Paul Reubens (Pee Wee Herman) in Film Quiz

Answer: The Blues Brothers

Reuben's has a brief moment in the film 'The Blues Brothers' where he plays a waiter at the Chez Paul Restaurant. He brings the Blues Brothers a bottle of the restaurants finest champagne, a Dom Pérignon. Even in this tiny role, which was his first in a major film, I chuckled a bit!

Answer: Cheech & Chong's Next Movie

In the 1980 film 'Cheech & Chong's Next Movie', we first see Paul Reuben's credited as Pee Wee Herman (a desk clerk). This was not the first time he played Pee Wee, of course. He had been doing the character in a night club act for years (alongside his writing partner and fellow 'Groundling', Phil Hartman).

Answer: False

Sadly, he didn't appear in the original 'Meatballs', which starred Bill Murray, but rather in the atrocious sequel 'Meatballs Part II' as Albert/Hara Krishna'. Bill Murray did not reprise his roll in the second film, and hence it was not worth watching (unless you are a true Pee Wee Herman fan!)

Answer: True

Indeed, prior to 'Pee Wee's Big Adventure', Burton was making short, mostly animated films for Disney. After seeing Burton's 27-minute 'Frankenweenie', he selected Burton to direct his coming out party for the character Pee Wee Herman. It was a match made in heaven.

Answer: Phil Hartman

Phil Hartman, who went on to a brilliant career on 'Saturday Night Live' that spanned from the late 1980s to the early 1990s, was, as I have mentioned, a co-writer of most of Reuben's Pee Wee character sketches. Another 'Saturday Night Live' player, Jan Hooks, also makes an appearance in the film.

Answer: Danny Elfman

Can you imagine anyone else working on this film than Danny Elfman? He teamed with Tim Burton on every later film Burton produced. Elfman's score fits well with Pee Wee's enigmatic behavior, very unpredictable, rhythmic and eccentric to the maximum degree!

Answer: Back to the Beach

Perhaps hoping to capitalize on the Pee Wee wave, or more likely an attempt by Paul Reubens to keep his character current, the film 'Back to the Beach' was pretty much a failure for all involved. Sadly, Annette Funicello was diagnosed with MS just following filming.

Answer: Big-Top Pee Wee

It's very likely that this film failed because it was not co-written by Paul Reuben's regular writing partner Phil Hartman. It's also possible that the character simply became too passé for film. It was produced right at the height of Reuben's television success with his 'Pee Wee's Playhouse', so no real damage was done to his career, despite the failure of the sequel.

Answer: The Spleen

Not having been seen much in Hollywood since his arrest in 1991 for public indecency, Reubens began to make a comeback in the late 1990s with roles in films such as 'Mystery Men', 'Matilda' and 'Doctor Dolittle' (voice only). The Pee Wee character was dead, but Reubens appeared to survive another day.

Answer: Blow

Reubens portrayed Derek Foreal, a drug dealer and friend of the main character, George Jung, played by Johnny Depp. From 2001 to 2004, Reubens had not been featured in any other films, once again finding himself in trouble with the law. Fans of his acting have only the memories of his career to enjoy. Thank you for trying this quiz, if you enjoyed it, please feel free to try some of my other quizzes.