Legendary actor, philanthropist and race car enthusiast Paul Newman succumbed to cancer at the age of 83 on Saturday, according to the Associated Press:
The 10-time Academy Award nominee died Friday at age 83, surrounded by family and close friends at his Westport farmhouse following a long battle with cancer, publicist Jeff Sanderson said Saturday.
Newman worked with some of the greatest directors of the past half century, from Alfred Hitchcock and John Huston to Robert Altman, Martin Scorsese and the Coen brothers. His co-stars included Elizabeth Taylor, Lauren Bacall, Tom Cruise, Tom Hanks and, most famously, Robert Redford, his sidekick in “Butch Cassidy” and “The Sting.”
“There is a point where feelings go beyond words,” Redford said Saturday. “I have lost a real friend. My life — and this country — is better for his being in it.”
Rare Soapbox Moment: I almost feel wrong writing about Paul Newman on this blog. The guy wasn’t a celebrity; he was a fucking ICON. Working his way up from a small Ohio town, Paul was renown for his acting chops as well as his disdain for Hollywood “rubbish.” After he grew weary of the movie business, Paul spent the latter part of his life giving literally millions of dollars to sick kids which puts him light years beyond the spoiled assclowns I cover on a daily basis. You know, the ones who pop out of their mothers’ hedge-fund vaginas and expect the world to be served to them on a silver platter – along with a reality show. Paul Newman forged his own path with PERSEVERANCE and TALENT then selflessly gave back ten-fold. They simply don’t make badasses like that anymore, and hats off to the handful of celebrities who’ve been inspired by his generosity. The rest of you, I hope a zebra shits on your foot.
Paul Newman, my coffee mug is raised to you, sir. Rest in Peace.
This is why I like this site… we get a good laugh at the expense of the self-involved celebrities when they exhibit their ignorance but the rare soapbox moment… that’s awesome.
Well said.
Movie star, race car driver and philanthropist. Not bad if you ask me….
And George Clooeny is a Cary Grant rip off. Please. Doesn’t even belong in the same sentence with the likes of Newman.
.
George Clooney a bad ass? , that’s some funny shit.
Clooney is the capitol of candy ass.
Just as I am capitol of dumb ass…
if it wasn’t cancer it would have been age.
Never would I have thought The Superficial’s words would make me misty … but these have … very very well put!!
RIP Paul Newman
God rest his soul in peace. This man is the perfect example of a real movie star with a beatiful heart. He will be greatly missed
Just so sad to lose a wonderful person
The stuff you write about people that I really do not care anything about – people who annoy and depress me – makes me laugh and feel good. The piece you wrote about someone I respected as an actor and as a human being helps me understand that YOU understand things pretty well. Which makes me feel better about laughing at those a$$holes who, for the most part, dominate this blog. Good on ya.
Hey Dunlop..When you get the the bonus round…”Let them know you’re there!”
Best movie ever.
RIP Reg…
his secret: ALL HUMANS WERE V.I.P.’s TO HIM!!
(be sure: a FAGGOT is noo human.)
Clooney cannot be mentioned in the same sentence as Newman. Clooney crass classless clown who ridicules dying men and uses his poop for jokes.
So sad, but at least he lived a full and extremely accomplished life. He will be missed.
F_K U FISH! You are a piece of SH!T!
Spouting nicey nice over a dead actor does NOT MAKE YOU a good guy!
George Clowney couldn’t carry Paul Newman’s jockstrap
Ugh, reading the posts make me even more depressed that Paul Newman has died. There is no one around these days, and unfortunately no one on the radar, who as genuine as this man. Beginning to end…top notch.
Yeah, he was a great man, and totally out of the typical Hollywood mold.
Except…Paul Newman met and fell in love with Joanne Woodward while married to his first wife. So he decided to fuck her for years while still pretending to be committed to his wife and family. In fact, he had TWO more kids with his first wife AFTER beginning his affair with Woodward. Finally he was spotted by a Hollywood agent while living in New York with his family. What did he do? What every shallow vain immoral Hollywood lust-for-fame asshole guy does: he moved to Hollywood and left his family in New York. In the end, he finally divorced after his wife accused him of having had sex with his gay fellow actor James Dean (in his early days, Newman was a sex symbol for both hetero women and gay men). He beat her up after she made the accusation, which was enough for her to give up and agree to divorce. It was smooth sailing after that…oh wait, except that his only son (from the first marriage) never recovered from the trauma of growing up with a hostile, cheating, absentee dad, and eventually died of an overdose at age 28.
Yup, Paul Newman was hero all right, and completely unlike all the people in Hollywood, especially the young male actors today who seem to be willing to do anything and sacrifice anybody in order to make it big.
What we’ve got here is… failure to resuscitate… some men you just can’t save, so you get what we got here Saturday… which is the way he wanted it… so he got it!
Very nicely said…almost made me cry. RIP.
My hat is off to Paul and you. Nice words, appreciated.
so you have a soul, interesting. RIP Newman you were like a brother to me I never met.
