Paul Newman has left us last September 26 2008. He's gone with the same style with which he lived all his life, and with the memories of a golden age of Hollywood.
Newman was born in Ohio (USA) in 1925. His passion for being an actor had its origin in the world of theater. He joined a theater company from Illinois called "Woodstock Player's", where he met his first wife Jacky White, with whom he had 3 children and divorced in 1958 after 9 years of matrimony.
In 1953 he made his debut in Broadway with "Picnic", and his performance called the attention of some executives from Warner Bros, that contracted him.
The following year, he did his first movie, "The Silver Chalice", a movie that was rather criticized and even Newman himself felt ashamed for having done it. But he had enough time to show how brilliant actor he was in more than 50 movies that he did later.
In 1958, he married Joanne Woodward, without a doubt the woman of his life, with whom he has shared everything until the last moment of his life. It has been one of the most solid matrimonies of Hollywood, in spite of Newman being a sex-symbol for many during decades.
With Joanne, he had 3 daughters. Far from the superficial way of life of Hollywood, Newman was always a very compromised man, with many kind of charitable causes. He was also against drugs, because his only male son died of overdose. He also fought against racism and against wars, being a representative of his country in the United Nations.
He also directed 6 movies. With all this brilliant career, Newman was 8 times nominated for the Oscar, but only got 2: one for "The color of money", and the other for all his successful career. It's surprising and unjust how such an actor has only got 2 Oscars in all his life.
From his more than 50 films, I selected ten:
1- Cat on a hot tin roof 2- The sting 3- Message in a bottle 4- Absence of malice 5- The towering inferno 6- The color of money 7- Torn curtain 8- Butch Cassidy and The Sundance Kid 9- The long hot summer 10- The verdict
Cat on a hot tin roof, is based on a novel by Tennessee Williams. It had 6 nominations for the Oscars. An old rich man gathers his heirs together. They all think in the possible inheritance. All they hate each other. Fears, hate, vengeance, mistrust... all this happens under the staring eyes of the old man, that plays his last trick.
The sting, Illinois in the 30's. In the middle of a world ruled by gangsters and criminals, an old rascal tries to retire from crime. But he won't leave it without passing all his "knowledge" to a young and smart apprentice, and make his last big sting.
Message In A Bottle, A divorced journalist with 3 children goes for a walk in the beach and finds a bottle with a love message inside. She decides to search for the author of that message. And she finds him, a widowed sailor man that lives with his father and tries to forget his dead wife. What begins being a common interview turns into something more, as that message in a bottle changes the lives of many people.
Absence Of Malice, Directed by Pollack in 1981, and starred by Paul Newman, Sally Field, Melinda Dillon... An ambitious journalist accuses a gangster's son of the disappearance of a man. The gangster's son makes a plan for demonstrating that he's innocent and getting revenge on the journalist.
The towering inferno, A building of 128 floors is inaugurated, in San Francisco city. In the night of the inauguration party, there are many important guests and politics. Everything has to be perfect. But a fire spreads quickly, and the big building turns into a towering inferno.
The color of money, Directed by Martin Scorsese. Newman plays the role of a veteran pool champion. He is retired, and meets a boy called Vincent (Tom Cruise), an excellent pool player that loves bets, and is always followed by his girlfriend. Maybe he has very much to learn.
Torn Curtain, Directed by Alfred Hitchcock. Newman plays a nuclear physicist that is asked by the government to get the secret formula of a German scientist. He will pretend he is a betrayal to his country, even under the surprised eyes of his future wife (Julie Andrews).
Butch Cassidy and The Sundance Kid, Two men steal a train. They are recognized bandits. One has the ideas, the other prefers action. And they will have an entire army chasing them. One is Paul Newman and the other Robert Redford. A clash of titans.
The long hot summer, Ben Quick arrives to a small village. He comes fleeing from another city, where he was accused of provoking a fire. Ben is a very ambitious man, arrogant and extremely attractive for women.
The verdict, A lawyer with many failures in his career decides to take a case that he thinks that will lead him to success. The case is a medical leniency done by a famous hospital. They offer a lot of money to the family of the victim to not go to a trial. Without a doubt, it's the case of his life.
I love Paul Newmann! I think we don't have such great actors nowadays! Love most of his movies especially butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid! Thanks Emma!
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I love Paul Newmann! I think we don't have such great actors nowadays! Love most of his movies especially butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid! Thanks Emma!
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