That time Paul Reubens gave Pee-wee the gayest send-off possible—in the arms of Joe Manganiello
passed away at the age of 70 after a private, years-long battle with cancer. RIP.To many, Reubens will always be known as Pee-wee Herman—the career-defining comedic character he created while performing with LA’s famed comedy troupe, The Groundlings—who went on to star in his own television series (the groundbreaking Pee-wee’s Playhouse), two feature films (Big Adventure in ’85 and Big Top Pee-wee in ’88), and became a celebrity in his own right.For many of us, he was an inspiration: Pee-wee never let the world tell him he was an outsider—he just created a world all his own, one filled with joy and self-discovery, and invited the rest of us in.A post shared by Pee-wee Herman (@peeweeherman)Childlike, whimsical, and comically naive, Pee-wee was a character unlike any other, one whose offbeat humor, specific sense of style, and innate weirdness made him something of a queer icon.
Of course, there was never any definitive answer on Pee-wee’s sexuality. Despite presumed female “love interests” in his films, he was, for all intents and purposes, asexual. (Reubens himself never commented on his own sexuality, either, though there was much speculation, especially in light of the ’02 obscenity charges—a controversy which temporarily halted his career.)But when Reubens made his long-awaited feature film return to the character for Netflix’s Pee-wee’s Big Holiday in 2016, he did so with a more overt nod to the character’s perceived queerness than we’d ever seen before.
It was basically a gay love story!In the beginning of the film, Pee-wee lives in the small town of Fairville where he works at the local diner.
