A cause of death has been revealed for Paul Reubens, the children’s entertainer best known for playing Pee-wee Herman, who died last month.
According to a death certificate obtained by Pvnew, the actor died from acute myelogenous leukemia, a cancer of the blood and bone marrow, per the National Cancer Institute.
Additionally, in the months leading up to his death, Reubens was also battling metastatic lung cancer.
The “Pee-wee’s Playhouse” alum’s death certificate further revealed that he succumbed to “acute hypoxic respiratory failure,” which was most likely caused by the cancer.
Reubens was cremated and will be laid to rest in the Hollywood Forever Cemetary.
As Pvnew previously reported, the TV star died on July 30 at the age of 70.
At the time, Reubens had released a posthumous statement, apologizing for keeping his battle with cancer a secret from the public.
“Please accept my apology for not going public with what I’ve been facing the last six years,” he wrote before 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.”
Reubens asked for any “expressions of sympathy” to be made in honor of his late parents to Stand Up to Cancer or organizations that are “involved with Dementia and Alzheimer’s care, support and research.”
The child star rose to fame in the ’80s as Pee-wee Herman in the Tim Burton-directed movie “Pee-wee’s Big Adventure.”
The success of the film led to Reubens landing a Saturday morning CBS show called, “Pee-wee’s Playhouse,” which ran from 1986 to 1991.
However, his rise to fame was quickly overshadowed in 1991 after he pleaded no contest to indecent exposure at a movie theater in Florida.
In 2004, Reubens also pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor obscenity charge — involving photographs of minors engaged in sexual conduct — and was sentenced to three years probation.
Despite the legal drama, Reubens continued to land roles as his beloved character, bringing Herman to Broadway in 2010 and Netflix in 2016.
