Paul Newman has died

[splitterpfj]

Age 83.

[brewers19]

Okay, this really sucks.

[sgtcluels]

Bummer. Cool Hand Luke was on Universal HD just the other day.

 

I hope Newmans Own brand sauces and dressings still carry on.

[Beerambassador]

I always knew when Paul Newman died, I'd be affected by it. I'm usually not affected by the death of actors, but he was a great actor and a great human being and in all honesty he was one of my heroes. My wife asked "Will his spaghetti sauce live on?" I sure hope it does.

 

Edit: Apparently my wife isn't the only one thinking that.

[fstorm1]

Definitely a bummer. All I ever read or saw about him was that he was a kind and (extraordinarily) generous man.

 

Direct from "Newman's Own" website:

 

We will miss Paul, but we will honor his vision for the Common Good through dedicated stewardship of his company that will perpetuate his philanthropic legacy.

Good bye, kind sir. http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/frown.gif

[TSack27]

I didn't realize his food line was so large (and generous) until reading a lengthy story on his passing in JSOnline(AP) - http://hosted.ap.org/dyna...HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT

In 1982, Newman and his Westport neighbor, writer A.E. Hotchner, started a company to market Newman's original oil-and-vinegar dressing. Newman's Own, which began as a joke, grew into a multimillion-dollar business selling popcorn, salad dressing, spaghetti sauce and other foods. All of the company's profits are donated to charities. By 2007, the company had donated more than $175 million, according to its Web site.

[RayKingsForemanGrill]

This is reposted from my MySpace blog. This sucks:

 

Paul Newman

People shouldn't idolize celebrities.

 

And yet I have on two occasions.

 

I have to admit, because of the profession that I aspire to (film), I have let myself put certain actors on a pedestal. To follow their work and to say "man, that's the right way to do it, that's the way to make this happen."

 

But mine, for my age and generation, may have been a bit unconventional.

 

The first was Jimmy Stewart.

 

The second was Paul Newman.

 

For whatever reason - and we can psychoanalyze it another time - I was always drawn as a kid to older movies. I spent a lot of time on Saturday and Sunday afternoons hunkered down in a dark room watching AMC (American Movie Classics) and TCM (Turner Classic Movies).

 

And, whenever people say things like I'm about to say, I usually scoff and say "well, what the hell does that mean?" But I can honestly say that the first time I saw Cool Hand Luke something changed in me a bit. A switch was flipped and things were different. I'm fairly certain that I have watched Cool Hand Luke more than any other film ever made.

 

And it rests entirely on the shoulders of Paul Newman. For my money he gives what is the greatest individual acting performance ever put down on film. And it's not just that film - I could list countless performances here that can't even be sniffed by many of today's actors. His performance in The Verdict is, arguably, as good as Cool Hand Luke. If you haven't seen Nobody's Fool it is an amazing and wonderful film - probably one of the best representations of small town America put on film, even if its tongue is planted firmly in its cheek at times. And even more recent/modern films - Road to Perdition, Hudsucker Proxy, prove that he was a great, cross-generation talent.

 

As a teenager The Long Hot Summer was the first love story on film that ever appealed to me, but even then it had Newman's trademark antihero spin on it. That movie - with his wife Joanne Woodward and the great Orson Welles - is also high up there on my most-viewed list.

 

And get real - does it get any better than Paul Newman going toe-to-toe with Jackie Gleason and George C. Scott in The Hustler? No, it doesn't, despite what studios try to push on you today with the likes of Clooney, Pitt and Damon appearing in the same films. With due respect, of course...

 

But Paul Newman cut his chops in an era where Hollywood still had to rely on this little thing called character development to create film. Plot and suspense relied on what the characters did - not what blew up, not who was naked, and not what computer-animated calamity occurred. Towering Inferno aside...

 

And that doesn't even begin to touch on his charity work. This guy was a giver on Bill Gates levels. He took the good fortune that was bestowed upon him and gave it back to the community through his Hole in the Wall Gang and his salad dressings, popcorn, etc. His philanthropy is unsurpassed in Hollywood.

 

So maybe its not so bad to idolize someone who made it filthy rich and then gave so much back. I think that makes him hero-worthy.

 

So, I remember where I was when Jimmy Stewart died. I was in my car after a long day at work. Turning left from HWY F onto HWY O.

 

I imagine I'll remember this morning similarly.

 

The film industry lost one today the likes of which it will never see again.

 

RIP

 

Bill

[RayKingsForemanGrill]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kJStzRuSFLY

[twobrewers]

Honestly, I don't care when actors/celebrities die.

 

But Paul Newman was an amazing human being. He certainly played his role in leaving this world a better place.

[RobertR]

Paul Newman was probably at his best when playing just plain ordinary guys. Which is kind of ironic as Newman was anything but ordinary in looks, grace, charisma, athleticism, or intelligence. And he might have been a better individual offscreen, as hard as that is to imagine. He's one of those individuals that you can say with complete confidence left the world a better, richer place than when he entered it.

 

Robert

[Teatoe993]

I am happy that I had the opportunity to give Paul Newman a high-five once. Not only was he a great actor, but he was also a really impressive driver. When you consider that he didn't start racing until his late 40's, he really accomplished a lot. He took podiums for the 24 Hours of Le Mans, 12 Hours of Sebring & the 24 Hours of Daytona. He was still driving competitively into his 80's! He also scored many countless wins and championships as a Champ Car owner. When you add up all those accomplishments and the millions of dollars given to charity, it's easy to see that he lived a complete life. What a human being.

[thebruce44]

My childhood heroes were Paul Molitor, Paul Newman, and Steve McQueen. He changed my life just by being Cool Hand Luke.

 

I'm now 26, so his early work still had an impact on my generation. I still remember when I was in college up late and made my girlfriend watch the entire Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid when she thought we were just going to use the movie as an excuse to be alone and hook up...it ended up being one of her favorite movies too...yea I am a dork.

[bork]

One of my son's favorites movies is "Cars". I can't imagine how the sequel will be without Filmore (George Carlin) and now Doc Hudson (Newman).

[TooLiveBrew]

I'm usually not affected by the death of actors, but he was a great actor and a great human being and in all honesty he was one of my heroes.

 

Well-said. All I could do when I heard about this was cuss. So sorry to see you go, Paul. I hope your beautiful work away from film can be kept in the public eye through your brilliant work on film.

 

 

 

 

[long moment of silence]