Pee-wee Herman creator Paul Reubens has died at the age of 70

 Pee-wee Herman, the comic creation of actor/writer Paul Reubens, often threw schoolyard taunts into his casual conversation. It was one of the pieces the character had.

"Why don't you take a picture of it? It will last longer!"

"That's my name! Don't wear it!"

And most famously,

"I know you are, but what am I?"

Of course, when it came to Pee-wee himself, with his skin-tight gray suit, red bow tie, haircut, ridged cheekbones and ruby ​​red lips, "What am I?" was a real question—he asked it merely by existing.

Reubens died Sunday of cancer at the age of 70. He was an actor - but for a long time he tried to convince the public that Pee-wee was a real person, not a character.

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At first, people didn't know what to make of Reubens' mistrustful child. Created in 1977 while Reubens was a member of the Los Angeles sketch troupe The Groundlings, Pee-wee was part prop comic, part brat and part trickster ghost. There was something fearless, something unapologetic and brash about Pee-wee that took you a second to process. The character was quite obviously and deliberately what people called a sissy - but how could a sissy like him own the stage? Bask in the spotlight like him? How could a sissy so confidently and articulately dictate the terms for her audience to experience?

 

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In Pee-wee's Big Adventure , this was shown in his hilariously obsessive quest to recover his stolen bike—a task that would see him trample on the feelings of friends like Amazing Larry (Lou Cutell) and Dottie (E.G. Daily). At Pee-wee's Playhouse, this took the form of hilarious exhortations to his audience to "shout real loud" whenever someone said the secret word of the week. (Think of the long-suffering parents who hoped that putting their kids down in front of the TV would give them a moment of peace to finish their coffee.) In the spectacular 1988 Pee-wee's Playhouse Christmas Special, Reubens focused on children's insatiable desire for presents , which turns Pee-wee into a monster who only reluctantly sees the light once they wind up in it. (Like Scrooge, he's a lot more fun to hang out with before his last-minute appearance.)

 

In 1991, Reubens pleaded no contest to indecent exposure in an adult cinema; ten years later he was charged with possession of obscene material by a child under 18, but later pleaded guilty to a reduced charge of misdemeanor obscenity. He is shown above on the Universal Studios stage in Universal City, California in October 2011.

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To watch Pee-wee was to relive childhood as we'd forgotten it really was—pure, concentrated, distilled to its essence, when riding a bike, playing with toys, and actually screaming was all that was needed to fill the day. Pee-wee was a creature of impulse, anarchy and id — which is probably why Reubens' frequent appearances on Late Night with David Letterman helped launch him to stardom.

Reubens' silliness operated on a different frequency than Letterman's—Pee-wee was wilder and far less inhibited than Letterman could ever hope to be, and Letterman knew he was playing his own irritated, wronged discomfort in Pee-wee's antics for comedic effect. The two men vibrated at opposite ends of the comedy spectrum, but worked brilliantly together. In the parts of the interview that quickly turned into Pee-wee giggles, you laughed at Reubens' ability to take complete control of the experience and Letterman's completely uncharacteristic willingness to take the reins.

In the coming days, our social media will be filled with a lot of Pee-wee's greatest hits - Large Marge; "Tequila!"; Jambi Genie; Chair; Reubens' extended and completely improvised death scene in Buffy the Vampire Slayer; "I'm a loner, Dot. Rebel."; and of course, "Come on, Simon. Let's talk about your big 'but'."

But I'll have the aforementioned Pee-wee's Playhouse Christmas Special because it reminds me of one of Reubens' most overlooked talents—his ability to sneak an artisanal blend of fey subversiveness into the mainstream. This special brought Reagan's America: The Del Rubio Triplets defiantly, but matter-of-factly, to the CBS rimetime broadcast! Zsa Zsa Gabor! Little Richard! Annette Funicello and Frankie Avalon! KD Lang! Charo! The LA Men's Corps dressed up as the Marine Corps! And, more indelibly, Grace Jones as the green Gumby, the drag-singing club mix of "The Little Drummer Boy."

Keep your "I wanted to do that." Keep dancing at the biker bar to "Tequila." The image of Reubens I will hold closest to my heart for the next few days is of him swaying in the background while Jones sings in the spotlight.

Because I swear you can see, just by the way she holds her body, the mischievous pleasure she takes in what she unleashes on the unsuspecting public: Grace Jones, ladies and gentlemen, delivered to your living rooms, pulled up against the bumper of your cozy a family holiday special, a completely unique brand of weirdness that will be served to you hot and fresh, with a high-pitched, oblivious giggle.