“What were Pee Wee Herman’s two favorite baseball teams?”
“The Expos and Yanks.”
Aside from his legal troubles, he will be most remembered for the creativity and character of Playhouse. Sorry to see that he’s gone.
I remember that. He pulled out a doll and said it was a member of Menudo!
Can’t estimate how often I say, “Tell me aout your big but…” or “Did somebody say wish?”
Some of my fondest TV memories were Saturday mornings when my kids were young. I’d play 9 holes of golf starting at 6 a.m., to get home so my wife could teach. I’d come home and watch Pee Wee with my eldest - who would often be in her Pee Wee PJs. (Funny, I can’t find an image of the ones she wore!)
I’m sorry to hear that. I enjoyed “Pee Wee’s Playhouse” as a kid. (My parents didn’t. Once when I mentioned Pee Wee, my father said: “Is that the one that makes weird noises?”) I also quite liked his performance in “Blow.”
My favorite was the “Tequila” dance.
RIP Pee Wee.
Aw man, I loved watching Pee-Wee’s Playhouse on Saturday mornings as a kid. Likewise, I must’ve watched Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure three dozen times as a pre-teen-- my step brother and I would try to pause the Large Marge scene right when she was at her most terrifying.
A few years ago, I introduced Pee-Wee to my kids, even bought my daughter the Playhouse box set, which she watch on a loop for a while.
Also loved him in Batman Returns as Oswold Cobblepot’s father. It was my first time seeing him in a role that wasn’t Pee-Wee, which to my teenage eyes was quite jarring and fascinating.
Sucks! Did not expect him to go so soon. My favorite was during the PWHShow, he played a video (made in the early '60s) about etiquette for children. Like when being served a giant slice of cake. When all the etiquette lessons were over, his only comment is “Was that the biggest piece of cake you ever saw, or what?” 
Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure was my favorite movie when I was a little kid 
I first knew him as the cocaine fiend in Cheech & Chong’s Nice Dreams. When the TV show came along, I remember thinking, “How the heck did HE get a children’s TV show?” When the . . . incident . . . happened, I was apparently the only one on the planet who was not surprised.
When Buffy the Vampire Slayer came out, I didn’t recognize him. But his death scene was hilarious.
This is shocking. I’m in shock. I don’t think anyone knew he was ill.
My sister Alison worked with him on Pee-wee’s Playhouse. She played Chairry the chair and other puppet characters. He was always very good to her, always remembered her birthday, years later.
I can’t believe he is gone.
I think Pee Wee’s Big Adventure is my most quoted movie of all time.
“Is this something you can share with the rest of us Amazing Larry!”
He kept it private. He seemed like a good guy and a very funny comedian and actor.
Since there have been mentions of his arrest and mug shot, I would like to speak up about the injustice of that arrest. He was arrested in a “raid” and accused of exposing himself, while watching sex films inside an adult theater. This was in 1991, more than 20 years after pornography was de-criminalized. His career was badly damaged over a victimless crime.
As for his appearance in the mug shot, he looked like a normal, well-groomed adult man with long hair and a short chin beard and mustache. People need to remember that Pee Wee was a part, not a person. He certainly wasn’t obliged to look like that part all the time.
RIP. Seventy is too young.
A small performance that I don’t think is mentioned above: He voiced one of the three trick-or-treater kid characters in The Nightmare Before Christmas. It’s easy to pick out his voice!
I very rarely have “I remember the first time I saw this mindblowing thing…” moments but I absolutely remember the first time I saw Pee-Wee’s Playhouse.
It was a Saturday morning and my older brother had a baseball game, and it was a rare time that I, younger sister, got to choose what to watch on my own. This crazy show came on with bright colors, goofy music, stop-motion animation, costumed characters, puppets, and YELLING! It was mesmerizing. We didn’t have cable at the time so this was definitely the wildest thing I’d seen to date.
Somehow I convinced my brother that we should add it to our regular Saturday morning routine and I’m glad he allowed it. The show was fantastic, as was the movie.
Thank you @Roderick_Femm for putting Rubens’ arrest into perspective! I remember learning about it and understanding what happened when I got older, and was relieved that our guy Pee Wee really did nothing wrong.
They didn’t know who he was when he was arrested. It was under his birth name, Paul Rubenfeld. No one would have known except a local reporter where it happened recognized the name and decided to publish the story which became national news.
I loved Pee Wee in the 80s. Big Adventure was such a fun movie and an interesting collaboration with Ruebens and Tim Burton. And written by Ruebens and Phil Hartman!
I loved all of his work, especially Pee-Wee’s Playhouse.
“I love fruit salad!”
“If you love fruit salad so much, then why don’t you marry it?”
“I will!!”
“The fruit salad said yes!”
@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.)
A joke that went around at the time:
“Did you hear Pee Wee Herman’s going to act as his own lawyer? He figures that he, of all people, should be able to get himself off”.