Mark Mothersbaugh, frontman of the pioneering new wave band Devo, has paid tribute to the late Paul Reubens, who recently passed away from cancer at the age of 70. Mothersbaugh and Reubens worked together on the music for Pee-wee’s Playhouse and the 2016 movie Pee-wee’s Big Holiday, and Mothersbaugh revealed that the collaboration “changed the trajectory of his career.”
The pair first connected in 1980 when Reubens was creating his Pee-wee Herman character at the Groundlings comedy improv theatre while Mothersbaugh was dating founding member Laraine Newman. They collaborated on the obscure film Pray TV, and although timing prevented Mothersbaugh from writing the score for Reubens’ breakthrough role in Tim Burton’s Pee-wee’s Big Adventure, they eventually reunited to work on Pee-wee’s Playhouse.
Mothersbaugh said that Reubens’ guidance was minimal, saying, “His only notes were that when something was sad, it should be really, really sad; when it was happy, it should be really, really happy; and when it was shocking, it should be really, really shocking.”
Working on Pee-wee’s Playhouse opened the door for Mothersbaugh to explore other avenues of music production, leading him to write the music for beloved children’s TV shows such as Rugrats and Clifford the Big Red Dog, as well as compose scores for video games like Crash Bandicoot and Jak and Daxter. He also created the score for Elizabeth Banks’ viral comedy-horror film Cocaine Bear.
The world of music lost a great talent with Reubens’ passing, and Mothersbaugh’s career was forever altered by their collaboration. Reubens’ legacy in the entertainment industry will live on, and Mothersbaugh’s tribute serves as a reminder of the impact he had on so many.
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