What was Paul Reubens' net worth? See his final estate and Pee-wee earnings
Paul Reubens' net worth at the time of his death on July 30, 2023, was estimated to be $5 million. He gained mainstream success in the 1980s as Pee-wee Herman in the critically acclaimed Pee-wee's Big Adventure (1985) and Pee-wee's Playhouse (1986-1990).
Source: Getty Images
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Key takeaways
- Pee-wee Herman's net worth came from his career as a children's entertainer in Hollywood.
- Reubens' assets were placed in a trust, and his longtime personal assistant was named the successor trustee.
- The comedian's longtime home in the Hollywood Hills was sold in 2024 for $3.8 million.
Paul Reubens' profile summary
Birth name | Paul Rubenfeld |
Date of birth | August 27, 1952 |
Place of birth | Peekskill, New York, United States |
Date of death | July 30, 2023 |
Age at death | 70 years old |
Burial place | Hollywood Forever in Hollywood, Los Angeles |
Parents | Milton Rubenfeld, Judy Rosen |
Siblings | Abby Rubenfeld, Luke Rubenfeld |
Education | Boston University California Institute of the Arts (BFA in Theatre) |
Profession | Actor, comedian |
Social media |
Inside Paul Reubens' net worth
Paul Reubens' estate was worth around $5 million when the comedian passed away, according to Celebrity Net Worth. He was in the industry for over 45 years and made most of his fortune in the 1980s. At his peak, Reubens' net worth made him one of the highest-earning Hollywood stars.
Source: Original
Paul Reubens' career was built around Pee-wee
Reubens created his Pee-wee Herman character in the late 1970s, when he was a member of the Los Angeles improv group The Groundlings. The character made his first national TV appearance in 1979 on the game show The Dating Game.
After a failed audition on Saturday Night Live, Reubens created the adult-oriented stage show, The Pee-wee Herman Show. He later landed an HBO special in 1981 that set the premise for his iconic children's show.
Reubens' 1985 feature film Pee-wee's Big Adventure, directed by Tim Burton, was released to critical acclaim. The movie was a box office hit, earning $40.9 million on a production budget of $7 million, according to The Numbers.
He followed it with the CBS live-action children's program Pee-wee's Playhouse that ran from 1986 to 1991. The hit show earned Paul 14 Emmy nominations, and he won twice. The Pee-wee Herman character was so iconic that he and not Paul Reubens was awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on July 20, 1988.
Source: Getty Images
Controversies almost ruined Reubens' career
Paul Reubens was arrested in July 1991 for indecent exposure at an adult movie theatre in Sarasota, Florida. The scandal became a major news story and led to CBS cancelling reruns of Pee-wee's Playhouse.
The actor made headlines again in 2001 when police found inappropriate child material at his Hollywood Hills home. He pleaded guilty to a lesser misdemeanour charge of possession of an obscene image and was sentenced to three years of probation in 2004.
Reubens addressed the scandals in his HBO documentary Pee-wee as Himself, which was released over a year after his death. In a recording that he made a day before his death and sent to director Matt Wolf, the comedian talked about the pain and difficulty of being falsely labelled an abuser.
I knew it was going to change everything moving forward and backwards... I wanted to talk about and have some understanding of what it's like to be labelled a pariah, to have people scared of you, or unsure of you, or untrusting, or to look at what your intentions are through some kind of filter that's not true.
Source: Getty Images
Reubens managed to revive his career
In the 1990s and the 2000s, Reubens did not portray Pee-wee, but he took on more supporting roles in movies and TV shows. He appeared in the 1992 horror comedy film Buffy the Vampire Slayer, where he was reportedly paid a salary of $150,000 for portraying Amilyn.
Paul had roles in Batman Returns, Matilda, The Nightmare Before Christmas, The Blacklist, Gotham, and Blow starring Johnny Depp. He revived his Pee-wee Herman character in 2010 in his Broadway production The Pee-wee Herman Show.
Reubens reprised Pee-wee in the 2016 Netflix movie Pee-wee's Big Holiday, which was co-written by Judd Apatow and was his last project as the iconic character. His final movie appearance was in Quiz Lady (2023) as himself.
Source: Getty Images
Paul Reubens' house was sold posthumously
The late comedian owned a midcentury modern home in the Los Feliz neighbourhood of the Hollywood Hills, Los Angeles. He purchased the 3,000-square-foot mansion in 1985 for $415,000 with money he reportedly made from Pee-wee's Big Adventure.
Paul Reubens' estate listed the home for sale nearly a year after his death in May 2024 for $4.995 million. They found a buyer over a month later and sold at a reduced price of $3.8 million.
Source: Instagram
Who inherited Paul Reubens' money?
In March 2024, Paul's longtime personal assistant, Allison Berry, moved to be substituted in as the successor in interest for the comedian, according to court documents. Before his death, Reubens had filed a $1 million lawsuit against James Comisar of the memorabilia company The Comisar Collection.
Comisar had reportedly failed to return loaned Pee-wee Herman memorabilia. Allison stated in the declaration that she is the successor trustee and the sole residual beneficiary of his trust, which holds all his assets. Her motion was granted at a Los Angeles court.
Reubens did not welcome any children but had two younger siblings. His sister, Abby Rubenfeld, is an LGBTQ+ rights attorney, while his brother, Luke Rubenfeld, is a dog trainer.
Who was Paul Reubens' partner?
The Pee-wee Herman star mainly kept his personal life private. He dated a man called Guy before finding fame, but after their breakup, he went back into the closet.
Reubens publicly came out as gay posthumously in the Pee-wee as Himself documentary. He hid his sexuality because it would have damaged his career as a children's entertainer.
Source: Getty Images
Conclusion
Paul Reubens' net worth may have been affected by controversies, but his character Pee-wee Herman defined a generation. As his legacy lives on, his estate continues to make money through royalties and licensing.
READ MORE: Chuck Connors' net worth: how rich was The Rifleman star?
Briefly.co.za highlighted facts about the late actor Chuck Connors' earnings. He is most remembered for portraying the lead role of Lucas McCain in the Western series The Rifleman from 1958 to 1963.
Connor was also an athlete who played in both Major League Baseball and the NBA. He passed away on November 10, 1992, at the age of 71 after a short battle with lung cancer.
Source: Briefly News
