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Paul Newman

8:58 PM Sat, Sep 27, 2008 | Permalink
Erika Nuñez/Editor

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Media critc Tom Maurstad writes:

First comes the list of movies: Cool Hand Luke, The Color of Money, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, Hud, The Sting.
Then the scenes start flashing across the movie screen of our memories:
Crouched atop a cliff, howling like a hyena when Robert Redford's Sundance tells him he's not going to jump into the river far below because he can't swim. "Hell, the fall will probably kill you." They both start to howl and then off they go.
While standing in the rain in Cool Hand Luke, his prison buddy, dazzled and confused by his fearlessness, asks him if he's afraid of dying. Luke just shrugs and smiles. "Dyin'? Boy, he can have this little life any time he wants to. Do ya hear that? Are ya hearin' it? Come on. You're welcome to it, ol' timer. Let me know you're up there. Come on. Love me, hate me, kill me, anything. Just let me know it." He looks around. "I'm just standin' in the rain talkin' to myself."

On and on, the scenes and lines come, a life of movies, any one of which could be considered the work of a lifetime. Paul Newman was lucky enough to become a movie star before the age of celebrity had set in so he existed in a realm beyond all the tabloid frenzy and media saturation that have become the unavoidable, irreducible backdrop of today's generation of movie stars.
Like some intricate work of mobile art, the actor was a marvel of improbable and beautiful balance. He was a commercial success and a dedicated artist. He was drop-dead gorgeous, and he was voraciously smart. He was one of the world's most famous men; he was a devoted husband and father with a private life we never saw and rarely read about.
And what we didn't know about him, what we didn't see, made what we did know and what we did see all the sweeter and richer. He's gone now, but we just close our eyes and a lifetime of moments starts to play.

Comments

Posted by paulnewmanmoviestar @ 10:04 AM Mon, Sep 29, 2008

I cant beleive I dont see tributes to this great actor and great guy!!

TCM should have cancelled whatever they hell they were doing and ran Cool Hand Luke all day long!!

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Posted by Joyce Saenz Harris @ 10:40 AM Mon, Sep 29, 2008

Nice tribute, Tom. I think Paul Newman was special to so many people not just because of his genuine acting talent or his gorgeous looks, but because he truly cared about people and put much of his time and effort -- not to mention his personal resources -- into improving the lives of others. He used his stardom to make children happier, healthier and better educated. Who among us would not like to leave the world a legacy like that?

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Posted by Daniel Hexter @ 11:17 AM Mon, Sep 29, 2008

Tom is correct:
The intelligence and gifted acting skills were paired in a unique fashion in Paul Newman. Knowing how much he improved our world gives him a greater lasting fame than the actors of today.
Well done, Paul Newman.

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Posted by Suzanne Robertson @ 4:41 PM Mon, Sep 29, 2008

My favorite line from my favorite movie of all time, now or from years past: "I've got vision and the rest of the world wears bifocals". His vision and what he left us will always be remembered as one of the greatest not only greatest actors but greatest people to inhabit our earth. He will be truly missed!

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Paul Newman

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