Paul Newman: 1925-2008

What can I write about the recently gone Paul Newman that someone more elequent than me hasn't already said? Newman was special. He was one of the most talented actors of his era whose on screen charisma swarmed over audiences like humidity in the Deep South. He was the rarest of Hollywood stars--he aged gracefully, naturally and seemed like a gentleman and a decent human being with his Newman's Own products and the fact he was married to Joanne Woodward for over fifty years. A decade in a "Hollywood" marriage is an eternity so to be married for five decades is a stunning achievement.

And oh yeah, the man was in a few films that I love you may recall. Think about Newman's performances in films such as The Hustler, Hud, Hombre, Cool Hand Luke, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, The Life and Times of Judge Roy Bean, Slap Shot, Absence of Malice, The Verdict, The Color of Money, The Hudsucker Proxy, Twilight and Road to Perdition. Those films span over FOUR decades of legendary films. The loss of Paul Newman means we've lost one of the great icons of film history.