Paul Reubens he had been developing during the last few years, "Pee-wee Herman". With the help of other Groundlings like John Paragon, Phil Hartman and Lynne Marie Stewart, Pee-wee acquired a small group of followers and Reubens took his show to The Roxy Theatre where ""The Pee-wee Herman Show"" ran for five sellout months, doing midnight shows for adults and weekly matinees for children, moving into the mainstream when HBO aired "The Pee-wee Herman Show" in 1981 as part of their series "On Location". Reubens also appeared as Pee-wee in the 1980 film "Cheech & Chong's Next Movie". Although it was Reubens
Paul Reubens of junk food, all the while trying to release his own sugar-free cereal "Ralston Purina Pee-wee Chow cereal", a project that died after a blind test. With his positive attitude and quirkiness, Pee-wee became an instant cult figure, earning a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame by 1989, and successfully building a Pee-wee franchise, with toys, clothes and other items generating more than $25 million at its peak in 1988. Reubens also published a book as Pee-wee in 1989 called "Travels with Pee-Wee". CBS aired reruns of "Playhouse" until July 1991, when Reubens was arrested, pulling from their schedule