Paul Reubens, R.I.P.

That's roughly how Paul Reubens looked when I met him at The Groundlings some time in the early eighties. The Groundlings is a local (Los Angeles) improv troupe and school that at times has seemed like the farm team for Saturday Night Live. Paul is on a long list of folks whose names you'd know who got "discovered" (or at least honed their skills) with The Groundlings.

I picked a photo of Paul as Paul because Peewee Herman, as whom he became famous, was just one of the many characters I saw Paul do at The Groundlings. In a way, it's a shame Peewee caught on as big as he did because Paul had many other "people" inside him. He being himself may have been the most interesting.

I can't say I knew him that well and I suspect most people who knew him didn't know him that well even if they thought they did. He got in trouble from time to time. He got a reputation for being hard to work with from time to time…though to that last charge, I must say the two times I worked with him, he was only a small, acceptable pain-in-the-butt. I'm not denying the experiences of others; just reporting on mine.

In the last few years when I ran into him, always at the Magic Castle, he was pretty friendly. Hearing now that he'd been battling cancer for some time, I can only wonder if there was a connection. He was very excited one time when I introduced him to Sergio Aragonés.

Others who knew him better than I did will tell better stories than I can. I just wanted to say that the Paul Reubens I knew was a sweet and very creative man. He and some constituents were responsible for one of the most memorable evenings I have ever experienced in a theater. I tell that story here and it's one of the reasons I'm thinking good thoughts about the guy today.