Paul Reubens Dead, Pee-Wee Herman Actor & Recurring WWE Guest Star Dies At Age 70

Paul Reubens, known for his longtime role as Pee-wee Herman, died yesterday at the age of 70 (via Facebook). According to a publicly released statement, Reubens had been privately battling cancer for several years.

In character as Pee-wee Herman, Reubens made a number of appearances on WWE programming over the years. Perhaps most notably, Reubens played the role in a segment with Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson at WWE WrestleMania 27 in 2011. Reubens also hosted an episode of "WWE Raw" in 2010, including an amusing confrontation with The Miz.

Reubens' (and Pee-Wee's) history with wrestling dates back even longer than 2010. In 1985, appeared on the All Star Rock 'n' Wrestling Saturday Spectacular — a TV special featuring Captain Lou Albano, Hulk Hogan, and more, hosted by "Rowdy" Roddy Piper. Reubens' segment featured Piper interviewing Herman in a talk show setting, taking place during possibly the height of the character's popularity.

The character of Pee-wee Herman was created in the late 1970s by Reubens while performing improvisational comedy at The Groundlings school in Los Angeles (via Variety). Reubens eventually took the character to both the big and small screens, with a movie appearance and an HBO special, as well as continuing to perform live. He eventually anchored several TV shows, and his own film with director Tim Burton's debut: "Pee-wee's Big Adventure."

Reubens was embroiled in controversy following a 1991 arrest for indecent exposure. Though Reubens found his career derailed for a number of years, the actor successfully rehabilitated his public image and brought Pee-wee Herman back into pop culture prominence. Along with various television appearances as the character, Reubens co-wrote and starred in "Pee-wee's Big Holiday" in 2016.

The team at Wrestling Inc. sends their condolences to the family of Paul Reubens.