BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (WIAT) — Before his death, Paul Reubens had finished drafting a memoir chronicling his life, his career and his famous character Pee-wee Herman.
Reubens, an actor and comedian known for his decades-long portrayal of Herman in both movies, television and on Broadway, completed a first draft of his memoir, publicist Kelly Bush Novack confirmed to WIAT. Reubens died Sunday after a six-year battle with cancer.
“He finished a first draft,” Novack said in a statement. “We are hoping it will be published posthumously.”
Reubens, best known for the movie “Pee-wee’s Big Adventure” and the TV show “Pee-wee’s Playhouse,” had been working on the book for years.
“I’ve been making notes and writing down ideas for a few years already,” Reubens told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel in 2020. “I wrote all my funniest stories first and then moved on to more serious stuff. I’ve certainly lived an interesting life, met lots of amazing people and had all kinds of incredible experiences and opportunities.”
Without giving much detail about the memoir, Reubens told the Journal Sentinel that he had plenty of stories to tell.
“I’ve been smart and intuitive,” Reubens said. “Happy, sad, low and elated. I’ve learned many things and feel like I’ve become wise. I have very few regrets. And above all, I’ve been wonderfully blessed and lucky. I have a fantastic book in me and I’m excited to finish it and then play myself in the movie version!”
While promoting his Pee-wee Herman tour in 2020, Reubens went on “Jimmy Kimmel Live!,” where he was asked how much of the book would be about him and how much would be about his beloved character.
“Well, you know, it’s about both of us,” Reubens said. “But I have to say when I’m writing it, I get all confused with which story and who I am in each story… I love this story.”
“It sounds like you might need to see a psychiatrist is really what it sounds like,” Kimmel joked.
“Yes, it really does,” Reubens said.
No publisher has been announced for the memoir.