I took these photographs at the “Road to Perdition” press junket in Chicago, June 27, 2002. These are two photos from a roll of unpublished photographs I took of him that day. It was the only time I met him. He was funny, charming, intelligent, cantankerous and the classiest guy in the room. He made it clear who was in charge and it most decidedly wasn't the 100 plus members of the press corps that day. He was among our greatest entertainers and humanitarians. In fact, he remains the only actor I've met who deserved my admiration for his humanitarian efforts. All others pale in comparison. I am deeply saddened by his passing but I rejoice in his magnificent life. –Thomas McNulty
— Shamrock
Anonymous
September 28, 2008 at 3:28 am
He looked terrific, didn't he?
The world is a little darker now… and I feel a little more vulnerable for it. My father used to say, “We don't ask to come here, and we don't ask to go…” I guess the measure of any life then is how many people loved and respected us… I think Newman did well on both scores…
I join you in sorrow for the loss of a giant in film history and the pain felt in the hearts of millions of people Paul Newman never knew but who feel something wonderful has been taken away…
Anonymous
September 30, 2008 at 5:07 am
I wholeheartedly agree. We have all just lost something HUGE. I feel a lot poorer tonight; and I'm not talking about the stock market.
I have been shaped by his films probably a lot more than I realize. I think I've seen about 85-9o% of them. Btw, have any of you ever seen that screen test he did for East of Eden? He would have played Aaron, James Dean's brother. You can tell they really enjoyed each other, and were having a great time!
A few of my favorites – just off the top of my head:
*Butch, The Sting (natch!)
*Exodus (a relatively small part, but memorable – remember the anti-semitic guy trying to find the speck in his eye? Hilarious!)
*From the Terrace (check out Joanne as the all-time be-otch! Also, I could never get enough of the incredible Ina Balin . . . loved her too in The Commancheros – as Bob Hope would say, “grrrrrrrrr”).
*The Young Philadelphians (a Vince Sherman gem; Paul hated it, for reasons only he would know)
*Cool Hand Luke (again, natch!)
*The Hustler
*Harper, the Drowning Pool
*The Verdict (it's still inconceivable that he didn't get the Oscar for that, instead of for the vastly overrated The Color of Money)
*The Towering Inferno (although, frankly, I think McQueen got the better of him in that one)
*Hombre (one of his all-time best)
*Hud (great acting, and very enjoyable – in a sick kind of way)
There are many others, of course – these are just a few.
My thoughts go out tonight to Joanne and his family.
Linc
Anonymous
October 1, 2008 at 12:26 am
Hello Linc,
Just looking over that list of your favorites brings back so many wonderful memories. I'm also fond of Slap Shot, and Pocket Money, the latter being vastly underrated. And there's Fort Apache-The Bronx, and more recently, Nobody's Fool. The list is as endless as the man's talent. We are truly fortunate to have lived in an age where Paul Newman made movies. God bless him.
Anonymous
October 1, 2008 at 2:05 am
I LOVED Fort Apache-The Bronx, and Nobody's Fool, both gems. Pocket Money I have yet to see, and Slap Shot was one of those rare ones I didn't much care for. I wasn't that much troubled by the foul language or the nudity; it's just that, as an old hockey player myself, I didn't find the attempted slapstick comedy scenes too funny. But I forgot to mention another great favorite – Absence of Malice (1982). I thought he was aces in that one. It made me think a lot about the responsibility of journalists, having just read two years earlier Higham's utterly malicious work. Sally Field's character in that film underscored for me that journalists these days can get away with just about anything. Another favorite – Sometimes a Great Notion. That scene were Richard Jaeckel slowly drowned, as Paul tried to keep his head above the water level, still sends shivers down my spine when I think of it. Regards, Linc