Pee-wee Herman Actor Paul Reubens Cause of Death Revealed _ E! News

Transcript

00:00 The cause of death for Paul Rubens, best known for playing Pee-wee Herman, has been made public.

00:06 Citing his death certificate, People reports that the actor, who passed away on July 30 at

00:12 the age of 70, died of acute hypoxic respiratory failure. According to the outlet, the underlying

00:19 cause of his death was listed as acute myelogenous leukemia, a blood and bone marrow cancer,

00:25 and in the months prior to his passing, he had been diagnosed with metastatic lung cancer,

00:30 meaning the cancer spread to his lungs. When his death was first announced in July,

00:36 a message posted to his social media pages stated that Paul "bravely and privately fought cancer for

00:43 years with his trademark tenacity and wit." In addition, Paul himself was quoted as saying in

00:49 a statement, "Please accept my apology for not going public with what I've been facing the last

00:54 six years. I have always felt a huge amount of love and respect from my friends, fans,

01:00 and supporters. I have loved you all so much and enjoyed making art for you."

01:05 Per the New York Times, the actor created his bow-tied alter-ego Pee-wee Herman in the late 70s

01:12 as a member of the Los Angeles comedy troupe the Groundlings. He then played the character on The

01:17 Pee-wee Herman Show, a live on-stage TV pilot adapted into a comedy special in 1981. Next up

01:24 came the 1985 movie Pee-wee's Big Adventure, directed by Tim Burton, and a year later,

01:31 Paul's children's show Pee-wee's Playhouse debuted. In 1986, he portrayed Max in the cult sci-fi film

01:38 Flight of the Navigator, but in 1991, his acting career stalled after he was arrested for indecent

01:45 exposure in an adult movie theater in Florida. Over the next couple of decades, Paul had small

01:52 roles on TV shows and did voiceover work playing characters in movies like Tim Burton's The

01:58 Nightmare Before Christmas. He also played the superhero Spleen in the 1999 comic book movie

02:04 Mystery Men and reprised his role in the music video for Smash Mouth's hit single All-Star,

02:10 featured on the film's soundtrack. Also in the 90s, Paul had a recurring part on the sitcom

02:16 Murphy Brown, which earned him an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series.

02:22 And in 2001, the actor starred with Johnny Depp in the crime drama movie Below.

02:28 Nine years later, Paul revived his Pee-wee Herman stage show, which opened in Los Angeles and later

02:34 moved to Broadway. The production was adapted into an HBO special, which was nominated for an Emmy.

02:40 And in 2016, Paul reprised his signature role in the Netflix movie Pee-wee's Big Holiday.

02:56 (upbeat music)