Paul Reubens had a small part as a waiter in "The Blues Brothers". The character of "Pee-wee Herman" originated during a 1978 improvisation exercise with The Groundlings, where Reubens came up with the idea of a man who wanted to be a comic but was so inept at telling jokes that it was obvious to the audience that he would never make it. Fellow Groundling Phil Hartman would afterwards help Reubens develop the character while another Groundling, John Paragon, would help write the show. Despite having been compared to other famous characters, such as Hergé's Tintin and Collodi's Pinocchio, Reubens says that
Paul Reubens put it into syndication, which CBS revoked on July 29, 1991. Reubens released a statement denying the charges. On November 7, 1991, Reubens pleaded no contest. The plea kept the charge off Reubens' record and obligated him to spend 75 hours performing community service, where he made two anti-drug public service announcements that were self-produced and financed. One PSA had Pee-Wee explaining the dangers of cocaine, and a lesser known was with a claymation character called "Penny", which had been a staple of "Pee-Wee's Playhouse". Both PSAs were praised for showing the dangers of drugs in a manner kids could