Paul Reubens was born on 27 August 1952. He was a remarkable actor. But he created and performed the Pee-wee Herman character, which dominated his career.

Reubens had an amazing eye for talent. His show Pee-wee’s Playhouse was a creative tour de force both on-screen and off. The design, puppets, and animation were all fantastic.

Outside the Pee-wee character, Paul Reubens mostly played small roles in a large number of film and TV shows. He received an Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series nomination in 1995. (He lost to Carl Reiner.) I most remember him as Amilyn in Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

I suppose I should say something about Reubens’ criminal history. He was arrested for skulking around a porn theater. (Charges dropped.) He was convicted of cannabis possession. In 1991, he was arrested for being in an adult movie theater. And in 2002, he was arrested for possession of child pornography. The consumption of child pornography is a big issue because it pushes the creation of child pornography. But that’s not what Reubens did.

The problem with vice policing is that finding bad people is hard. Unusual people like Paul Reubens are thus easy targets. And this is a great blessing for actual sexual predators. But in America, it is far more important that the police look like they are doing something good than to actually do something good. Doing good is so much harder!

Anyway, there are many ways to celebrate Paul Reubens’ birthday, but I think the best is to watch Pee-wee’s Playhouse. Archive has the complete second and third seasons along with the Christmas special. Here is the first episode of Season 2:

Other 27 August Anniversaries

Filmmakers

• Herman Cohen (1925-2002): Producer of I Was a Teenage Werewolf, Blood of Dracula, and Trog.
• Peter Stormare (1953-): Actor know for playing very strange and often psychotic characters. He was the best thing in Constantine, where he played Satan.
• Dean Devlin (1962-): Producer most known for his work with Roland Emmerich on the films Stargate and Independence Day.
• Stephan Elliott (1964-): Writer-director of quirky films, most notably The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert.
• Aaron Paul (1979-): Actor known for the TV series Breaking Bad but has also worked extensively as a character actor in various films including the remake of The Last House on the Left.

Films

• Doctor X (1932): It’s always the one-armed man! And Doctor X did not build him!
• Phantom of the Opera (1943): Beautifully produced version of the classic story.
• The Revenge of Frankenstein (1958): The second of the Hammer Frankenstein films. Probably the worst of the good ones.
• Mary Poppins (1964): Magical nanny saves family.
• Let’s Scare Jessica To Death (1971): Jessica, her husband, and a friend move into a farmhouse. Strange things happen and she thinks she is going insane. But no. It’s a vampire.
• The Incubus (1981): A supernatural slasher (with lots of rape).
• Needful Things (1993): Pawn shop Monkey Paw.
• The Astronaut’s Wife (1999): A space alien takes over an astronaut’s body.
• The Thirteenth Warrior (1999): An Arab poet is forced to go on a quest.
• Anacondas: The Hunt For The Blood Orchid (2004): Sequel to Anaconda but with more snakes.
• Ginger Snaps Back: The Beginning (2004): Prequel for the popular werewolf series.
• Suspect Zero (2004): Serial killer kills serial killers.
• The Last Exorcism (2010): An exorcist allows his last exorcism to be filmed.
• Candyman (2021): Sequel to the original film.

Paul Reubens by Daniel Benavides licensed under CC BY 2.0.