Playing Pee-Wee Herman Almost Made Paul Reubens Lose His Fortune

Summary

• Paul Reubens was the main brain behind Pee-wee Herman.
• Reubens insisted on his own vision for the character.
• Reubens lost a significant amount of money on Pee-wee's Playhouse.

When Paul Reubens passed away after a secret cancer battle, millions of fans all over the world mourned his loss. At that time, it made a lot of sense to look back at Reubens' career including the fact he would take over talk shows as Pee-wee Herman.

Looking back at the early stages of Reubens' career, fascinating facts like David Letterman making him a star come to light. However, perhaps the most interesting thing about Reubens' life is the fact that portraying Pee-wee Herman could have made him lose everything.

Why Did Paul Reubens Almost Go Broke?

In many cases, TV shows and movies that are produced for kids feel like they are created by a committee. As a result, it would make sense if most people assumed that the character Pee-wee Herman was created by excessive market research.

In reality, however, Paul Reubens was the main brain behind the character Pee-wee Herman. Originally, Reubens created his most famous character and performed as Herman in nightclubs before most of the world had ever heard of him.

Eventually, Reubens brought the character to the mainstream when he performed as Herman on Late Night with David Letterman. Reubens also starred in an HBO special as Herman. Able to turn heads, Reubens went on to star in Pee-wee's Big Adventure, a movie that was a lot more successful than expected.

While other people including Tim Burton helped Reubens craft the Pee-wee Herman character, he maintained a lot of control. When Reubens got his next chance to bring Herman to the world, he insisted on his own vision.

After the success of Pee-wee's Big Adventure, CBS approached Reubens about producing an animated show. While Reubens was interested in working with CBS, he insisted that any Pee-wee Herman show would have to largely be live-action.

Before Reubens passed away, the actor portrayed his famous character in a one-time radio special. Following the actor's passing, the radio station's chief content officer Paul Bennun spoke about how great it was to work with Reubens.

According to Bennun, Reubens was “an extraordinary perfectionist", “a natural producer”, and “punctilious and demanding”. Despite that. Bennun says Herman was “joyful and gentle and inclusive”. Bennun went on to explain how protective Reubens was over the Pee-wee Herman character.

“He found himself in this position with moral and commercial ownership over this character, and he wanted to make sure that it was projected in ways that were as true to his moral objectives as to anything else.”

Back when production began on Pee-wee's Playhouse, Reubens' instincts proved to be very costly for him. According to Mental Floss, Reubens' original Pee-wee's Playhouse deal forced him to bankroll any budget overages.

Since Reubens was a perfectionist from all accounts, Pee-wee's Playhouse habitually went over budget. Mental Floss quoted Reubens talking about the show going so far over budget that he lost a fortune.

“Originally, I lost quite a bit of money on Pee-wee’s Playhouse. I was responsible, financially, for Pee-wee’s Playhouse. So when it went over budget—not if it went over budget, when it went over budget—that came out of my pocket. I don’t want to mention a figure, but we had one season that was over budget by a lot of money.

Since Reubens worked hard to make Pee-wee's Playhouse a hit, it seems wild that he ever lost money on the show. However, Mental Floss quoted Reubens explaining why he was willing to let the show go over budget even knowing he was footing the bill.

"I’m a little bit of a perfectionist. Not a little bit: I’m a perfectionist … I want to rebuild the whole Playhouse door if it’s too big or the wrong color. So I feel like I’m a great producer, but I also have distinct limitations in that department because I will always spend more money and not sacrifice quality. So it went over budget a lot. Like, every season.”

Looking back at Pee-wee's Playhouse, it is pretty easy to see how the show went over budget. Between things like the show's elaborate set and puppets, everything involved in the show clearly took a lot of work.

What Celebrity Careers Did Pee-wee Herman Launch?

Thanks to how beloved Pee-wee Herman became, the character obviously turned Paul Reubens into a big star. What many people don't realize, however, is how Pee-wee Herman played a notable role in the careers of many other celebrities.

Between the two Pee-wee Herman movies, several future celebrities appeared onscreen. The first movie, 1985's Pee-wee's Big Adventure featured appearances by Phil Hartman, Jan Hooks, and Jason Hervey from The Wonder Years.

Released three years later, 1988's Big Top Pee-wee wasn't as successful, but it also featured several future stars onscreen. When fans watch Big Top Pee-wee, they will be able to catch appearances by Benicio del Toro, Penelope Ann Miller, and Dustin Diamond from Saved by the Bell.

Just like the movies that starred the hit character, several future stars made appearances on the TV show Pee-wee's Playhouse. Most notably, Laurence Fishburne, Phil Hartman, and Natasha Lyonne all appeared in several episodes. Some other stars who appeared in an episode of the show include Oprah Winfrey, Jimmy Smits, S. Epatha Merkerson, and Sandra Bernhard.

Working on Pee-wee Herman projects also helped several future celebrities who worked behind the scenes. Directing Pee-wee's Big Adventure launched Tim Burton into the Hollywood heavyweight he became. Rob Zombie and John Singleton both also infamously worked on Pee-wee's Playhouse as production assistants.

Considering how many Hollywood careers were launched by Pee-wee Herman makes the character's legacy even more impressive. With that in mind, it seems like it is a good thing that Reubens was so invested in the character to bankroll budget overruns.