Paul Reubens’ theater incident, legal troubles, and controversies, explained

Paul Reubens who is famous for playing Pee-wee Herman sadly passed away on July 30 at the age of 70. While Reubens may be remembered and applauded for popularizing the iconic aforementioned fictional character, the actor did have some skeletons in his closet. While there’s plenty to reflect on from Reubens’ iconic career, any retrospective of Reuben’s life does bring some of his more controversial moments to the limelight.

Paul Reubens: Legal troubles and controversies, explained

After his popular debut as Pee-wee in the 1981 stage production, The Pee-wee Herman Show, the scope of Reubens’ role would expand exponentially. There was Tim Burton’s 1985 film, Pee-wee’s Big Adventure as well as the series, Pee-wee’s Playhouse that ran from 1986-1990 in CBS, making him a household name.

However, things took a turn in 1991, the same year in which the actor was arrested and charged with indecent public behavior. It’s alleged that Reubens exposed himself in a theatre. He and three others were arrested but Reubens, who made very minimal attempts to contest the charges against him, was released from jail after posting a $219 bond, as reported at the time by New York Daily News.

A decade later, he faced legal troubles for allegedly keeping pornographic materials involving minors in his house. Reubens turned himself in, admitting that he did contain pictures and other materials that had the minors engaging in sexual pursuits but his representative added that the objective was to add the pieces as a part of his ‘art collection.’

Thereafter, the actor was fined $100, released on probation, and registered as a sex offender, but the child pornography case against him was lifted. Later, Reubens commented on the whole matter (via People):

“I am glad the prosecutors finally dismissed the child pornography charge without me or the taxpayers having to pay for a costly circus-like trial. I am disappointed any part of my art collection was ever deemed inappropriate. Taking responsibility by calling a few images in this collection ‘obscene’ and paying a $100 fine seemed like the sanest way to make it end.”

Following the incident, the actor made rare public appearances except when he turned up at the Jimmy Kimmel show for the 35th anniversary of Pee-wee’s Big Adventure.