Connect with us

Celebrity

Pee-wee Herman Actor Paul Reubens Dies From Cancer At 70

Published

on

paul reubens

(LOS ANGELES) – Paul Reubens, the actor and comedian whose character Pee-wee Herman became a cultural icon through films and television shows, has died. He was 70.

Reubens died Sunday night following a six-year battle with cancer that he kept private, according to his publicist.

“Please accept my apologies for not going public with what I’ve been going through for the last six years,” Reubens said in a statement issued Monday along with his death announcement. “I’ve always received a lot of love and respect from my friends, fans, and supporters.” I adored you all and enjoyed creating art for you.”

The character, best recognized for his too-tight grey suit, white chunky loafers, and red bow tie, appeared in the films “Pee-wee’s Big Adventure” and “Pee-wee’s Playhouse.”

The Pee-wee Herman character would become a cultural icon for most of the 1980s. However, an indecent exposure charge in 1991 would drive him into exile from the entertainment industry for years.

In the late 1970s, Paul Reubens was a member of the Los Angeles improv group The Groundlings, where he invented Pee-wee. The live “Pee-wee Herman Show” premiered in a Los Angeles theatre in 1981 and was a hit with both youngsters and adults at matinees.

The format was similar to that of the Saturday morning TV show “Pee-wee’s Playhouse” years later, with Herman living in a wild and zany household with a series of stock-character visitors, including one, Captain Karl, performed by late “Saturday Night Live” star Phil Hartman. Pee-wee secretly wishes to fly in the narrative.

The show would be aired as a special on HBO.

paul reubens

Paul Reubens, the actor and comedian whose character Pee-wee Herman became a cultural icon through films and television shows, has died. He was 70.

“Pee Wee got his wish to fly,” Steve Martin wrote on Twitter after his death. “Many thanks to Paul Reubens for the brilliant offbeat comedy.”

In 1985, Paul Reubens brought Pee-wee to the big screen with “Pee-wee’s Big Adventure.” The film, which depicts the theft of Pee-wee’s prized bicycle, was believed to be partially inspired by Vittorio De Sica’s Italian neo-realist masterpiece “The Bicycle Thief.” The film, directed by Tim Burton and co-written by Phil Hartman of “Saturday Night Live,” set Pee-wee on a cross-country adventure. The film was a commercial success, generating $40 million, and it acquired a cult following for its unusual fancy.

Three years later, in the less well-received “Big Top Pee-wee,” Pee-wee attempts to join a circus. Reubens’ character would not appear in another film until 2016’s “Pee-wee’s Big Holiday,” for Netflix. Judd Apatow produced the film’s remake.

His television show, “Pee-wee’s Playhouse,” ran for five seasons, won 22 Emmys, and drew children and adults to Saturday morning television.

The Pee-wee universe was hallucinogenic, populated by objects like a talking armchair and a friendly pterodactyl. It was both amusing and provocative, celebrating nonconformity. The host, who enjoys secret words and once married fruit salad, is prone to statements like, “I know you are, but what am I?” and “Why don’t you take a picture; it’ll last longer?” Even though Reubens claims that wasn’t the intention, the performance was a hit because it worked on numerous levels.

“It’s for kids,” Reubens explained to The Associated Press in 2010. “For years, people have attempted to convince me that ‘it wasn’t really for kids, right?’ Even the original show was aimed at children. I was always censoring myself to make it kid-friendly.

“The whole thing has just been a gut feeling from the beginning,” Reubens told the Associated Press. “That’s all it’s ever been, and I believe it always will be.” I can’t deconstruct and explain it as much as others want. I don’t know; two, I don’t want to know; and three, I’m afraid I’ll curse myself if I find out.”

“Paul Reubens was like no one else — a brilliant and original comedian who made kids and their parents laugh simultaneously,” Jimmy Kimmel said on Instagram. He never missed a birthday and shared his genuine joy in fun with everyone he met.”

paul reubens

His career was stalled when Reubens was jailed for indecent exposure in an adult movie theatre in Sarasota, Florida, where he grew up. He was fined, but the harm to his character was immeasurable.

He became the target of late-night talk show jokes, and Paul Reubens’ image altered overnight.

“It was really intense when I realised my name was going to be mentioned in the same sentence as children and sex,” Reubens told NBC in 2004. “I knew from that moment on that whatever happens after that point, something really bad is out there in the air.”

Reubens said he received numerous job offers, but most wanted to take “advantage of the luridness of my situation,” and he refused.

“It just changed,” he explained. “Everything has changed.”

