The word just got out that Paul Reubens has passed away after suffering from cancer. Ruebens was most famous for his character Pee Wee Herman. The guy was hilarious. From bit parts in Cheech and Chong movies to headlining his own feature films as Pee Wee, when Paul Ruebens face appeared on screen you would know that everything just got funnier.

I thought it would be fun to share a few Hollywood legends or stories about Pee Wee. Some anecdotes that have floated around LA for years. Mostly in comedy circles. Here goes. One legend is that the character of Pee Wee was born out of an improvisational workshop at the Groundling theater. Actors were told to get a single item out of a prop box and create a character based on what they choose. Paul Ruebens picked a Pee Wee harmonica. He did a scene. Phil Hartman, a fellow groundling though it was hilarious and encouraged Ruebens to keep going with the character.

Phil Hartman co-wrote the first Pee Wee Herman Show which was a hit stage play and later an HBO special. Hartman also appeared in the show. It was a massive success. An instant classic. If you haven’t seen it? You should.

Next up is the Tim Burton directed Pee Wee’s Big Adventure. Again, co-written by Phil Hartman and Paul Ruebens. Another smash hit. This is where things take a turn. The story goes that Paul and Phil had a falling out over money. (shock) They were supposed to do some kind of split from the Pee Wee revenue and evidently, they no longer saw eye to eye. Phil Hartman had nothing to do with any Pee Wee project after that.

Then came the bizarre case with the LAPD. In a nutshell, the LAPD made a really big deal about raiding Ruebens’ house for child porn. The raid was all over the news. However, the lack of child porn being found wasn’t quite as big of a story. Funny how that works. Most people just remember the charges and not the outcome. It’s a sad reality.

At least Pee Wee had another round of success before too long. Rumor also has it that Ruebens had a script for a super dark Pee Wee movie where Pee Wee gets revenge on the press and everyone who tried to ruin his career. That’s a flick we would have loved to see.