Paul Newman (1925 - 2008)

Well, it seems like all I've been writing about lately is deaths. I guess there's no avoiding it. As they the say, the only sure things in life are death and taxes, and since tax season is over (unless you filed for an extension)...But seriously, over the past couple months, it seems like people who were role models or icons in my life have been leaving this planet more often than usual.

A while back, acting legend Paul Newman revealed that he had been diagnosed with lung cancer, and it seems that the illness finally got the better of him yesterday at the age of 83. Newman wasn't exactly from my generation, as he did most of his work before I was even born, but to me his films have a timeless quality, perhaps because he represented the old school, but with a modern flair. Newman had the cool swagger of the great actors that came before him, such as James Dean, Cary Grant, and Humphrey Bogart, but behind it all, there was a sly charisma that let you know he didn't take himself too seriously. Of course, that just made him even cooler.

I can't say if it's possible to truly mourn someone you didn't know personally, but Paul Newman, if nothing else, gets my utmost respect for his amazing talent and class. If I were to make a short list of my favorite films of all time, The Sting, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, and Slap Shot would all easily make the list. Sitting at the very top of that list would be Cool Hand Luke. I must have seen Cool Hand Luke a couple dozen times, and it still entralls me.