After authorities acquired photographs from his computer and camera collection in 2001, Paul Reubens was arrested and charged with misdemeanor possession of child pornography, but the charge was reduced to obscenity, and he was sentenced to three years probation.

Paul Reubens, the eldest of three children, was born Paul Rubenfield in Peekskill, New York, and grew up mostly in Sarasota before attending Boston University and the California Institute of the Arts.

Reubens would also appear in non-Pee-wee films such as Tim Burton’s 1992 film “Batman Returns,” the “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” film, and a cameo appearance on the TV show “Murphy Brown.”

paul reubens

SOURCE – (AP)

Kiara Grace is a staff writer at VORNews, a reputable online publication. Her writing focuses on technology trends, particularly in the realm of consumer electronics and software. With a keen eye for detail and a knack for breaking down complex topics, Kiara delivers insightful analyses that resonate with tech enthusiasts and casual readers alike. Her articles strike a balance between in-depth coverage and accessibility, making them a go-to resource for anyone seeking to stay informed about the latest innovations shaping our digital world.

Continue Reading

Celebrity

2024 Cannes Kicks Off With Greta Gerwig’s Jury And A Palme D’Or For Meryl Streep

Published

on

cannes
AP News - VOR News Image

CANNES, France — The Cannes Film Festival began Tuesday with the announcement of Greta Gerwig’s jury and the giving of an honorary Palme d’Or to Meryl Streep, as the French Riviera spectacle started its possibly tumultuous 77th edition.

The opening night picture, “The Second Act,” a French comedy starring Lea Seydoux, Vincent Lindon, Louis Garrel, and Raphaël Quenard, will usher in a 10-day parade of stars down Cannes’ iconic red carpet. During the opening ceremony, Streep will get her honorary Palme.

cannes

AP – VOR News Image

Cannes Kicks Off With Greta Gerwig’s Jury And A Palme D’Or For Meryl Streep

In the coming days, Cannes will debut George Miller’s “Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga,” Francis Ford Coppola’s self-financed “Megalopolis,” and anticipated new films from Paolo Sorrentino, Yorgos Lanthimos, Andrea Arnold, and Kevin Costner.

However, much of this year’s Cannes controversy has occurred off-screen.

French actor Judith Godrèche accused two film directors of rape and sexual assault when she was a teenager earlier this year, and the French film industry has been grappling with probably its defining #MeToo moment since. Godrèche’s short film “Moi Aussi” will premiere on Wednesday.

When asked about #MeToo’s expansion in France, Gerwig told reporters in Cannes on Tuesday that it is progressing.

“I think people in the community of movies telling us stories and trying to change things for the better is only good,” Gerwig stated. “I’ve witnessed significant shift in the American cinema scene, and I believe it’s critical that we continue to broaden that conversation. So I believe it’s only advancing things in the right direction. Keep the lines of communication open.”

Gerwig, fresh off the success of “Barbie,” is president of the jury that will decide Cannes’ top prize, the Palme d’Or. Thierry Fremaux commended her on Monday as “the ideal director” for Cannes, citing her ability to work in both arthouse and studio films and her passion for movie history. And, “We very much liked ‘Barbie.'”

Gerwig is joined on the jury by Lily Gladstone, star of “Killers of the Flower Moon,” French actor Eva Green, Spanish filmmaker J.A. Bayona, French actor Omar Sy, Lebanese actor and director Nadine Labaki, Japanese filmmaker Hirokazu Kore-eda, Turkish screenwriter Ebru Ceylan, and Italian actor Pierfrancesco Favino.

cannes

AP – VOR News Image

Cannes Kicks Off With Greta Gerwig’s Jury And A Palme D’Or For Meryl Streep

“I thought I just got over my imposter syndrome last year,” admitted the Oscar-nominated Gladstone. “But I’ll start all over again.”

The jurors were asked how the numerous real-world concerns outside the festival would influence their decision-making. One film in competition, Ali Abbasi’s “The Apprentice,” portrays Sebastian Stan as a youthful Donald Trump. And Labaki was asked if she was thinking about the war in Gaza.

“I truly believe that one of the tools to really change something in the situation we all live in right now, which is a situation I think is not that great, is really through art and through cinema,” Labaki stated. “It may propose a more tolerant way of seeing things and seeing each other as human beings.”

According to Favino, filmmakers have a vital role in reminding the world of where beauty can be found.

“This is why I decided that I could be here without feeling guilty as a human being,” stated Favino. “Because if we look for beauty, then we might look for peace.”

Other fears are circulating this year’s Cannes. Festival workers, frustrated with short-term contracts that make them ineligible for unemployment benefits between events, have threatened to strike.

