Big tough Metal guy here. I wept on hearing he passed. He brought joy and laughs to uncounted fans. He was everything right about movies and comedy. His infectious laugh could light a room and he could get under your skin seemingly without effort. Always remembered as a innocent in an ugly world.

I think the reason why people love the Pee Wee Herman character so much is because he does what we all wish we could do. Just enjoy life. Pee Wee lives in the moment, goes cool places, meets interesting people, makes funny comments, and has a great time just being alive. He reminds us what life is all about.

Thank you for not dwelling on "the incident." Many of the people who are adults now very much want to strangle the adults from back then for canceling him.

I'm a 44 year old man who's sense of humor was highly impacted by watching pee wee as a kid in the 80s. Ive since introduced him to my kids and they love it too. Truly a generation spanning talent. This was awesome, thank you.

This is so awsome, thank you. I don't think I would have been the same person if I hadn't watched Pee Wee as a young child. I named everything, a jacket 'jackie' a chair 'cherry' (a straight copy) but even though my hateful older siblings made me ashamed of my love for Pee Wee seeing Paul Reubens' renaissance gladdened me and I owned the fact I was one of Pee Wee's 'kids.' Paul Reubens may not have had biological children but children like me who watched him automatically became his. A conflicted person but an awesome person. I really mourn him.

I didn't grow up on Pee Wee. I watched him with my children. I think I enjoyed it even more than they did. I did grow up on the children's shows Rueben was evoking. And he succeeded in honoring those progams in such an endearing way!

Pee Wee was an absolute LEGEND. He is a GenX icon, One thing he taught me that I will never ever forget is.... there's no basement in the Alamo!!!

In the 80s I watched “playhouse” Saturday AM after working midnights. 25 years later I shared the boxed set with my kid. We still both love Pee Wee. This was a fine tribute. Well done…

I wasn't a young child when Peewee came out. I was a pot smoking young adult. Saturday was a magic morning again.

I grew up and live in San Antonio. I had the opportunity to watch a screening of Pee Wee's Big Adventure across the street from the Alamo, followed by Paul Reubens telling stories about his life. I've loved him and his work since I was a kid, so it was such a great experience to be there

There was a kid I knew in high school who looked a bit like Paul Reubens. This was the '80's and I'm sorry to say he experienced some bullying from the jocks. He could do an absolutely spot-on Pee Wee impersonation, though, and that started out as a shield but made him practically a star of the school. Paul Reubens made it OK, even cool, to be different. Even those of us who couldn't do Pee Wee but were weird in our own way found our niche thanks to him.

I’m always afraid to watch things like this because of inaccuracies, bore factor, etc… but this was FANTASTIC. Extremely accurate and very well done. Thank you from an extreme lifelong Paul Reubens fan. ❤

Fun fact: Dottie, Pee Wee’s girlfriend from Big Adventure, was played by Elizabeth Daily, the voice of Tommy from Rugrats and Buttercup from The Powerpuff Girls.

I'm in my 70s and I think Pee Wee gave us all our inner child back. The happy, silly, everything is imagination child that we all have in our core. I mean who would dance with bikers in your big shoes if not for imagination. We were able to laugh at "silly" even as adults.

Back in 1986, you had to rent VCRs because they were still pretty new and very expensive to buy yet. I had just moved into my new apartment and had started a new job. It took me a long time to open up to new people, much less invite them into my home, but I decided to rent a VCR and invite a few of my coworkers over to watch "Pee Wee's Big Adventure" It was the perfect choice. They were huge Pee Wee fans, and for weeks, we'd quote lines from the movie I now have the DVD in my permanent collection so I can watch it whenever I need a pick-me-up and escape from reality. The opening sequence of PW waking up, all through the breakfast sequence until he's out the door, is pure unadulterated joy and perfection... Thank you, Paul/Pee Wee ❤ And thanks for this sweet tribute to him 👍

He seemed like such a genuinely cool dude, on and off stage. You seldom get that impression from celebrities, I feel. I truly do miss him, even if I’ve never met him. Thanks for being such a sweet childhood memory, Paul.

This is such a great way to honor Paul, with no irrelevant negative stories. He was one of my heroes as a child and I wish he could see this.

I met Paul backstage at a Sacramento morning show (must have been about 1979) and he was just the most humble, polite, and earnest guy you’d ever want to meet. I remember that he showed up at the KCRA studios with two limos; one for him and one for his shoes. RIP Pee Wee.

That was a very classy memorial to Paul. Thanks Joe.

Pee-wee was like Paul's child it's no wonder he was always happy to bring out his child and show off.

RIP, Pee Wee Herman, 1952-2023.

