This one hurts so bad...

The world just stopped laughing.

It sucks just thinking about it. It wasn't even that long ago that I watched the Big Adventure movie. Speaking of, it's on sale on VUDU.

This hurts like hell. Paul was one of my personal heroes. A geniunely good man, super kind, super funny -- really handsome. I'm just... broken.

I don't know if any of you were on the RetroJunk forums in the early/mid-2000s, but my username over there was PeeweesPrincess. He was my first real celebrity crush.

Hi All

When I first heard this II teared up & though the world just got darker.

To say I'm taking it hard is an understatement. I'm just a mess. My coping mechanisms are not good either. I know it seems crazy, how I can grief this hard over someone I didn't know personally, but growing up as the weird autistic kid with ADHD that was terribly bullied, Pee-wee made me realize it was okay to be weird, and if people didn't like it, too bad. 

 

also, like Paul was IRL, I am eccentric and described as a bit of a weirdo. I guess I kind of feel a kinship with him. (We're both Jewish as well, so I guess we are technically kin lol). and yes, I was bullied over my crush on him... I'll always defend him when people try to make him out to be a terrible person. He was such a good person, and I wish more people realized that. 

 

sorry for the rant, I'm just needing to get it out. 

 

@VillechaizeLove

 No need for sorries. It truly is a darker world without the man. Feels like we all lost a bit of what made our youth so great.

@Vaporman87

thanks. Yeah, it's so true. The world has gotten darker, but the stars now shine a little brighter because he's a part of them now. I'm glad we got to exist in the same time with him. I know my life was made better by having him in it. 

In the World of Entertainment timing is everything, and Paul Reuben's TV career got traction just when the entire television landscape began to shift with the integration of Ted Turner's SuperStation WTBS - Atlanta, in 1979.

Nationwide satellite and cable subscription services put the pressure on television networks to go 24/7, resulting in an explosion of late night television broadcasting that played right into the growing Comedy Club expansion that was happening in major media markets.

Paul Reuben's "Pee Wee" persona became an instant hit on late night TV.

I first saw Pee Wee Herman on Public Broadcasting's new late night talk show, "PBS LateNight with Dennis Wholey", waay back in 1982. Oh how I wish I could find a clip of that interview. Paul became "Pee Wee" for his interview with Dennis and it was a real hoot!

Here is the intro for PBS LateNight and it became a musical anthem for the after midnight crowd:

Don't underestimate how the novelty of 24-Hour television fueled the creative energy of 80's Music on TV, High-energy Saturday morning cartoons, the Pro Wrestling craze, and the explosion of new comedy shows inspired by the popularity Comedy Clubs.

The 80's Pop Culture Craze was like sunlight for Paul and PeeWee and he was making appearances on every TV network, across a variety of shows and television specials long before he scored his own Saturday morning series.

Check out how awesome Paul interacts with Roddy Piper on the "All-Star Rock 'N' Wrestling Saturday Spectacular", Primetime Special on CBS in 1985:

The stage was set for Pee Wee to get his own show but I never imagined a live action Saturday morning spot for Paul Reuben's character. The result was more awesome than I could imagine at the time. Here is a full resolution video of  Pee Wee's Playhouse, better than I ever saw on my low-res television in 1986!