Read to the end for a post about secretive secrets
Learning about the death of Paul Reubens is a tough one. Gone at a too-young 70, he'd been secretly battling cancer for years. He didn't want anyone to know.
It's impossible to not instantly think of the super-smash hit Reubens made as Pee-wee Herman. I was the perfect age for his show to hit the airwaves and suck me in each Saturday morning. Pee-wee's Playhouse was an institution for me and my contemporaries. Of course Pee-wee's Big Adventure is a movie I continue to quote to this day. It's how we all learned there's no basement at the Alamo, Large Marge sent ya, and The stars at night are big and bright 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻 ...
Reubens was probably one of the biggest stars of my childhood to be what we'd now-call 'canceled'. He put himself in a bad situation and in a place of opportunity for cops to make a big-name arrest. It was a swift fall for Reubens with Playhouse getting taken off the air, all the toys swiped from shelves, and attempts to put Pee-wee in the rearview mirror. I can't say I blame the response, though given today's political climate the reaction from many would be "he did nothing wrong". It all leads to people's opinions, but the fact is Reubens was in the kid space and what he did was not kid-friendly no matter how anyone sliced it.
Pee-wee wasn't gone forever. Reubens returned as the character later on with some comedy specials and guest reporter spots for Conan's late night shows. There was even a new movie. But it wasn't the same. As an adult, I wished for the Pee-wee of yore but what I got was a cross-section of the same old thing and a viewer with a few more decades under his belt. I wanted to find Pee-wee funny again but the appeal was gone. And that is what made me the most sad.
Paul Reubens never lost hold of Mr. Herman but in the time it took for the world to move on and give the character another look, the lightning in a bottle was lost. But I'll never forget the laughs, one-liners, and screaming at the Secret Word that filled some of my early years.
He was a loner. A rebel.
-Aaron
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TODAY'S RANDOM FACTOID
The Brontosaurus never existed. Source
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