# RIP Paul Reubens {July 30,2023} **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** celebrity-death\ **Created:** [July 31, 2023, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-paul-reubens-july-30-2023/987880 "2023-07-31T17:11:53Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2023, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-paul-reubens-july-30-2023/987880/41 "2023-07-31T20:52:03Z")
> [@themapleleaf](#): > > I enjoyed “Pee Wee’s Playhouse” as a kid. I did too. If I see a rerun of that show I feel like a kid again. That had a huge impression on me. My first pet that I ever had as a kid (that was just mine, not a family pet) was a mouse named Pee Wee. Also, you had to love Morpheus as a cowboy. [![](https://assets.mycast.io/actor_images/actor-cowboy-curtis-231249_large.jpg) ](https://assets.mycast.io/actor_images/actor-cowboy-curtis-231249_large.jpg) I also really enjoyed _Pee Wee’s Big Aventure_. I can remember most of the dialog from that film. He’ll be missed. A lot of people grew up with him as part of their lives. Even after his public disgrace, that did nothing to diminish what he had done. And even afterward, he still had some success now and then in non-Pee Wee (more adult) roles, and I thought Paul Reubens was great as other characters. May your spirit rest forever in the basement of the Alamo. ---
**Author:** ![WildaBeast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wildabeast/32/6_2.png) [@WildaBeast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WildaBeast)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2023, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-paul-reubens-july-30-2023/987880/42 "2023-07-31T20:58:53Z")
> [@Roderick\_Femm](#): > > People need to remember that Pee Wee was a part, not a person. Just jumping off from this… When Reubens first started playing Pee-Wee Herman I was too young to realize he was just a character being played by an actor. As a child I did believe Pee-Wee was an actual person. The fact that Reubens often made public appearances in character as Pee-Wee probably didn’t help. ---
**Author:** ![Tibby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tibby/32/17030_2.png) [@Tibby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tibby)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2023, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-paul-reubens-july-30-2023/987880/43 "2023-07-31T21:02:37Z")
RIP Pee Wee. 😢 ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2023, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-paul-reubens-july-30-2023/987880/44 "2023-07-31T21:08:02Z")
> [@Mahaloth](#): > > He kept it private. _“I meant to do that.”_ ---
**Author:** ![snowthx](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowthx/32/10660_2.png) [@snowthx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snowthx)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2023, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-paul-reubens-july-30-2023/987880/45 "2023-07-31T21:20:46Z")
> [@F.U.Shakespeare](#): > > @Roderick_Femm, my understanding (correct me if it’s wrong) was that he would not have been arrested if he had simply been sitting there watching the movie. It was the public exposure (i.e., masturbating) that enabled the police to arrest him. (I agree with you that it was ridiculous to make such a big deal about a victimless crime.) Agreeing that he should not have received so much trouble for what he did. But, his major character persona was that of a grown-up child on a TV show directed at kids, and og-forbid any performer not have as wholesome and sterile life as that of his/her character. Imagine the uproar these days. ---
**Author:** ![P-man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/p-man/32/3606_2.png) [@P-man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/P-man)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2023, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-paul-reubens-july-30-2023/987880/46 "2023-07-31T21:28:55Z")
Even though I was in my twenties I always got up on Saturday morning to watch Pee-Wee. The origin of my user name is members of the puppet band calling him “P-man”. I have a nickname that begins with that letter, so some of my friends started referring to me as “P-man” as well. ---
**Author:** ![Roderick\_Femm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/roderick_femm/32/14875_2.png) [@Roderick\_Femm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roderick_Femm)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2023, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-paul-reubens-july-30-2023/987880/47 "2023-07-31T21:48:39Z")
> [@snowthx](#): > > > [@F.U.Shakespeare](#): > > > > @Roderick_Femm, my understanding (correct me if it’s wrong) was that he would not have been arrested if he had simply been sitting there watching the movie. It was the public exposure (i.e., masturbating) that enabled the police to arrest him. (I agree with you that it was ridiculous to make such a big deal about a victimless crime.) > > Agreeing that he should not have received so much trouble for what he did. But, his major character persona was that of a grown-up child on a TV show directed at kids, and og-forbid any performer not have as wholesome and sterile life as that of his/her character. Imagine the uproar these days. Taking these two quotes together kind of makes my point: he was arrested for a victimless crime, he was (in effect) incognito, and it only caused him a real problem when the incident became more widely known. “…he should not have received so much trouble for what he did” should be “he should not have received any trouble for what he did, because he did nothing wrong,” and there should be no “but” after that. ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2023, 10:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-paul-reubens-july-30-2023/987880/48 "2023-07-31T22:36:12Z")
A dear friend who’s a huge PeeWee fan texted me one word: “sad.” I replied “I know you are, but what am I?” ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2023, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-paul-reubens-july-30-2023/987880/49 "2023-07-31T22:39:11Z")
> [@digs](#): > > I replied “I know you are, but what am I?” This is the only correct response. ---