On Monday, Iranian filmmaker Mohammed Rasoulof, whose film “The Seed of the Sacred Fig” will be shown in competition at Cannes next week, said that he had escaped Iran after being sentenced to eight years in prison and flogging. The film is described as a scathing depiction of the Iranian regime.

cannes

AP – VOR News Image

Cannes Kicks Off With Greta Gerwig’s Jury And A Palme D’Or For Meryl Streep

As Cannes continues, many will be fixated on the celebs who walk the festival’s iconic red carpet. Emma Stone, Anya Taylor-Joy, Demi Moore, Selena Gomez, Nicolas Cage, and Barry Keoghan will be among the cast. George Lucas will be presented with an honorary Palme d’Or during the closing ceremony on May 25.

Regardless, the 77th Cannes Film Festival will have many expectations to meet. Last year’s festival, which was universally praised for its impressive roster, yielded three Oscar best picture nominees: “Anatomy of a Fall,” “The Zone of Interest,” and “Killers of the Flower Moon.” To help reignite last year’s spirit, Messi, the canine hero of “Anatomy of a Fall,” has returned to Cannes for a series of quick French TV advertisements.

A successful Cannes will help France maintain the global spotlight throughout the summer. The French Open, Tour de France, and Summer Olympics in Paris will all take place after the festival. On May 21, the Olympic flame will be carried to the Palais des Festivals, the festival’s focal point.

SOURCE – (AP)

Continue Reading

Celebrity

Actor Steve Buscemi Is OK After Being Punched In The Face In New York City

Published

on

buscemi
AP News - VOR News Image

NEW YORK — Actor Steve Buscemi is well after being hit in the face by a man on a New York City street, his publicist confirmed Sunday.

The 66-year-old star of “Fargo” and “Boardwalk Empire” was beaten late Wednesday morning in Manhattan and transported to a local hospital for bruises, swelling, and bleeding in his left eye.

buscemi

Deadline – VOR News Image

Actor Steve Buscemi Is OK After Being Punched In The Face In New York City

“Steve Buscemi was assaulted in Mid-Town Manhattan, another victim of a random act of violence in the city,” according to a statement from his publicist on Sunday. “He is ok and appreciates everyone’s well wishes.”

The New York Post was first to report the assault.

buscemi

salon – VOR News Image

Actor Steve Buscemi Is OK After Being Punched In The Face In New York City

The New York Police Department issued a nameless statement regarding the assault on Wednesday. Steve’s representative confirmed Sunday that the anonymous assault victim in the police report was the actor.

According to the police department, no arrests have been made, and the investigation is ongoing.

buscemi

The Guardian – VOR News Image

Actor Steve Buscemi Is OK After Being Punched In The Face In New York City

Michael Stuhlbarg, Buscemi’s “Boardwalk Empire” co-star, was hit in the back of the neck by a rock while walking in Manhattan’s Central Park on March 31. Stuhlbarg chased his attacker, who was apprehended outside the park.

SOURCE – (AP)

Continue Reading

Celebrity

Roger Corman, Hollywood Mentor And ‘King Of The Bs,’ Dies At 98

Published

on

corman
AP News - VOR News

Los Angeles — Roger Corman, the “King of the Bs” who helped produce low-budget classics like “Little Shop of Horrors” and “Attack of the Crab Monsters” and handed many of Hollywood’s most famous actors and directors their first breaks, has died. He was 98.

Corman died on Thursday at his home in Santa Monica, California, according to a statement issued Saturday by his wife and children.

“He was generous, open-hearted, and kind to all those who knew him,” the statement stated. “When asked how he would like to be remembered, he said, ‘I was a filmmaker, just that.'”

Starting in 1955, Corman produced and directed hundreds of B-movies, including “Black Scorpion,” “Bucket of Blood,” and “Bloody Mama.” He was a fantastic talent judge, hiring promising directors such as Francis Ford Coppola, Ron Howard, James Cameron, and Martin Scorsese. Corman was presented with an honorary Academy Award in 2009.

“There are many constraints connected with working on a low budget, but at the same time there are certain opportunities,” Corman stated in a 2007 documentary about Val Lewton, the 1940s filmmaker of “Cat People” and other underground masterpieces.

corman

AP – VOR News Image

Roger Corman, Hollywood Mentor And ‘King Of The Bs,’ Dies At 98

“You may gamble a little more. You are welcome to experiment. “You must find a more creative way to solve a problem or present a concept,” he explained.

Corman’s films may be traced back to the 1970s when Hollywood peaked.

