Paul Reubens Remembered by Tim Burton, Cher, Mark Hamill, Paul Feig and More: ‘This Is a Huge Loss for Comedy’
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Celebrities are taking to social media to pay tribute to actor Paul Reubens, best known for creating and starring as the beloved comedy character Pee-wee Herman. He died Sunday night at the age of 70 after a private battle with cancer. His career spanned from the stage to the screen, and he starred as Pee-wee in multiple films in addition to the children’s television series “Pee-wee’s Playhouse.”
Tim Burton, who directed the 1985 cult favorite “Pee-wee’s Big Adventure,” paid homage to Reubens on Instagram, sharing a photo of the two of them together and writing, “Shocked and saddened. I’ll never forget how Paul helped me at the beginning of my career. It would not have happened without his support. He was a great artist. I’ll miss him.”
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Singer Cher also paid tribute to Reubens, writing “Goodbye Paul” and following this with a quote from Shakespeares’s “Hamlet.”
Goodbye Paul
Goodnight sweet prince
May flights of angels sing thee to thy rest.
Hamlet
William Shakespeare— Cher (@cher) July 31, 2023
Late-night host Jimmy Kimmel wrote on social media, “Paul Reubens was like no one else — a brilliant and original comedian who made kids and their parents laugh at the same time. He never forgot a birthday and shared his genuine delight for silliness with everyone he met. My family and I will miss him.”
Paul Reubens was like no one else – a brilliant and original comedian who made kids and their parents laugh at the same time. He never forgot a birthday and shared his genuine delight for silliness with everyone he met. My family and I will miss him.
— Jimmy Kimmel (@jimmykimmel) July 31, 2023
Singer k.d. lang wrote on X (formerly Twitter): “Sweet rebirth sweet man. Beautiful joyous thing. I love you.”
Swift rebirth sweet man.
Beautiful joyous thing.
I love you.
🙏🏼❤️ pic.twitter.com/Inx62Xv0GP— k.d. lang (@kdlang) July 31, 2023
One of the patron saints of all misfitted, weird, maladjusted, wonderful, miraculous oddities. https://t.co/4TJAObpO2M
— Guillermo del Toro (@RealGDT) July 31, 2023
Actor Mark Hamill responded to the message from Reubens that was posthumously posted on social media, in which he said, “I have always felt a huge amount of love and respect from my friends, fans and supporters. I have loved you all so much and enjoyed making art for you.” Hamill wrote on X in response, “We loved you right back, Paul…& can’t thank you enough for the lifetime of laughter! #RIP”
“I have always felt a huge amount of love and respect from my friends, fans and supporters. I have loved you all so much and enjoyed making art for you.”- Paul Reubens
We loved you right back, Paul… & can't thank you enough for the lifetime of laughter!#RIP pic.twitter.com/u7Ycx0SbTw— Mark Hamill (@MarkHamill) July 31, 2023
Former late-night host Conan O’Brien wrote on X, “No tweet can capture the magic, generosity, artistry, and devout silliness of Paul Reubens. Everyone I know received countless nonsensical memes from Paul on their birthday, and I mean EVERYONE. His surreal comedy and unrelenting kindness were a gift to us all. Damn, this hurts.”
No tweet can capture the magic, generosity, artistry, and devout silliness of Paul Reubens. Everyone I know received countless nonsensical memes from Paul on their birthday, and I mean EVERYONE. His surreal comedy and unrelenting kindness were a gift to us all. Damn, this hurts.
— Conan O'Brien (@ConanOBrien) July 31, 2023
Director Paul Feig wrote, “This is devastating. Truly heartbreaking. Paul was such a comedy genius. From his Letterman appearances to his TV shows and movies, he was so original and hilarious. And such a sweet man too. This is a huge loss for comedy. Thanks for all the laughs, Paul.”
Comedian and actor Dane Cook, who had worked alongside Reubens, wrote, “Paul Reubens was such a gifted performer and a nice person. He brought so much joy to people over the years as Pee Wee, my sister and I loved that character. I was privileged to work with him in a film and he was as great in real life as he was on screen. Tough news here.”
This is devastating. Truly heartbreaking. Paul was such a comedy genius. From his Letterman appearances to his TV shows and movies, he was so original and hilarious. And such a sweet man too. This is a huge loss for comedy. Thanks for all the laughs, Paul. https://t.co/l76VIXHl50
— Paul Feig (@paulfeig) July 31, 2023
Paul Reubens was a gifted performer and a nice person. He brought so much joy to people over the years as Pee Wee, my sister and I loved that character. I was privileged to work with him in a film and he was as great in real life as he was on screen. Tough news here.
— Dane Cook (@DaneCook) July 31, 2023
Aw man… Pee-wee Herman has ridden off to heaven. RIP Paul Reubens. Thank you for giving us Pee-wee. You made yours truly a fan and you were one of the nice guys. #BePeace
— Carl Weathers (@TheCarlWeathers) July 31, 2023
Rapper Kid Cudi paid tribute to Reubens as well, calling him his “hero.”
Paul, u will always be my hero. Thank u for your endless love and support all these years. I'll always cherish our times together and I'll ALWAYS be missin u my brother. Til we meet again, I love you Paul. 🙏🏾💕 Say hi to my dad for me pic.twitter.com/1hyQD9js88
— The Chosen One (@KiDCuDi) July 31, 2023
Read more tributes below.
Paul and I first met in 1973 at Cal Arts. We remained friends for the next 50 years. Not day to day. Just the kind of friend that you can text out of nowhere or have a 3 hour lunch with. And don't get me started on the birthday texts-he sent them ALL DAY. I feel sick. pic.twitter.com/GEX9oXuiG1
— Laraine Newman (@larainenewman) July 31, 2023
Pee Wee's Big Adventure had all of us wanting a crazy custom bike. RIP Paul Ruebens https://t.co/3JZVOE8r9m pic.twitter.com/oqQdm6g4T8
— Matthew A. Cherry (@MatthewACherry) July 31, 2023
I literally just finished working on a project that was 100000% inspired by Pee Wee Herman’s imagination and creativity and revisited so much of his world over the last couple months. Damn. 💔 pic.twitter.com/agaRTEumFg
— Alex Pardee (@alexpardee) July 31, 2023
💔💔💔💔 pic.twitter.com/RNVODtRzzX
— Kimya Dawson 💩 (@mrskimyadawson) July 31, 2023
Love you so much, Paul. One in all time. Thank you for my career & your forever friendship all these years & for teaching us what a true original is. ♥️♥️💔 #PaulReubens #PeeWeeHerman ♥️ pic.twitter.com/GMcBaEgWix
— natasha lyonne (@nlyonne) July 31, 2023
my patron saint ❤️ you invented everything ❤️ you created a world we all wish we could live in ❤️💕 PEE WEE FOR FUCKING EVER !!!! ❤️💕 pic.twitter.com/ZRMny49Vw1
— SARAH SQUIRM (@SarahSquirm) July 31, 2023
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