Departures

Paul Reubens

A comic whose man-child Pee-wee Herman character amused kids and adults in the 1980s and ’90s, Reubens died July 30. He was 70. Reubens in the 1970s joined the comedy troupe the Groundlings in Los Angeles, where he created his iconic character. Finding success in comedy clubs, Pee-wee became a nationwide sensation after the 1985 cult-classic film Pee-wee’s Big Adventure. Later he donned his trademark gray suit for a manic children’s television show, Pee-wee’s Playhouse, that ran from 1986 until Reubens’ legal problems—a charge of indecent exposure—led to its cancellation in 1991. In later decades, Reubens found other acting roles, but he slowly brought Pee-wee back, culminating in a final feature-length film in 2016.

Sinéad O’Connor

O’Connor, an Irish singer with a supple voice who was known for stoking political controversy, died at her London home in late July. She was 56. O’Connor’s Roman Catholic–infused debut album earned her a Grammy nomination in 1987. She soon turned her musical success into political advocacy, from defending the Irish Republican Army to attacking capitalism. She shaved her head in 1987 to protest the music industry. Riding high from the success of songs like “Nothing Compares 2 U,” O’Connor demonstrated against the Catholic Church, ripping up a photograph of Pope John Paul II on Saturday Night Live in 1992. Late in life, she converted to Islam.