‘Pee-wee Herman’ star Paul Reubens reveals secret from beyond the grave that he hid from the world – PennLive
Actor Paul Reubens portraying Pee-wee Herman poses for a portrait while promoting “The Pee-wee Herman Show” live stage play, Monday, Dec. 7, 2009, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Danny Moloshok)APPaul Reubens, best known for his role as “Pee-wee Herman,” died in 2023 following a battle with cancer.But it seems that Reubens still has a few things to get off his chest, albeit from beyond the grave, in an upcoming documentary entitled, “Pee-wee as Himself.” PEOPLE Magazine reported the film premiered on Thursday at the Sundance Film Festival.And, in the film, Reubens revealed that he was gay.In fact, per PEOPLE, Reubens said he was actually in a relationship with a man named Guy before he became known for his role as “Pee-wee.”“I was out of the closet, and then, I went back in the closet,” he said in the film. “I wasn’t pursuing the Paul Reubens career; I was pursuing the Pee-wee Herman career.”Reubens revealed in the film that he last saw Guy when he visited him in the hospital when he was dying of Aids.“To talk about seeing someone at death’s door … he probably died a couple hours after that,” he said.PEOPLE said that Reubens revealed that he had “many, many secret relationships” across his career.“I hid behind an alter ego,” he said. “I spent my entire adult life hiding I was a huge weed head. I was secretive about my sexuality even to my friends (out of) self-hatred or self-preservation. I was conflicted about sexuality, but fame was way more complicated.”Reubens, who was 70 when he died, also kept his cancer diagnosis secret.If you purchase a product or register for an account through a link on our site, we may receive compensation. By using this site, you consent to our User Agreement and agree that your clicks, interactions, and personal information may be collected, recorded, and/or stored by us and social media and other third-party partners in accordance with our Privacy Policy.Use of and/or registration on any portion of this site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement, (updated 8/1/2024) and acknowledgement of our Privacy Policy, and Your Privacy Choices and Rights (updated 1/1/2025).© 2025 Advance Local Media LLC. All rights reserved (About Us). The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Advance Local.Community Rules apply to all content you upload or otherwise submit to this site.YouTube’s privacy policy is available here and YouTube’s terms of service is available here.Ad Choices
