With his signature bow tie, short drainpipe pants and flattop hairdo, Pee-wee, as embodied by Mr. Reubens, became enshrined in the popular imagination as a symbol of childlike whimsy.

With his signature bow tie, short drainpipe pants and flattop hairdo, Pee-wee, as embodied by Mr. Reubens, became enshrined in the popular imagination as a symbol of childlike whimsy.