The return (again) of Pee-wee Herman

updated 4:42 p.m. ET June 19, 2007

LOS ANGELES - Paul Reubens returns, again.

He and his perennially adolescent alter ego Pee-wee Herman vanished from public view a while back. Legal troubles, you’ll recall.

But, Pee-wee re-emerged this month for the first time in 15 years, making a surprise appearance at Spike TV’s Guys Choice Awards. And Reubens began his latest resurgence last summer with a stint of TV guest-star and film roles that have drawn kudos from critics.

“I feel like I’m on my third or fourth comeback at least,” says Reubens, whose close-cropped haircut and twinkling eyes belie his 54 years.

His recent TV work included playing a handicapped prince with a disturbingly small prosthetic hand on NBC’s “30 Rock,” an alcoholic editor on FX’s “Dirt” and an eccentric police lieutenant on Comedy Central’s “Reno 911!” Film-wise, Reubens has recently appeared in David Arquette’s horror flick, “The Tripper,” and the cop spoof “Reno 911!: Miami.”

His comeback will continue with a dramatic role in Todd Solondz’s upcoming film, set to begin shooting this fall, and a renewed effort to bring Pee-wee back to the big screen.

“I didn’t do everything I wanted to do as Pee-wee Herman,” he says of his lovable nerd who took television by storm with “Pee-wee’s Playhouse” in the early 1980s before moving on to hit films later in the decade.

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On the TV show, Reubens created a colorful, psychedelic world populated by talking furniture and flowers. The quirky program appealed to artsy types of all ages, but Reubens says it was meant to inspire children.

“I was trying to do something about the golden rule and having good morals and being responsible, and then at the same time, being unique and exposing kids to art,” he says.

Future Pee-wee movies?
He hopes to usher two of his Pee-wee-centered screenplays into production soon. One follows the bow-tied protagonist and his old “Playhouse” pals on a road-trip adventure. The other, which Reubens describes as “the dark Pee-wee movie,” explores how Pee-wee deals with Hollywood and the trappings of fame.

Reubens knows of what he writes, having experienced fame and infamy as both himself and his character. The actor’s highly publicized arrest for indecent exposure in 1991 resulted in an oft-published mug shot — one of his first public photos as himself, not Pee-wee. The picture still surfaces from time to time, including a recent USA Today article about mug shots, but Reubens doesn’t let it shake him.

“I’m in with Nick Nolte, James Brown ... Mel Gibson, Nicole Richie, Glen Campbell,” he said. “I’m in great company. I can’t change history and change the past, so what am I going to do? You just move on.”

He took time off after the incident, but not because of it, he says. After writing, directing, producing and starring in his Saturday-morning kids’ show for five years — plus making two movies — he was ready for a break. He was on vacation when he was arrested.

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