I *knew* you had some scruples hidden in the back closet behind the Geekologie desk. You picked a good time to find them. Thanks for the reminder that not quite everything in celeb-dom is superficial. Every time you post about what the asses from The Hills are doing now, I’ll picture Paul Newman beating them down with a bottle of his salad dressing.
Super a great writing about a great man. The movies he made are forever etched in the minds of the public. Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, The Sting, The Huster, The Color of Money, many, many others including his role as ‘Reggie Dunlop’ player/coach of the Chiefs in Slapshot, one of the funniest movies made. For the person who said that George Clooney is better, outside of the Ocean series, what else comes to mind quickly? Not many if any!!! For the people who ridicule his passing & bad mouth him, take a look in the mirror. & ask yourself,- am I so perfect???
Hey, Fish, thanks for that – and for not screwing it up.
And for those debating the Clooney v. Newman legacy… take it from CLOONEY, who said: “He (Newman) set the bar too high… not just for actors, but for all of us.”
Clooney’s a decent guy and a good actor. Paul Newman’s an icon. RIP.
I couldn’t agree more with the comment.
Mr Newman is, was and will always be an icon, he did set the bar high, very high for all of us as humans.
The world is a better place because of him.
From Costa Rica, may you rest in peace sir, your life and legacy is an example for all of us.
holy shit he could be woody harrelson’s pep pep
I’m so proud to be Slovak… like Paul Newman’s mother, Theresa. His grandparents were both Slovaks and his relatives still live in Slovakia. We’re all so proud on him.
R.I.P. Pavol!
Good to see that the Superficial Writer didn’t hit Newman with some shady ass remark, and actually put up a paragraph of tribute to the guy. Great post!
R.I.P. Paul Newman, you were the very definition of a living legend.
Aww… I think this is my favorite Superficial post ever. Too true, Superficial Writer, too true.
Fortunately, his salad dressings will live on forever!!
this was the most upsetting news in awhile. rip cool hand luke :(
Meh. Like #66 said, when he was coming up he was a cad just like everybody else. He bailed out on his pre-fame family just like all of them do. Good for him in terms of doing better in the second half of his life, but for sure I’m not going to worship him. He batted .500 in life, that’s all.
Great man RIP.
You ever hear about Paul Newman’s service as a tailgunner in a torpedo plane in WWII? No? That’s because he was a freakin’ tough guy, that’s why; did his bit and never talked about it.
First!
Damn right, Paul, you’re always gonna be first. RIP buddy, life’s work well done!
This is by far my favorite Superficial post. The man is an icon, a legend that will live on forever in the hearts of those ’round the world. He shunned the idiocy of Hollywood to make the world a better place not only for the children that his Hole in the Wall Camps gave refuge to, but for everyone. He is a hero. RIP, Mr. Newman, you will be greatly missed. I can only hope that we can all , if only, once in our lifetimes be as selfless as you were.
Thanks for this post. It is nice to see the soapbox comments when they are due, and this ledgend deserved them amd more. RIP Mr. Newman. You will be missed…..
this is an awesome post about paul, i agree with everything you wrote. you are a mighty fine person(s) you are.
xoxo
Paul Newman was a great actor and wonderful philanthropist and I’m glad you made the distinction between him and other selfish, spoiled celebrities.
However, I look more for the TIME a person spends with his charity rather than the money. As the old adage states: a poor man who gives his only penny is as worthy of praise as a rich man who donates millions. I don’t know how much time he actually spends with the children he helps, but I’m sure there are also some nobodies out there who are just as generous as Newman, if not more, who have gained no kind of recognition.
Paul Newman, you were a stand-up guy! RIP.
OMFG! What salad dressing will McDonalds use now?
NOOOOOOOOOO… WHAT’S GOING TO HAPPEN TO CARS 2? :(
Wow that was very nicely said. RIP Paul. We’ve lost another legend
Didn’t know him so it doesn’t effect me much. I had to go to imdb.com to find a movie he was in (I saw a total of 1).
nice post, but you cant be too mad at the silver-spoon paris hiltons’ you are making fun of, because those no-talent ass clowns are the only reason why you even have a job blogging about their shitty, pathetic attempts at being famous. in fact, you are actually HELPING them be “famous”. if you really hated them, you’d have a job where you got paid doing something more substantial than blogging about jennifer maniston’s granpa abs – like flipping burgers at wendy’s.
“…those no-talent ass clowns are the only reason why you even have a job blogging about their shitty, pathetic attempts at being famous. in fact, you are actually HELPING them be “famous”.”
This is true, i can’t deny it, regardless of how i love this site. As for Paul Newman, he was indeed a great actor, regardless of his sins and mistakes. The least you can say about the man is that he was talented, which the vast majority of so-called ‘celebrities’ aren’t. The Old Guard are dying off one by one and there aren’t many left. Rest In Peace, Mr. Newman… and thanks for the outstanding pasta sauce! =D
Look for a youtube tribute to Paul Noonan any day now…..
nice of you to use only the loveliest words for paul newman. he was a beautiful person indeed. rip