The actor, who portrayed beloved character Pee-wee Herman, died at the age of 70
Paul Reubens, the actor who created and portrayed Pee-wee Herman, was battling two forms of cancer at the time of his death.
The primary type, which was listed as a sequential underlying cause, was acute myelogenous leukemia, and the actor had also been been diagnosed with metastatic lung cancer, according to his death certificate obtained by People.
Reubens’ immediate cause of death was listed as acute hypoxic respiratory failure.
The Blast first reported the news.
The comedian had privately fought cancer for six years and died on July 30 at the age of 70.
“Please accept my apology for not going public with what I’ve been facing the last six years,” wrote the comedian in a statement released on social media after his death. He continued, “I have always felt a huge amount of love and respect from my friends, fans and supporters. I have loved you all so much and enjoyed making art for you.”
Though Pee-wee was largely ostensibly as children’s entertainment, the character’s appeal was vast, and Reuben’s work was deeply influential to a generation of comedians and performers. His death led to an outpour of tributes from Hollywood from David Hasselhoff to Cher.
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Natasha Lyonne, who made her made her TV acting debut on Pee-wee’s Playhouse when she was 6 years old, honored Reubens on X (formerly know as Twitter), writing, “Love you so much, Paul. One in all time. Thank you for my career & your forever friendship all these years & for teaching us what a true original is.”
Cyndi Lauper, who recorded the vocals for Devo’s Mark Mothersbaugh Pee-wee’s Playhouse theme song (she was credited as “Ellen Shaw”), also shared a touching tribute on Instagram. “He was a nut and I just love that about him. We had the same some sort of sensibility. I know he went through some ups and downs, but he was a really good guy and I am sorry to hear of his passing and that he had gotten so sick. Hopefully he’s cracking jokes and shooting a few rounds on the big miniature golf course in the sky.”
