Pee-wee Herman actor and creator Paul Reubens dies from cancer at 70

Paul Reubens, the actor and comedian whose Pee-wee Herman character -- an overgrown child with a tight gray suit and an unforgettable laugh -- became a 1980s pop cultural phenomenon, has died at 70.

Paul Reubens, the actor and comedian whose Pee-wee Herman character -- an overgrown child with a tight gray suit and an unforgettable laugh -- became a 1980s pop cultural phenomenon, has died at 70.

Reubens, who's character delighted fans in the film "Pee-wee's Big Adventure" and on the TV series "Pee-wee's Playhouse," died Sunday night after a six-year struggle with cancer that he kept private, his publicist said in a statement.

"Please accept my apology for not going public with what I've been facing the last six years," Reubens said in a statement released Monday with the announcement of his death. "I have always felt a huge amount of love and respect from my friends, fans and supporters. I have loved you all so much and enjoyed making art for you."

Created for the stage, Pee-wee with his white chunky loafers and red bow tie would become a cultural constant in both adult and children's entertainment for much of the 1980s, though an indecent exposure arrest in 1991 would send the character into entertainment exile for years.

The staccato giggle that punctuated every sentence, catch phrases like "I know you are but what am I" and a tabletop dance to the Champs' song "Tequila" in a biker bar in "Pee-wee's Big Adventure" were often imitated by fans, to the joy of some and the annoyance of others.

Reubens created Pee-wee when he was part of the Los Angeles improv group The Groundlings in the late 1970s. The live "Pee-wee Herman Show" debuted at a Los Angeles theater in 1981 and was a success with both kids during matinees and adults at a midnight show.

The show closely resembled the format the Saturday morning TV "Pee-wee's Playhouse" would follow years later, with Herman living in a wild and wacky home with a series of stock-character visitors, including one, Captain Karl, played by the late "Saturday Night Live" star Phil Hartman.