**Author:** ![LoneRhino](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lonerhino/32/1311_2.png) [@LoneRhino](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LoneRhino)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2023, 1:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-paul-reubens-july-30-2023/987880/50 "2023-08-01T01:10:13Z")
I was a teenager when that movie came out. I don’t think I’ve ever laughed any harder than I did at that scene. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2023, 1:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-paul-reubens-july-30-2023/987880/51 "2023-08-01T01:15:53Z")
My brother and I were kids and our parents let us watch the tape while they went out one night. We watched the entire movie twice and we did the Large Marge scare scene frame by frame a few times. We thought the movie was so funny. ---
**Author:** ![F.U.Shakespeare](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/aca169/32.png) [@F.U.Shakespeare](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/F.U.Shakespeare)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2023, 1:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-paul-reubens-july-30-2023/987880/52 "2023-08-01T01:25:52Z")
“(I saw the) worst accident I ever seen.” ---
**Author:** ![Dung\_Beetle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dung_beetle/32/7945_2.png) [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2023, 1:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-paul-reubens-july-30-2023/987880/53 "2023-08-01T01:29:39Z")
> [@Mahaloth](#): > > Large Marge scare scene frame by frame I bet all of us did it! ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2023, 1:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-paul-reubens-july-30-2023/987880/54 "2023-08-01T01:43:14Z")
> [@LoneRhino](#): > > I don’t think I’ve ever laughed any harder than I did at that scene. I lost it at _“I’ll say; I’m going to start a paper route right now!”_ — which, yes, is off-the-wall silliness, but which somehow also manages to be straightforward and simple to the point where _of course_ everybody just stands around for a moment while the sheer damn _appropriateness_ of it plays out. ---
**Author:** ![Rilchiam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/2bfe46/32.png) [@Rilchiam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rilchiam)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2023, 2:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-paul-reubens-july-30-2023/987880/55 "2023-08-01T02:06:06Z")
> [@LoneRhino](#): > > I was a teenager when that movie came out. I don’t think I’ve ever laughed any harder than I did at that scene. I’m not the only one, then! Yeah, I knew where it was going almost immediately, because it’s a classic ghost story that I had heard before. “Oh, of course, she was the driver, and now…WHAAAAAAA?” I _thought_ I knew where it was going, but I got got! ---
**Author:** ![Maserschmidt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maserschmidt/32/18829_2.png) [@Maserschmidt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maserschmidt)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2023, 2:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-paul-reubens-july-30-2023/987880/56 "2023-08-01T02:23:51Z")
The Paul Reubens stories on Twitter are incredible. > > > > ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2023, 2:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-paul-reubens-july-30-2023/987880/57 "2023-08-01T02:43:15Z")
I love that last story from Todd Spence. Yeah, I think Paul Reubens was just a really nice and quirky guy. Not all that strange or weird or anything. Just a nice guy who was really funny and talented. ---
**Author:** ![JohnGalt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johngalt/32/184_2.png) [@JohnGalt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnGalt)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2023, 3:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-paul-reubens-july-30-2023/987880/58 "2023-08-01T03:09:01Z")
Washington Post has some nice coverage of his influence. Something I didn’t know that when Joan Rivers kicked off her ill-fated late night talk show, competing with Carson, the guests on her first episode were: - Elton John, - Cher, and - Pee Wee Herman Like everyone else, I could easily quote many lines from _Big Adventure_, and since our kids were young at the time, we watched almost every episode of _Playhouse_. I got **Time** magazine at the time, and they listed it as not-to-miss, but hard to describe. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2023, 3:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-paul-reubens-july-30-2023/987880/59 "2023-08-01T03:51:54Z")
> [@ekedolphin](#): > > Large Marge from _Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure_ scared the hell out of me as a child. Large Marge scared the hell out of me as an _adult!_😲 I laughed my ass off when I saw _ **Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure** _ back in the '80s, but I had to force my teenaged daughter to sit down and watch it with me 20 years later. Her snooty attitude disappeared when she saw it was a Tim Burton movie. (The same thing happened with _ **Pulp Fiction** _, but in that case it was Tim Roth who changed her mind.) I laughed out loud back in February '21, when Reubens was on _ **Celebrity Wheel of Fortune** _. He got the song title “U Can’t Touch That!” right off the bat. RIP, Paul. ---
**Author:** ![TroutMan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troutman/32/6721_2.png) [@TroutMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TroutMan)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2023, 4:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-paul-reubens-july-30-2023/987880/60 "2023-08-01T04:02:46Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > “I love fruit salad!” > > “If you love fruit salad so much, then why don’t you marry it?” > > “I **will**!!” Here’s a good article about Pee Wee and the gay subtext throughout his performances. Or if you were paying attention, the plain text. > **[Pee-wee Herman Was Always a Gay Icon](https://slate.com/human-interest/2016/03/pee-wees-big-holiday-on-netflix-brings-the-characters-coy-gayness-to-a-new-audience.html)** > > Pee-wee never had a “gay subtext.” For everyone but the willfully ignorant, it was always just text. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-paul-reubens-july-30-2023/987880.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-paul-reubens-july-30-2023/987880.md?page=4)