Why Pee-wee Herman icon Paul Reubens kept his cancer battle quiet

Mark Holton, who played Francis Buxton in "Pee-wee’s Big Adventure" called his co-star Paul Reubens a "good man" on "Fox Across America." Holton agreed with radio host Jimmy Failla that Reuben's desire to bring joy and positivity into the world fueled his quiet battle with cancer. Reubens, better known as Pee-wee Herman, died at age 70 Monday after a six-year fight with cancer.

PAUL REUBENS: 'PEE-WEE HERMAN' ACTOR'S LIFE IN PICTURES

MARK HOLTON: Oh, yeah. He kept it quiet from me right up to the end. That was a private thing for him or whatever. There's so many things that he did for kids with cancer over the years that nobody knew about. Because he didn't talk about it. You didn't drag a camera crew in with him. He was a good man. He genuinely loved children. He had many generations of children to love him for the work that he did. And he would want a eulogy like the one you're giving him, playing his little hits and sound bites or the soundboard or whatever, especially the one with the laughter as a selfish request. When we conclude this, can we just go out with that? 

'PEE-WEE HERMAN' ACTOR PAUL REUBENS DEAD AT 70

In a personal statement he wrote before his passing, Reubens addressed his time away from the limelight. It was shared in a social media post published after the news broke of his death.

"Please accept my apology for not going public with what I've been facing the last six years," he wrote. "I have always felt a huge amount of love and respect from my friends, fans and supporters. I have loved you all so much and enjoyed making art for you."

Fox News' Caroline Thayer, Greg Norman and Larry Fink contributed to this report.

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