He was Fast Eddie, Cool Hand Luke, Butch Cassidy, he was Paul Newman . He was a fine actor, a great actor even and a guarantee of quality. He had intelligence and compassion and a physical beauty that both men and women could respond to in different ways. I have a very small personal memory of Paul Newman: many years ago my girlfriend and I were taking an evening stroll in South Audley Street not far from the American Church in London. One of the first Dayvilles Ice Cream parlours had recently opened there and as we walked by we looked in the window and saw that there was just one customer sitting at the counter eating a bowl of ice cream. It was Paul Newman. Neither of us spoke until a few minutes later when I said "That was Paul Newman, wasn't it? My girlfriend just answered "Hmmm" and we continued our walk. Do I regret not going in ? Not really, even Paul Newman deserved a bowl of uninterupted ice cream. It was just enough to have seen him. May he rest in peace while his films live on. Our thoughts are with Joanna and his family.
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My favourite Paul Newman films :
Somebody Up There Like Me (1956)
The Left Handed Gun (1958)
The Hustler (1961)
Paris Blues (1961)
Harper (1966)
Torn Curtain (1966)
Hombre (1967)
Cool Hand Luke (67)
Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969)
Life and Times of Judge Roy Bean (1972)
Absence of Malice (1981)
The Verdict (1982)
Mr and Mrs Bridge (1990)
The Road to Perdition (2002)
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Serena writes: There'll be the smell of burning rubber tonight in heaven, as the two friends and speed freaks get together. I can imagine Steve McQueen greeting Paul Newman with an invite for a 'burn up', and they won't even have to wear helmets as there'll be no fear of crashing. I can almost hear the revs from here...
Time for some beers and laughs
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