CBS says it is weighing whether to drop Saturday-morning reruns of "Pee-wee's Playhouse" after the star of the children's show was arrested on charges of indecent exposure in an adult movie theater.
Paul Reubens, the 38-year-old actor who became a star as the nerdy, bowtied Pee-wee Herman, was arrested Friday after an undercover officer saw him masturbate, sheriff's officers said. He was freed on $219 bail.The Emmy-winning "Pee-wee's Playhouse" was canceled in April, but reruns are scheduled through August, said Ann Morfogen, CBS vice president of media relations. She said the network would decide today whether to drop the reruns.
If convicted, Reubens could get up to two months in jail and a $500 fine. Arraignment was set for Aug. 9.
His attorney, Dan Dannheiser, said the actor had no comment.
"He does a lot of things with kids over the world and his career will be over when that story runs," Dannheiser said.
Reubens had earlier brushes with the law, the Sarasota Herald-Tribune reported today.
According to sheriff's records, he was arrested in 1983 by an undercover officer for allegedly loitering outside an adult film theater and bookstore. The state attorney's office declined to press charges.
In 1971 he was arrested in Sarasota for possession of marijuana. A judge withheld a formal finding of guilt and placed him on two years' probation.