Natasha Lyonne Thanks Paul Reubens For ‘Forever Friendship’ And Launching Her Career

August 1, 2023
| No Comments

We bet if Jambi could grant Natasha Lyonne a wish, it would be a little more time with her friend, Paul Reubens.

Upon the news that Reubens had died Monday, the “Russian Doll” star posted a loving tribute to the comedian who created the once extremely popular character, Pee-wee Herman.

Reubens died Sunday after he “bravely and privately fought cancer for years with his trademark tenacity and wit,” his Facebook and Instagram accounts announced Monday. He was 70 years old.

“Love you so much, Paul. One in all time. Thank you for my career & your forever friendship all these years & for teaching us what a true original is,” Lyonne tweeted Monday, along with a few photos of her as a child acting alongside Reubens on his hit children’s show “Pee-wee’s Playhouse” that ran from 1986 to 1991.

Lyonne’s first acting credit came on Reuben’s “Pee-wee’s Playhouse,” which she scored at 6 years old, per Entertainment Weekly. She told the outlet last year that she stayed in touch with the beloved actor long after her stint on his show ended.

“I love Paul, I see him, we stay in touch,” she told EW. “Paul Reubens, a.k.a. Pee-wee Herman, sends the best gifs in the biz. Long before they became so accessible via iPhones.”

Natasha Lyonne sits on Paul Reubens lap during a promo still for “Pee-wee’s Playhouse” in 1986.
Natasha Lyonne sits on Paul Reubens lap during a promo still for “Pee-wee’s Playhouse” in 1986.

John Kisch Archive via Getty Images

She elaborated on her experiences working on the show as a child with EW’s “PeopleTV” in 2018, saying, “nothing else makes me feel legitimately cool quite so much as the fact that I was on this show.”

“I love this show,” she added. “This was my child actor job that was really fun.”

