Drug and Death Threat Hell: How 'Pee-wee Herman' Star Paul Reubens Tried to Hide His Family's Twisted Past
July 31 2023, Published 4:30 p.m. ET
Pee-wee Herman star Paul Reubens wasn't the only one in his family with a criminal history, RadarOnline.com can reveal. The actor, who passed away on Sunday at 70 after a secret battle with cancer, tried to hide his family's dark legal battles while his arrests made headlines.
The actor — famed for his man-child character, Pee-wee Herman — battled his own legal woes with a child pornography arrest in 2002 and an indecent exposure bust in 1991.
In 2016, RadarOnline.com uncovered documents that revealed his brother, Luke, and sister, Abby, and his parents tussled in an ugly family feud involving violent domestic disputes, assaults, and even murder threats!
Paul Reubens dead at 70
In 1991 — the same year Reubens was arrested for indecent exposure at an adult movie theater — the Pee-wee star's mother filed a battery complaint against Luke, claiming he bruised her after grabbing her arm.
A decade later, in 2001, Abby — a prominent civil rights attorney — called the police when Luke broke off her car mirror.
A month later, Luke called the police claiming Abby "pushed" him during a verbal altercation. Reubens' brother's legal issues didn't stop there. Luke was also busted in 2000 for grand theft of a computer and pot possession.
His family was locked in a nasty secret feud
Despite all the family drama, Reubens' arrests were the ones that grabbed attention.
11 years after he was arrested at a Florida adult theater and charged with indecent exposure, cops found materials in his home that appeared to depict kids in sex acts.
He was charged with possessing images that were initially characterized as child pornography in 2002; however, the charges were dropped after Reubens pled guilty to a lesser obscenity charge.
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Paul Reubens arrests made headlines
He pled "no contest" to the charges and paid a $75 fine, revealing he feared a trial would bring unnecessary attention to the already embarrassing situation.
“It was kind of like a mortifying kind of situation, where I felt like you know people are laughing at me. I'm a professional comedian. I've never claimed to able to take it as good as a dish it out, ever. I mean I'm just sensitive," Reubens said.
He addressed the allegations in a 2004 interview
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He also reflected on the possession of child pornography charge.
“No. I don't think so. I don't think I've ever led my life in that way, ever. One thing I want to make very, very clear, I don't want anyone for one second to think that I am titillated by images of children. It's not me. You can say lots of things about me. And you might. The public may think I'm weird. They may think I'm crazy or anything that anyone wants to think about me. That's all fine. As long as one of the things you're not thinking about me is that I'm a pedophile. Because that's not true," Reubens stated.
As part of the plea deal, the actor agreed to register his address with the sheriff's office for three years. He was also not allowed to be in the company of minors without their parents' permission.
As RadarOnline.com revealed, Reubens died on Sunday after "bravely and privately" fighting a secret years-long battle with cancer. He was 70 years old.
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