Paul Newman

I learned this morning from Janiece and Michelle that Paul Newman passed away this morning. He was 83.

He had a long, successful career, and starred in two of my favorite movies of all time--Butch Cassidy And The Sundance Kid and The Sting, both with costar Robert Redford and Director George Roy Hill. Redford and Newman talked about getting back together, and were on the verge of doing so recently until Newman had to call Redford last year to say his health was forcing him to retire from the film industry. (It was hard not to have a mix of feelings when I read that last year: Redford and Newman are one of the greatest onscreen pairings in film history, but perhaps it's better that they left us with two nearly-perfect movies and didn't take a chance of breaking the charm with a weak third after they were no longer in their prime.)

For my part in celebrating his life, here are four of my favorite Newman roles:


Butch Cassidy teaches a lesson in winning a knife fight without a knife in Butch Cassidy And The Sundance Kid:



Judge Roy Bean demonstrates good manners before a gaggle of whores respectable married women in The Life And Times Of Judge Roy Bean:



Frank Galvin, an unbelievably bad lawyer, rises to the challenge in The Verdict:



Henry Gondorff plays a round of poker in The Sting:






Rest in peace, Paul. You were the man.

Comments

vince said…
A superb actor (I love The Sting and Butch Cassidy, but my favorites are Cool Hand Luke and Cat On A Hot Tin Roof despite the happier ending than the play has), and more importantly, a man who used his success to give back to humanity. He will be sorely missed.
Eric said…
He really was a generous man. My dad pointed me to Dahlia Lithwick's obituary in Slate, which is worth a read. She worked for a time at Newman's Hole In The Wall camp for sick kids and co-wrote a book about the experience.

And now I'm off to re-watch The Sting.

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