My mother is 85 years old. And she was in love with Paul Newman. And this morning, as my mom lies in the hospital dealing with pneumonia, we learn that Paul Newman has died, succumbing to a long battle with cancer. So ends an era.
Like many women “of an age,” my mother’s heart went aflutter as she shared Newman with me on the screen, practically swooning at his blue eyes, calm and steady demeanor, gravelly voice and acting prowess. It didn’t take much for her to convince me. I’m sure that my propensity for actors with an intense style and equally intense blue eyes has much to do with my early exposure to Paul Newman.
As a kid, I remember seeing Newman (and doing a bit of swooning myself) in Exodus as David ben Gurion stand-in “Ari ben Canaan.” Then came The Hustler, Hud, and Harper, and as I was a teenager, Newman paired with Robert Redford in Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, and one of my favorite films of all time, The Sting. Every role, whether serious, romantic, or comedic, he played with a characteristic twinkle in his eye that never faded, even as he aged and his film roles came to us less frequently. Each decade seemed to bring us new characters as Newman aged from romantic heart-throb to character actor, almost passing the heart-throb mantle to Redford.
The 1980s brought us Absence of Malice and the fabulous The Verdict; and the 1990s Mr. and Mrs. Bridge (with his long-time wife, actress Joanne Woodward) and Hudsucker Proxy in which he played the fast-talking (in an exceedingly fast-talking film) Sidney Mussburger. In all, the legendary Newman starred in more than 80 films, creating a indelible catalogue of antiheroes and romantic heroes.
Article comments
1 - T. Michael Testi
Nice and touching memorial!
T.
2 - Barbara Barnett
Thanks T. Can't wait to read it to my mom.
3 - Mary Dagmar
When you read this to your mother, please let her know that your readers are thinking of her and wish her the best. Anyone reading this heartwarming article would appreciate the influence of your mother on your talent and interests. Best wishes to your mother from Australia. I hope she is better soon.
4 - Ruvy
Barabara,
Refuá shlemá! May your mother have a full recovery from pneumonia.
Finally, someone old enough to remember the role the movie "Exodus" played in Paul Newman's career. The movie stunk (and has more inaccuracies than a Christian translation of the Hebrew Bible) but it confirmed Paul Newman's star status to millions of kids in the States. After that we trooped off to the theaters every time we saw his name lited in a movie ad.
And when I was 11, I thought "Exodus" was a fantastic movie.... We all grow up eventually.
5 - Barbara Barnett
Ruvy, Mary, thank you for your well-wishes for my mother. She is on the mend and should be home in the next couple of days. It has turned out not to be pneumonia, but a different infection that has affected her lungs and breathing.
Ruvy, shanah tovah um'tukah. A good and sweet year to you and your family.
6 - Joanne Huspek
Sorry to hear about your mother, Barbara.
I loved Paul Newman in his first pictures, the ones that aren't usually mentioned, like "From the Terrace" and "The Sweet Bird of Youth." He was certainly a great actor, and a great man.