Meeting Paul Reubens

It was at one of the after-parties for the ’87 Grammy Awards. We were up for Best New Artist that year but had just lost to Bruce Hornsby. (It’s okay, we knew he was going to win, and it was a thrill just to be nominated.) The after-party was in this tiny club in Hollywood. I remember the members of Quiet Riot were there.

Anyway, I was having a smoke outside the front door and happened to make eye contact with this guy standing next to me. He smiled, stuck out his hand, and said, “Paul Reubens.”

It took half a millisecond to connect the name and the person. We made small talk. I forget what we talked about; definitely not Show Biz. While we were talking, some photographers approached.

“Hey…Pee-Wee Herman! We’re from People Magazine. Mind if we get a couple shots?”
“Sorry,” He said. “I’d rather not. I’m not in makeup.”
The photographers were respectful and left him alone. Those were simpler times.

“Nice to meet you,” I said and let him finish his cigarette in peace.

We all know his achievements, how he lit up the T.V. screen in the 1980s with PEE-WEE’S PLAYHOUSE and three feature films with the titular character. Reubens spent five years developing Pee-Wee while a member of an L.A. theater group, The Groundlings. He also appeared in films like The Blues Brothers and Batman Returns.

It was an honor to encounter this great man, just hanging out, being a regular guy. Pee-Wee Herman was a character he played. Paul Reubens was a real person.

He will be missed.