Passions: The sparkling legacy of the late Paul Reubens/Pee-wee Herman

The US actor created an optimistic universe, writes Emma Newlands

Paul Reubens in character as Pee-wee Herman. Picture: Toby Canham/Getty Images.

I was late cottoning on to the unique talents of Paul Reubens – also known as Pee-wee Herman – who has died at the age of 70, prompting a rush of heartfelt tributes to his talent professionally and kindness personally.

I had loved his brilliant turn as Prince Gerhardt Hapsburg in one of my favourite episodes of wonderful sitcom 30 Rock. However, it was only in 2016, when film Pee-wee's Big Holiday was released, that I decided to look into the Reubens alter ego, developed at legendary US sketch comedy/improv club The Groundlings, and who had become a key part of US childhoods but not on this side of the Atlantic.

What particularly struck me was when I read one critic saying children’s show Pee-wee’s Playhouse was one of the best things that had ever been on TV, and I was pretty cynical as to how that could be the case, thinking it was surely a case of rose-tinted glasses.

However, when I was confined to bed for a couple of days with a horrible cough I hadn’t been able to shift, and in need of something to literally and metaphorically brighten up my day, I decided to give the show a try.

And it kind of is one of the best things that has ever been on TV – it’s not an easy one to describe, but it’s kind of a portal to an almost magical surreal and optimistic universe. It also doesn’t talk down to the audience, while it also doesn’t seem dated.

A key aspect that helps elevate it far beyond what could be twee and overbearing is the soundtrack by Devo frontman Mark Mothersbaugh, the low-key, sparkling music at the closing credits a particular joy.

Another thing that stands out to me is that Pee-wee Herman appears in some ways like a film star from the 1920s beamed into a technicolour world, combined with a bit of Buster Keaton and having been compared to Vaudeville performer Eddie Cantor.

Some of his act was for the more enthusiastic Pee-wee devotee, and there were nods to darkness beneath the surface (“There's a lotta things about me you don't know anything about, Dottie. Things you wouldn't understand. Things you couldn't understand. Things you shouldn't understand,” he says in Pee-wee’s Big Adventure). But he leaves a legacy of delight for which many are very grateful.

Emma Newlands is a business journalist at The Scotsman