The performance I most remember from Paul Reubens is as the Penguin's father in Gotham, describing his own father's suicide to Oswald, because his monologue was so well-written and performed.

I was an NPS Ranger. When we did seasonal training, we showed the clip of the Alamo as an example of what not to do as a tour guide. “ Can you say ‘Adobe’?”

I didn't even know that Paul had passed. God bless him and all his work over the years making millions of people smile. He will be cherished for years to come

Very well done.

My eldest daughter (now 40!!) and I bonded hugely with Pee Wee, especially the TV show.

The secret word is "begin"... Nice touch 👍

So many quotes that stuck around in pop culture for decades!!

*I don’t make monkeys, I train em*

Him hosting the Game Show version of "You Don't Know Jack" was so funny...it is too bad the Show didn't last.

Paul Reubens once said he wasnt pleasuring himself in a theatre. He said the proof was the witness said he saw Paul using his left hand, and Reubens said he only uses his right. Proof enough for me

Pee Wee defined my childhood. It was so imaginative and weird. The art in that show blew me away. The sets, animation, characters, stories, everything was tied together with Paul Rubens direction. I introduced it to my kids when it was on Netflix and they are fans.

Large Marge sent me.

I’m a simple man. I see a new vid from Hats Off, I watch.

That was AMAZING. Thank you so much for producing this.

I used to watch Pee-wee’s Playhouse more than my kids, the man cracks me up he is a comic genius. Like they say he is so committed to his character and it shines through.

You mentioned the production crew of Pee Wee's Playhouse. There's a great documentary called "Beauty is Embarassing" about Wayne White, an artist who worked on the show. It's mostly about the man's career and his trademarked weirdness, and it even features Paul Reubens. Check it out, when we get to the Pee Wee segment it's a really fascinating behind the scenes look at the making of the show.

9:39 Shelley Duvall's Faerie Tale Theatre is my everything growing up and Paul as Pinocchio always made my heart warm up.

I was an art student when I discovered Pee Wees Play House and loved it immediately for the design and STYLE! So whimsical and fun, the characters engaged me and allowed me to embrace my lost childhood. I had to grow up too fast and Pee Wee allowed me to heal that innocent time by embracing his silly antics. It was ridiculously fun and after watching your documentary I am charmed once again by the magic of Paul Ruebens. So sad to hear he passed last year. RIP you delightful man!

Can I just say thank you for being practically the only person on this platform who takes enough pride in their work to structure it around the advertisements, rather than having them awkwardly interrupt the video. 💯💯

Paul Reubens was one of a kind and we will never have anyone else like him. Great video Joe, take care!

Whenever my niece and nephew come over, I play Pee-Wee's Playhouse for them, and they love it. The show really holds up after all this time. The appeal for children is obvious, but, I think, the appeal for adults is that we get to feel like kids through Pee-Wee Herman.

this kind of stuff justifies the existence of the internet thank you

As of this post, sir, this is the only time one of your videos moved me to tears. Thank you so much. I remember watching him with my kids, and we had both movies (and they were wrong, it is a lovely film).

My mom was a huge Pee Wee fan. Whenever I see him, I'm reminded of her.

Him and Jim Henson were my childhood.

What a lovely tribute. Thank you for this. As an ‘80s kid, Pee-Wee was a staple in my house and I remember adoring the movie. Always bummed me out how the industry just threw him under the bus over fricken porn. I’m grateful he got to bring that character back. RIP, Paul.

I feel so fortunate to have barely made it into the generation that saw both the final years of Captain Kangaroo and the golden days of Pee Wee! Thank you so much for the time and love you put into compiling and producing this documentary! Watching it reminded me of what an unbelievably massive impact Paul's character had on popular culture.

Desperately need one of these about Charles Fleischer. Incredible comedian, actor, inventor, artist and just a magical human being on the same level of Robin Williams and Paul Reubens!

I was born in 1996 so I didn’t exactly grow up with pee wee but big adventure is one of the first movies I fell in love with as a kid. I would rent it every chance I got. I remember when they started to show playhouse on adult swim and me and my friend would stay up late to watch it. I remember my mom telling me he got arrested at a movie theater and I thought it was for filming the movie on a camera lul

He invoked the same kind of genuine love from people, that Gilda Radner invoked. The character Peewee Herman was so creative and hilarious, with just enough childlike innocence, that melts your heart!

