Paul Newman: 1925 – 2008

Legendary film actor, humanitarian dies of cancer at his Connecticut home.

Cool Hand Luke: Newman, 1967

Paul Newman, the intense, magnetic actor whose screen presence loomed large over American cinema in the 1960s and 70s, died Friday of cancer at his Westport, Connecticut home. He was 83.

Born in a Cleveland suburb and trained as a stage actor in New York, Newman came to widespread attention in his second film role, playing real-life boxer Rocky Graziano in the 1956 drama Somebody Up There Likes Me. He shortly thereafter appeared in the sexually-charged The Long Hot Summer, opposite actress Joanne Woodward. The two were married for more than fifty years, frequently co-starring together and becoming the symbol of Hollywood gentility worldwide.

As Fast Eddie Felson in The Hustler, 1961

Newman’s restless energy, coupled with an often brooding sensitivity, frequently brought him to play troubled protagonists and outlaw good guys. But that rogue persona served him well, leading to a string of classic films: Cool Hand Luke, Butch Cassidy & The Sundance Kid, The Sting, Cat On A Hot Tin Roof. By the time he reached his fifties, his career took a turn into even darker films roles, including a desperate lawyer in The Verdict, a neglectful father in Harry & Son (which he also directed), and even a vengeful mob boss in Road To Perdition. In 1987 he won the Best Actor Oscar for The Color of Money, a sequel to 1961’s The Hustler.

Newman’s charity work was also legendary. His Ashford, CT-based Hole-In-The-Wall-Gang Camp, a sanctuary and resort for seriously ill children, has helped thousands since its inception in 1988. Newman’s Own, a brand of foods begun in 1982, has funneled millions of dollars into various charities.

You will never be this cool: Redford, Newman as Butch and Sundance, 1969

Newman’s passing marks not just the death of an actor but also the passing of a legendary presence that was almost synonymous with the 20th Century American conception of masculine poise and self-restraint. In short, Newman was cool before anyone was really sure what being cool meant or why it would become so important in the coming decades. He was an actor of his time and he was the leading man for his times.

The scene below is the climactic confrontation in The Hustler, pitting Newman’s Fast Eddie Felson against Jackie Gleason’s Minnesota Fats.

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