Paul Newman: 1925 - 2008
Sadly, we’ve lost another legendary actor and humanitarian: Paul Newman. He died Friday from an extended battle with cancer in his Westport, Connecticut home. He was 83.
Where does one even begin when trying to sum up such a long, illustrious career and life both on and off the big screen?
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Paul had his Hollywood career start back in the 1950s in theater and television - over the course of his career he was nominated for 10 Oscars and won 3. He has appeared in such classic films as Cool Hand Luke, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof and Hud, and achieved star status for his appearances in The Hustler, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, and of course, The Sting (one of my all time favorite movies).
He kept his handsome looks as he aged and in 1986 reprised his role as “Fast” Eddie Felson in The Color of Money, starring opposite a young Tom Cruise. He has been in far too many films for me to list here.
Eventually his love of fast cars turned him towards professional racing, where he raced at LeMans and Daytona. Outside of acting and racing, he was always very generous towards charities and started up a company to market his oil and vinegar dressing as a joke back in 1982. That “joke” grew into a multi-million dollar business.
Not only that, but he donated ALL of the company’s profits to charities - as of last year, over $175 million! That, my friends is an actor who puts his money where is mouth is.
2008 continues to be a brutal year as far as our losing beloved Hollywood people - people who actually made the industry a better place than it seems to be today.
He will be missed and we offer our prayers and condolences to his family.
For a much more extensive biography and list of his achievements, please click on the link below.
Source: MyWayNews
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10 Comments
This news made me GASP when I first heard it.
My Condolonces to his family and friends .
RIP Cool Hand Luke.
RIP Paul.
He wasn’t just a name in racing, like David Letterman, but was a renowned racer within his type of racing.
One of his charities is known as
“The Hole in the Wall Gang”, a fun camp for children living with cancer, hemophilia, sickle cell anemia, HIV and other serious medical woes. The camps take care of the medical needs of the little ones while they’re at the camp. He started the camp 20 years ago.
By the end of ‘07, “the Hole in the Wall” camps inspired other associated camps worldwide:
The Painted Turtle in California;
Victory Junction Gang Camp- a NASCAR racing themed camp in North Carolina;
Over the Wall in the United Kingdom;
Dynamo Camp in Italy and
Bator Tabor in Hungary.
They even have a camp opening in the Middle East. Jordan River Village in Israel, providing service on both sides of the river.
Thank you Paul…
Oh, his salad dressings are awesome too.
I can’t say that I’m surprised. I remember looking at some old movies and one of them had Paul Newman, I knew he was in a ton of movies, so I wanted to look up if there were any others I would be interested in watching. I’ve liked most of the movies I’ve seen of his, so that could be a good start. While doing so, I noticed his age, and my first thought was, “oh no, he might actually die pretty soon…” I guess I should have known how old he was, but someone as iconic as Paul Newman, you don’t even think of that concept of him not being around, but when I saw his year of birth I guess it finally hit me.
I looked him up some more to see if he’s had any kind of health problems and I remember reading about his cancer. So I guess I was kind of expecting to read this headline any day now.
RIP Cool Hand Luke…
rest easy Mr. Newman , you will never be forgotten. Thankyou for all your great movies.
Thanks Paul for helping all the people you helped thru your charities, and influence.
I’m sure your afterlife will be awesome!
There are actors, there are humanitarians, and then there’s Paul Newman.
Newman’s portrayals in too many movies to list were truly iconic moments in my memory, but none more than his portrayals in “The Sting”, a truly definitive “con job” movie that destroys all others, and the truly genius-level showcasing of craft in “The Color of Money.”
He had a long, fruitful life and he will be long remembered.
“But that’s a *gift*. Some guys spend half their lives trying to invent something like that. You walk into a pool room with that go-go-go, the guys’ll be *killing* each other, trying to get to you. You got that… But I’ll tell you something, kiddo. You couldn’t find Big Time if you had a road map. “
Sometimes people use great and you roll your eyes. Other times they say great and it works perfectly.
Paul Newman is certainly the latter. Actor and star all in one.
RIP, Mr. Newman.
just for the record .
I went to IMDB,
he has done a lot of TV work and
voiceovers such as Cars
but his last live action role intended for the screen was Road to Perdition in 2002.
“Well, Burt, you better do more than just break my legs..you’d better kill me Burt because if you don’t, I will kill you”
from “The Hustler”
When did this happen?! I just found out about this and I was floored. Wow, what a loss!
I’m a member of the APA, American Pool Players Association, and one of the places with play at is Fast Eddie’s. Paul Newman is a legend and will live forever on the big screen and in the hearts and minds of his adoring fans. When people talk about the greatest actors in history, you will hear names like Humpfrey Bogart, James Cagney, Cary Grant, and many others, but one name will always be at the top of the list, and that is Paul Newman. RIP Paul.
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