His biggest stamp of approval was the fact he had a hip hop song & dance named after him. Joeski Love’s Do the Pee Wee Herman. He was iconic to any kid in the 80’s no matter where you grew up. RIP Paul

I had the great fortune of working as a staff writer for John Paragon on a project back in 2005. We were attempting to bring some animated film projects that Phil Hartman had developed before auditioning for SNL, to fruition. John was the head writer and he taught me a TON about writing. He once read a draft of something I'd handed in and when I said, 'You think it sucks, don't you?' he said very earnestly and sweetly, 'Oh no no! It's not that I think it sucks. It's that it ACTUALLY sucks.' (He was right, by the way.) I wanted to ask John so many times about his work with Paul Reubens, but I stopped myself. We had a job to do and we did the best we could. The projects didn't pan out, as it goes so many times in Hollywood, but I will never take for granted getting to learn from John. I miss John. I miss Phil. And I miss Paul.

What is funny is in Batman Returns Paul as Mr. Cobblepot doesn't even speak a line and the only sound he makes is a scream😮😮.

This is great. I watched Pee-Wee's Play House with my mom as a kid. I loved his silly antics, his "Rube Goldberg" type contraptions. And most of all, his laugh. He was a great dude, God bless him. He and so many other awesome shows and cartoons from the 80s and 90s made my childhood and millions of others, the best time to be alive. That movie is one of my favorites. He was an icon of the 80s and 90s

Thanks Joe for this mini-doc. Paul's death last year is the hardest I've ever taken a "celebrity death". Losing him, and Pee-wee, was really like losing a good friend that you had your whole life, because (especially for 80s/90s kids like me) from childhood through well into adulthood, he was always there.

Thank you for this. I was born in 81 and Pee-Wee's Big Adventure is one of the first movies I remember watching. Not only was Pee-Wee amazing but Reubens himself knew comedy. His death scene in Buffy the Vampie Slayer has got to be one of the funniest deaths ever on film!

I have good memories watching Pee Wee’s Playhouse reruns on Adult Swim. Thanks so much for covering Paul Reubens!

Both Paul Rubens and Peewee are DOPE!! Paul is the man. While other people tried to cancel him, I never did. Creativity and comedy.. he will always be remembered as the man.. beloved!

Pee-Wee Herman was a big part of my Saturday mornings throughout the 1980's. I was in my very early 20's in those days, but thoroughly enjoyed his show with my baby brother who was only 9-10 years old at the time. Pee-Wee's shows had something for everyone to relate to. "Pee-Wee's Big Adventure" made me laugh hysterically when it came out in theaters. He is greatly missed by many fans.😢

“So he did an adult thing…in an adult movie theater…and people have a problem with this because…?” -My actual reaction upon hearing the news

Imagine sneaking your character onto The Dating Game and that is your TV debut. No wonder he wanted to just BE that character for years. 29:40 say it with me, kids: you can't lose the battle with cancer. if you die, the cancer dies too. that's a draw ; > good job Paul. 30:50 indeed! he caaared so much about his work, so much that he kept all the original files for the video effects for Playhouse.. that's the only way they were able to re-release it in hi-def.

Thanks, Joe. This was beautiful.

Beautiful work. Thank you for making this.

Paul played The Penguin's father in Batman Returns, then he played The Penguin's father in the TV show Gotham. It was always fun to see him show up in random projects.

22:20 Pee-Wee's actual last appearance post-controversy was actually in 1992 in a TNN special called "Hats Off to Minnie: America Honors Minnie Pearl"

I always liked Paul Reubens, he seemed like a very genuine man. Pee-Wee was very funny and so was Paul Reubens. May he rest in Peace.

I'm so grateful my mom bought the entire Pee Wee's Playhouse so my kids could also grow up watching Pee Wee, along with his movies. One of the best children's shows in history. His love of the character is what makes it so special. Paul gave kids permission to never stop being imaginative or creative. He allowed us to laugh at our silliness as himan beings in a clean, fun way that toed the line of adult humor. The man was a gift. ❤

As a 42-year-old, original Pee Wee fan, may I just say you did an exceptionally well-done tribute to Paul. I thourghly enjoyed it 🫶

This was a surprise. Cant wait to enjoy. Sad that next month will mark one year since his death. One of the real gut punches of 2023.

Bravo. A wonderful tribute to one of my favourite entertainers.

Oh , my God! His appearance at the MTV awards, so sudden and so real/meta. it has stopped my heart forever!! His brilliant little joke of "heard any good jokes lately?" was so iconic!!!

This is excellent! RIP PEE WEE, life long fan.

A Heart Warming look at Beloved Character! I'm glad he enjoyed the role.

That’s exactly right the entire crew with peewee Herman fans, including me. Watching Pee-wee Herman perform and being a part of behind-the-scenes was absolutely thrilling. This video made me cry. We miss you.