https://www.youtube.com/embed/qGhEdyBapYg?rel=0&enablejsapi=1</div>","type":"video","meta":{"author":"리온TV [nlyonne]","author_url":"https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCJUd2rICVhvXwDAaNIu42Bg","cache_age":86400,"description":"*나타샤 리온 필모그래피 깨기 – 피위의 플레이하우스*nNatasha Lyonne Filmography in the Pee-wee’s Playhousenn* 위 영상에 나온 부분 말고도 리온이 나오는 부분이 많습니다!n (아직 못보신 분들은 넷플릭스 코리아를 통해 시청하실 수 있습니다)","options":{"_cc_load_policy":{"label":"Closed captions","value":false},"_end":{"label":"End on","placeholder":"ex.: 11, 1m10s","value":""},"_start":{"label":"Start from","placeholder":"ex.: 11, 1m10s","value":""},"click_to_play":{"label":"Hold load & play until clicked","value":false}},"provider_name":"YouTube","thumbnail_height":720,"thumbnail_url":"https://i.ytimg.com/vi/qGhEdyBapYg/maxresdefault.jpg","thumbnail_width":1280,"title":"나타샤리온 in ‘Pee-wee’s Playhouse’ (feat. 거대 은박지공 좋아하는 애기리온)","type":"video","url":"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qGhEdyBapYg","version":"1.0"},"flags":[],"enhancements":{},"fullBleed":false,"options":{"theme":"news","device":"desktop","editionInfo":{"id":"us","name":"U.S.","link":"https://www.huffpost.com","locale":"en_US"},"slideshowAd":{"scriptTags":[],"otherHtml":""},"slideshowEndCard":{"scriptTags":[],"otherHtml":""},"isMapi":false,"isAmp":false,"isVideoEntry":false,"isEntry":true,"isMt":false,"entryId":"64c961e4e4b044bf98f7f48f","entryPermalink":"https://www.huffpost.com/entry/natasha-lyonne-paul-reubens-friendship-career_n_64c961e4e4b044bf98f7f48f","entryTagsList":"natasha-lyonne,paul-reubens,pee-wees-playhouse,@us_huffpost_now","sectionSlug":"entertainment","deptSlug":"entertainment","sectionRedirectUrl":"https://www.huffpost.com/entertainment","subcategories":"","isWide":false,"headerOverride":null,"noVideoAds":false,"disableFloat":false,"isNative":false,"commercialVideo":{"provider":"custom","site_and_category":"us.entertainment","package":null},"isHighline":false,"vidibleConfigValues":{"cid":"60afc111dcf87c2cd2f5d8bf","overrides":{"front_page_top_videos":{"desktop":"60b64354b171b7444beaff4d","mobileweb":"60b64354b171b7444beaff4d"},"top_media":{"desktop":"60b8e6bdc5449357a7ada147","mobile":"60b8e701c5449357a7ada2ee","iphone":"60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6","ipad":"60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6","androidphone":"60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c","androidtablet":"60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c"},"anthology":{"desktop":"60b8e616cdd90620331bb0ba","mobile":"60b8e671c5449357a7ad9f66","iphone":"60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6","ipad":"60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6","androidphone":"60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c","androidtablet":"60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c"},"content":{"desktop":"60b8e616cdd90620331bb0ba","mobile":"60b8e671c5449357a7ad9f66","iphone":"60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6","ipad":"60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6","androidphone":"60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c","androidtablet":"60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c"}},"playerUpdates":{"5668ae6ee4b0b5e26955d6a6":"60d2472d9340d7032ad7e443","56aa41bae4b091744c0440d8":"60e869dc7c5f3b17b6741b81","5841b2b5cc52c716ec6e5a7f":"60b8e355cdd90620331ba185","58b5e2b8d85a10302feee895":"60b64316b171b7444beafdb2","58b74698f78ced31417819ae":"60b8e5bec5449357a7ad9b52","58b74ccecebcea57e2c3a3d1":"60b8e5eac5449357a7ad9ca5","58cff690d85a100b9992bc39":"60b8e616cdd90620331bb0ba","58cffb3fb6d9b972a49a3c9d":"60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6","58cffdd74d96935d7d6ec180":"60b8e671c5449357a7ad9f66","58d03a84f78ced6518eb2fa7":"60b643c82e76be41f112735c","592edf20e0fa177b0c26f7fd":"60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c","5b35266b158f855373e28256":"60b64354b171b7444beaff4d","5c116f29f79c4171d82b7c2a":"60b64440b171b7444beb040b","5c1170fc600c9a697bf0c6b9":"60b646102e76be41f1127ffc","5c47791afa1b317df8ae0c4f":"60b8e6bdc5449357a7ada147","5c477987a6b48b35f164773d":"60b8e701c5449357a7ada2ee","5c4779ee943c3c2a64f28371":"60b8e747cdd90620331bb861","5c477a26fcd67b26879bc7c2":"60b8e788c5449357a7ada67b","5d8921a78c3ae845f366c9b6":"60ae7be5f3a7c13a30417ff9","58b98b00ba82aa39a6534321":"60d0de7c9340d7032ad1146c","58b9d14cb6d9b96c9ec32af3":"60d0dec19340d7032ad115a0","58cff8eccebcea42931e0436":"60d0e005b627221e9d819d44","592edf5de0fa177b0c26f95b":"60d0e38fb627221e9d81adcf","58cff72fd85a100b9992c112":"60d0e447b627221e9d81b0da","56b4d34fe4b022697697c400":"60d2472d9340d7032ad7e443","60b8e4c0c5449357a7ad957d":"60e869dc7c5f3b17b6741b81"}},"connatixConfigValues":{"defaultPlayer":"ff7fdddc-5441-4253-abc4-f12a33fad58b","clickToPlayPlayer":"d014396e-b366-4c17-aeac-3ce906fa3fd0","videoPagePlayer":"f010447b-d244-4111-a314-7b4542ae4145","verticalPlayer":"e58cb05a-0bc8-4210-9108-fea82726c065"},"customAmpComponents":[],"ampAssetsUrl":"https://amp.assets.huffpost.com","videoTraits":null,"positionInUnitCounts":{"buzz_head":{"count":0},"buzz_body":{"count":0},"buzz_bottom":{"count":0}},"positionInSubUnitCounts":{"article_body":{"count":8},"blog_summary":{"count":0},"before_you_go_slideshow":{"count":0}},"connatixCountsHelper":{"count":1},"buzzfeedTracking":{"context_page_id":"64c961e4e4b044bf98f7f48f","context_page_type":"buzz","destination":"huffpost","mode":"desktop","page_edition":"en-us"},"tags":[{"name":"Natasha Lyonne","slug":"natasha-lyonne","links":{"relativeLink":"topic/natasha-lyonne","permalink":"https://www.huffpost.com/topic/natasha-lyonne","mobileWebLink":"https://www.huffpost.com/topic/natasha-lyonne"},"url":"https://www.huffpost.com/topic/natasha-lyonne"},{"name":"paul reubens","slug":"paul-reubens","links":{"relativeLink":"topic/paul-reubens","permalink":"https://www.huffpost.com/topic/paul-reubens","mobileWebLink":"https://www.huffpost.com/topic/paul-reubens"},"url":"https://www.huffpost.com/topic/paul-reubens"},{"name":"Pee-wees Playhouse","slug":"pee-wees-playhouse","links":{"relativeLink":"topic/pee-wees-playhouse","permalink":"https://www.huffpost.com/topic/pee-wees-playhouse","mobileWebLink":"https://www.huffpost.com/topic/pee-wees-playhouse"},"url":"https://www.huffpost.com/topic/pee-wees-playhouse"}],"isLiveblogLive":null,"cetUnit":"buzz_body","bodyAds":["<div id="ad-inline-1" class="ad-entry_paragraph_1 ad-spot–gam ad-spot–gam-inline-1"></div>rn<script type="text/javascript">rn HPGam.cmd.push(function(){rnttreturn HPGam.render("inline-1", "entry_paragraph_1", false);rn });rn</script>rn","<div id="ad-inline-2" class="ad-entry_paragraph_3 ad-spot–gam ad-spot–gam-inline-2"></div>rn<script type="text/javascript">rn HPGam.cmd.push(function(){rnttreturn HPGam.render("inline-2", "entry_paragraph_3", false);rn });rn</script>rn","<div id="ad-inline-infinite" class="ad-repeating_dynamic_display ad-spot–gam ad-spot–gam-inline-infinite"></div>rn<script type="text/javascript">rn HPGam.cmd.push(function(){rnttreturn HPGam.render("inline-infinite", "repeating_dynamic_display", false);rn });rn</script>rn"],"adCount":0},"isCollectionEmbed":false}”>

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qGhEdyBapYg?rel=0&enablejsapi=1]

The “Poker Face” star isn’t the only famous person who honored Reubens on social media Monday.

Joe Manganiello — who played himself in Reuben’s 2016 film — “Pee-wee’s Big Holiday,” mourned the comedian on Instagram.

In his post, he described Reubens as “an artist and a weirdo who fought for other artists and weirdos.”

“Man… this is tough,” Manganiello began the caption of photos from the film’s media tour. “It’s so hard to say goodbye when you know you’ll never see someone again who meant so much to you. Someone who believed in you, and fought for you, and saw things in you that most people didn’t. Everyone should be so lucky to have a friend like that. Well, I did, and today I have to say goodbye.”

TOP VIDEOS