Paul Reubens Net Worth - Pulptastic

Publish date: 2024-05-04

What is Paul Reubens’ Net Worth and Salary?

Paul Reubens, aka “Pee-Wee Herman,” is an American comedian, actor, and TV personality with a net worth of $5 million. He’s most famous for his Pee-Wee Herman character, which he’s portrayed in TV shows, live performances, and movies. Despite his success as Pee-Wee, Reubens has also had a successful career outside of the character.

Early Life and Education

Paul Reubens, born in Peekskill, New York on August 27, 1952, was raised in Sarasota, Florida where his parents owned a lamp store. His father, Milton Rubenfeld, was a founding pilot of the Israeli Air Force and had also flown for the British Royal Air Force and the U.S. Army Air Forces in World War II. Reubens spent a lot of time attending circus shows, which sparked his interest in entertainment. He attended Sarasota High School where he was highly active in theater and served as the president of the National Thespian Society. He attended Boston University and eventually moved to California to attend the California Institute of the Arts after being rejected from multiple acting schools including Juilliard and Carnegie-Mellon. While in school, he performed at local comedy clubs and was a member of the Los Angeles improvisational comedy team, The Groundlings, for six years.

Creation of Pee-Wee Herman

The character “Pee-Wee Herman” was created during a 1978 improvisational session with The Groundlings. He is based on the idea of a man who wants to become a comic, but is so bad at telling jokes that it is obvious to everyone that he is never going to succeed.

Reubens adopted Pee-Wee’s signature way of speaking in 1970, when he was cast as an extremely obnoxious character in a production of “Life with Father.” The name “Pee-Wee” came from the Pee Wee brand harmonica, and the name “Herman” is the name of a boy Reubens knew growing up.

Paul Reubens’ Rise to Fame as Pee-Wee Herman

Paul Reubens originally auditioned for “Saturday Night Live” but was rejected in favor of Gilbert Gottfried. He then borrowed money to start his own show in Los Angeles based on the Pee-Wee Herman character, which ran for five sellout months at The Roxy Theatre. HBO helped him take the show mainstream by airing it as part of their “On Location” series. Reubens began making all public appearances and interviews as Pee-Wee, billing the character as a real person. Further appearances on shows like “Late Night with David Letterman” and touring the country with “The Pee-Wee Herman Show” helped to increase his fame and success.

Paul Reubens’ Success with Pee-Wee Herman Franchise

Warner Bros. asked Paul Reubens to write a full-length Pee-Wee Herman film after the success of “The Pee-Wee Herman Show”. Tim Burton was selected to direct “Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure” due to his previous work. The movie grossed over $40 million domestically despite mixed reviews. CBS approached Reubens to create “Pee-Wee’s Playhouse” in 1986, which aired until 1990 and had a budget of $325,000 per episode. The show was enjoyed by both kids and adults.

Career setbacks and resurgence

In 1991, Paul Reubens suffered a career setback when he was arrested and charged with indecent exposure in Florida. The scandal damaged his clean image and led to CBS dropping reruns of his show “Pee-Wee’s Playhouse”. Despite this setback, Reubens attempted to revive his acting career by appearing in several films, including “Buffy the Vampire Slayer”, “Matilda”, “Mystery Men”, and “Blow”. He later landed a recurring role on the popular sitcom “Murphy Brown”.

Reubens brought his popular character to Broadway in 2010, starring in “The Pee-Wee Herman Show”. The following year, he made his debut as the voice of Jokey in the family comedy “The Smurfs” and continued to work on its sequel in 2013.

Herman’s Criminal History

Herman, who was arrested in 1991 for a violent crime, had a criminal history that included prior arrests. In 1971, he was arrested for loitering and prowling, but the charges were dropped. In 1983, he received a two-year probation sentence for possessing marijuana.

In 2002, Herman was arrested again, this time for possessing obscene material depicting a child under 18 engaged in sexual conduct. He maintained his innocence, claiming that the materials were part of his vintage erotica collection.

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