Thank you from an extreme lifelong Paul Reubens fan. ❤

[hamsterdiving]

Back in 1986, you had to rent VCRs because they were still pretty new and very expensive to buy yet.
I had just moved into my new apartment and had started a new job.
It took me a long time to open up to new people, much less invite them into my home, but I decided to rent a VCR and invite a few of my coworkers over to watch "Pee Wee's Big Adventure"

It was the perfect choice. They were huge Pee Wee fans, and for weeks, we'd quote lines from the movie

I now have the DVD in my permanent collection so I can watch it whenever I need a pick-me-up and escape from reality. The opening sequence of PW waking up, all through the breakfast sequence until he's out the door, is pure unadulterated joy and perfection...

Thank you, Paul/Pee Wee ❤

And thanks for this sweet tribute to him 👍

[christopherwaldrop]

There was a kid I knew in high school who looked a bit like Paul Reubens. This was the '80's and I'm sorry to say he experienced some bullying from the jocks. He could do an absolutely spot-on Pee Wee impersonation, though, and that started out as a shield but made him practically a star of the school. Paul Reubens made it OK, even cool, to be different. Even those of us who couldn't do Pee Wee but were weird in our own way found our niche thanks to him.

[mrstacyj]

In the 80s I watched “playhouse” Saturday AM after working midnights. 25 years later I shared the boxed set with my kid. We still both love Pee Wee. This was a fine tribute. Well done…

[carrisebear]

Pee Wee defined my childhood. It was so imaginative and weird. The art in that show blew me away. The sets, animation, characters, stories, everything was tied together with Paul Rubens direction. I introduced it to my kids when it was on Netflix and they are fans.

[alvincash]

I didn't grow up on Pee Wee. I watched him with my children. I think I enjoyed it even more than they did.
I did grow up on the children's shows Rueben was evoking. And he succeeded in honoring those progams in such an endearing way!