Tim Burton ‘shocked and saddened’ over Paul Reuben’s death

Tim Burton is missing Paul Reuben.

Following his buddy Paul Reubens' passing the previous day at the age of 70, renowned director Tim Burton offered an emotional remembrance of him on Monday.

Burton, 64, expressed his astonishment and sadness upon learning that the actor and comedian had passed away from cancer in an Instagram post.

He added a black-and-white image of the two that appeared to be from the Pee-wee's Big Adventure set, a beloved film of his from 1985.

He credits Reubens with helping to launch his tremendously successful career because the movie was his first attempt at directing a full-length movie.

"I’ll never forget how Paul helped me at the beginning of my career. It would not have happened without his support," he captioned the post.

"He was a great artist." I'll miss him," Burton said of Reubens, who is most remembered for creating the innocent Pee-wee Herman character in the late 1970s.

He collaborated on the persona with his pal Phil Hartman, a future star of Saturday Night Live.

Throughout most of the 1980s, he appeared in public almost solely in character as Pee-wee; however, later, he began using his own name more frequently and made a variety of appearances in movies and on television series.

Herman had the opportunity to co-write a feature picture for the character after developing the more adult-focused Pee-wee Herman Show, a late-night stage show that was eventually recorded and broadcast on HBO.

Pee-wee’s Big Adventure was created as a spoof of the celebrated movie Bicycle Thieves by the Renowned Italian neorealist filmmaker Vittorio De Sica and was inspired by it.’

When it came time to find a director, Reubens selected Burton after being impressed by some of his early shorts, which blended comedy and bizarre horror, as well as live-action and stop-motion animation.

Hartman and Michael Varhol collaborated on the screenplay for the movie, which followed Pee-wee as he travelled the nation in quest of his missing red bicycle.

Reubens chose Burton as the film's director after being impressed by some of his early short films, which incorporated live action and stop-motion animation as well as comedy and strange horror.