Paul Newman, RIP

[ellen_datlow]

Paul Newman has died of cancer at 83. It's been rumored that he was very sick for the past several months but there was very little talk about it in the media, presumably the way he and his family would have liked it. I've been an avid fan of Newman since I was a little girl. He was sexy and charming, even when playing a rogue in movies. I swooned over him and Joanne Woodward while watching The Long, Hot, Summer (based on Faulkner's novel The Hamlet and story "Barn Burning") on Saturday Night at the Movies. This is a great sexy potboiler (I have to see if I can rent it--I've not seen it in decades)with a terrific cast: in addition to Newman and Woodward, the other stars are Orson Welles, Lee Remick, and Anthony Franciosa.

In addition to his acting career, he was married to actress Joanne Woodward for 50 years, he was a race car driver, a political activist, an entrepreneur, and with his friend his friend A.E. Hotchner the founder of Newman's Own, a food company that donates all profits to charities such as Newman's Hole in the Wall Gang camps -- has given away more than $200 million. In other words, he was a terrific actor and a mensch.

Comments

[eleanor.livejournal.com]

I was telling bob about one of Newman's lesser-known cultural contributions. When The Sting came out, everyone (even dogs and little babies, it seemed) wore those camel wrap coats. I had one, and it never closed properly, wasn't really warm enough, and looked like a rather bulky and expensive bath robe. But we all wore them.

And I still loved Paul Newman.

[ellen-datlow.livejournal.com]

I've just put The Long, Hot Summer into my netflix queue at #12 so I'll be watching it again in a few weeks, I hope.

[ygolonac.livejournal.com]

Have you watched Hud? Put that one in your netflix que if you haven't.

[ellen-datlow.livejournal.com]

Seen it. I've seen most of his movies. I just want to see The Long, Hot Summer again because it's been so long that I've watched it.

[fixnwrtr.livejournal.com]

I believe Newman either met or married Woodward during the filming of Long Hot Summer, which is undoubtedly one of the best and sexiest films on celluloid.

[ellen-datlow.livejournal.com]

Yes, apparently they started an affair during the filming and he subsequently divorced his first wife.
And yes, it is :-)

[sacredchao23.livejournal.com]

I'm saddened to here of his passing. He was a brilliant actor, and someone that I respected as a human being as well. I recently watched the episode of Iconoclasts that he and Robert Redford are on, he really was an amazing figure.

[sarcobatus.livejournal.com]

The end of an era. He was indeed a mensch.

He and Joanne Woodward did a great deal of charity work in Palm Springs, and established charitable centers for the under privileged. Both names are revered in the desert valley, where they have had a home for as long as I can remember. The entire Newman family (including Paul Newman's brother) are good people, active in several charities.

My heart goes out to Joanne Woodward and Paul Newman's family.

Here's an article you might find interesting, Ellen.

http://www.mydesert.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080927/LIFESTYLES0102/80924034/-1/lifestylesfront

[ellen-datlow.livejournal.com]

Thanks for the link.

[madwriter.livejournal.com]

Not only was there very little talk about it in the media, I also saw him give an interview this summer. He didn't look well but still seemed to be chugging right along, and he definitely was in good spirits.

Paul Newman

[lisatuttle.livejournal.com]

I was saddened to hear this. I remember actually meeting him -- although in the sort of situation where "meeting" isn't really the appropriate word; I was a journalist, he was giving a press conference about... I don't even remember what, something he did for TV in the mid-1970s. I was totally star-struck. He always seemed impressive not just as an actor, but as a person. The world's a poorer place without him, although there are still all those good movies to watch again.

And I like his salad dressings, too.

Re: Paul Newman

[ellen-datlow.livejournal.com]

I never tried his salad dressings, but I adored him as an actor/star. I would have loved to have seen him in person.

[chalkhorse.livejournal.com]

I used to have a Coors beer can autographed by Paul Newman, obtained by my uncle when the two of them got drunk at Watkins Glen racetrack one afternoon in the 1970s. My uncle got cans autographed for all his nieces and nephews.

What a sad loss. He was so handsome and charismatic, and a good human being to boot. He will be missed.

[doortoriver.livejournal.com]

I saw that on the news - it really made me sad. I hadn't known about his donations, either, but it makes me very glad that I always liked his food products. (Which is a weird thing to say, perhaps.)

[ellen-datlow.livejournal.com]

Nothing weird about it :-)

I had the very great pleasure...

[themadblonde]

of meeting him once when I was 16. I was @ my summer job as one of the summer cleaners @ Convent of the Sacred Heart, & they were filming some scenes from "The Verdict" in the library. I snuck down to see if I could snag some food from Craft Services & stayed to watch a little. He saw me standing there (barefoot, pony-tailed kid in shorts) & came over on a break, asked me if I was somebody's kid.

"No, I work here."
"Isn't this a convent?"

Anyway, he talked to me for a good 5-10 minutes on his break, sincerely kind & not @ all condescending. I've adored him ever since. Just found out yesterday that he is gone. The world is a poorer place for his leaving it.

Re: I had the very great pleasure...

[ellen-datlow.livejournal.com]

Ohhh. Lucky lucky you. I'd have loved to have met him.