Thank you for making this remarkable docu commentary. I never realized the depth of the talent surrounding Pee Week rfor so long. The planet was blessed with the presence of Paul Rubens for 70 years. He delighted children, but also the children in adult souls. This places him aside Mr. Rogers, not below.

Oh man this is really well done, Pee Wee Herman was a childhood favorite

As a 10 year-old kid, Pee-Wee's Playhouse was my absoloute favorite show. Thanks for all the awesome Saturday mornings, Pee-Wee.

Thanks for putting this together, it was great! I was born the same year the HBO special came out (1981) and my parents had taped it off TV, which I watched religiously. I was a fan of that before ever seeing Big Adventure or the Playhouse! I’m truly happy for Paul to have had his comeback and for him to get to see how loved he/Pee-wee was. I cried when I saw him at the anniversary show for Big Adventure in Feb 2020 (very lucky to have gone before Covid caused the cancellation of the rest of his tour), and still cry thinking about him suffering with cancer and leaving this earth way too soon 😢❤

That show takes me back to my childhood. So many fond memories of growing up with him! So many joke references over the years. Thanks for making this. I enjoyed learning more about him.

Paul Reuben’s death last year hit me hard emotionally. This mini documentary is incredible and such a touching tribute to Paul Reubens, his creative brilliance, and passion for performing. Wish I had the money needed to make this a feature length documentary or a multi part docu series. Outstanding work.

This is your best video yet

I worked on film and television in crew for over a decade. I worked on Pee-wee Herman‘s last movie in New York City also filmed in California. And it was the only time in my career that I wanted to stay on sad after I was wrapped just to watch Pee-wee in characterand out of character when they cut. To see him perform was one of the thrills of my career. RIP Pee-wee I miss you and I know we always will.

There's space in my heart for Paul Ruebens. His comic takes are golden.

I've always felt that the whole controversy over the adult theater was stupid. He was an adult and he shouldn't have been dragged through the mud over something so stupid when celebs do far worse all the time.

Big thankyou for doing this mini doc on Paul. Miss the heck outta him and his PeeWee character, that was literally my childhood lol

I think the secret to pee wee Herman's success was it allowed adults to regress back to their childhood when life was simple fun uncomplicated. That's probably why Herman wanted to stay in character who wouldn't want to act and feel like a kid and still be an adult. I think that's what we all want and he pulled it off and took us all along on Pee Wee big adventure and I'm grateful for that!

I grew up watching Pee Wee, my favorite past time!! I still have my pee-wee doll and it has been my nickname since 4. I’m 38 now and still enjoy watching the show and movies. Paul really had a great sense of whimsy and wonder that cannot be replicated! Seriously a sad day when he passed

Does make you kind of wonder what that Pee-wee Herman cartoon would’ve been like seeing that the man himself is already a living, breathing, cartoon character

Globey: THAT'S OVAH THEERREEE I watched Big Adventure on VHS about 2000 times when I was a kid.

Beautiful. Thank you for producing - grateful for Paul Reubens’ work and passion (and the talents of his creative partners), and the joy it brought to my childhood.

Paul was a legend. I collected a bunch of PeeWee toys after his passing. Thanks for the memories ❤

I’m 54 and was a tween when I first saw him. I feel like he was a very special person and that they don’t make them like that anymore! Thank you for making this very cool documentary

Pee-Wee’s Playhouse was such a big part of my childhood and I would watch Big Adventure over and over again never getting tired of it. After his passing I rewatched Big Adventure and fell in love with it all over again. Still brings me so much joy all these years later.

thank you so much for this, well done. @62, been a big fan of pee Wee as long as he was around. His irreverence, and fun, reminded me, to not take life so seriously. You did a fine honorable look at his arc. thank you!

I remember thinking while I was watching Pee-wee's playhouse that I was too old for it, but now 40 years later, I realized that nobody is too old for Pee-wee's playhouse. 😭😭😭

When he was making squeaky balloon noises, my dog lifted his head. I said "made ya look!"

Excellent doc, as usual, Joe. You did another star justice. Thank you, Joe. And thank you, Paul. We love you and miss you. RIP.

Thank you so much for making this it really is beautiful and I honestly did not know I needed to see this until i found it randomly

Thank you for this! I was lucky enough to see the return of Pee-wee to Broadway. It was a magical experience. But perhaps my favorite thing Pee-wee ever did was to console Conan O'Brien when he lost his battle with NBC. Hearing Pee-wee go from showing how Conan and the NBC Peacock loved each other to saying "Then one day the Peacock lost its mind". This might be the funniest thing I've ever heard!