Jack Nicholson made his cinematic debut as the titular character in “The Cry Baby Killer,” a 1958 Corman quickie, and continued to work with the company on biker, horror, and action films, writing and producing others. Other performers who began their careers with Corman films included Robert De Niro, Bruce Dern, and Ellen Burstyn.

Peter Fonda’s participation in “The Wild Angels” foreshadowed his own iconic biker film, “Easy Rider,” which co-starred Nicholson and another Corman alum, Dennis Hopper. “Boxcar Bertha,” starring Barbara Hershey and David Carradine, was one of Scorsese’s early films.

Corman’s B-movie directors were given small budgets and frequently told to complete their films in as little as five days. When Howard, who went on to win an Oscar for best director for “A Beautiful Mind,” requested an extra half-day to reshoot a sequence for “Grand Theft Auto” in 1977, Corman informed him, “Ron, you can come back if you want, but nobody else will be there.”

“Roger Corman was my first boss, my lifelong mentor, and my inspiration. Roger was one of the greatest innovators in film history,” Gale Ann Hurd, whose famous producing accomplishments include the “Terminator” film franchise, “The Abyss,” and “The Walking Dead” television series, said in a post on X, formerly Twitter.

Initially, only drive-ins and specialty theaters would show Corman films, but national chains gave in as youngsters began to flock. Corman’s films were unusually candid about sex and drugs at the time, such as his 1967 movie “The Trip,” an explicit story about LSD written by Nicholson and starring Fonda and Hopper.

Meanwhile, he found a profitable sideline releasing renowned foreign films in the United States, including Ingmar Bergman’s “Cries and Whispers,” Federico Fellini’s “Amarcord,” and Volker Schlondorff’s “The Tin Drum.” The latter two received Oscars for Best Foreign Language Film.

Corman began his career as a messenger boy for Twentieth Century Fox before becoming a plot analyst. After briefly leaving the company to study English literature at Oxford University, he returned to Hollywood and began his career as a film producer and director.

Despite his frugal tendencies, Corman maintained positive relationships with his directors, saying he never dismissed one because “I wouldn’t want to inflict that humiliation.”

corman

AP – VOR Neews Image

Roger Corman, Hollywood Mentor And ‘King Of The Bs,’ Dies At 98

Years later, some of his old underlings repaid his goodwill. Coppola cast him in “The Godfather, Part II,” Jonathan Demme put him in “The Silence of the Lambs” and “Philadelphia,” and Howard cast him in “Apollo 13.”

Most of Corman’s films were swiftly forgotten by all except the most devoted fans. A rare exception was 1960’s Little Shop of Horrors, which starred a violent plant that ate humans and starred Nicholson in a minor but notable role as a pain-loving dental patient. It sparked a long-running theater musical and a 1986 musical adaptation starring Steve Martin, Bill Murray, and John Candy.

In 1963, Corman began a film series based on Edgar Allan Poe’s works. The most prominent was “The Raven,” which starred Nicholson with renowned horror actors Boris Karloff, Peter Lorre, and Basil Rathbone. Corman directed the horror spoof on a rare three-week timetable, and it received positive reviews, which was unusual for his films. The Library of Congress determined that another Poe adaption, “House of Usher,” was worthy of preservation.

“It was a privilege to know him. He was an excellent friend. “He shaped my childhood with science fiction movies and Edgar Allen Poe epics,” John Carpenter, director of “Halloween,” “The Thing,” and other great horror and action flicks, told X. “I’ll miss you, Roger.”

Near the end of his life, Karloff appeared in another Corman-backed film, the 1968 thriller “Targets,” which marked Peter Bogdanovich’s directorial debut.

Corman’s success led to bids from major studios, and he directed “The St. Valentine’s Day Massacre” and “Von Richthofen and Brown” on conventional budgets. Both were disappointments, and he attributed their failure to front-office influence.

corman

AP – VOR News Image

Roger Corman, Hollywood Mentor And ‘King Of The Bs,’ Dies At 98

Roger William Corman was born in Detroit and raised in Beverly Hills, but “not in the affluent section,” as he once stated. He graduated from Stanford University with an engineering degree and moved to Hollywood after serving in the Navy for three years.

Following his time at Oxford, he worked as a television stagehand and literary agent before discovering his life’s profession.

In 1964, he married Julie Halloran, a UCLA graduate and producer.

Catherine, Roger, Brian, and Mary are the four children he left behind along with his wife, Julie.

SOURCE – (AP)

Continue Reading

Volunteering at Soi Dog

Download Our App

vornews app

Trending