This is the saddest news I've heard in a long time. One of my all-time favorite actors died today, at age 83, from lung cancer: Paul Newman.

One of the last of the 20th Century's great actors, Paul got his start in the 1950s at Warner Bros. alongside the likes of James Dean and Dennis Hopper. He would quickly become one of the most revered stars to come out of Hollywood. An icon in his own time, Newman starred in such classics as The Long, Hot Summer, Cat On a Hot Tin Roof, The Hustler, Hud, Cool Hand Luke, Butch Cassidy and The Sundance Kid, The Sting, The Verdict, The Color of Money and Nobody's Fool, to name only a few. (For many more pictures of Paul, click that Cool Hand Luke link.) I've said this before, while I don't swing that way, this was one damn handsome man. With eyes so blue it hurt to look at them.

PORTRAIT OF PAUL NEWMAN - 1999
painted by Andy Williamson

If I had to pick any favorite moments from Paul's films, they would be Henry Gondorff's poker game with Doyle Lonnegan in The Sting, the "I can't swim!" scene from Butch Cassidy, the egg eating chapter of Cool Hand Luke and ... way too many others to mention.

In addition to acting, Newman was a philanthropist, eventually donating over 200 million dollars to charity from his Newman's Own brand of salad dressing and popcorn. One beneficiary of that is his Hole in the Wall Gang Camps -- residential summer camps for seriously ill children, which have expanded far beyond their Connecticut base, to include camps in Ireland, France and Israel. They serve 13,000 children every year, free of charge

Legendary actor, amazing talent, generous man -- gone too soon.

We will miss you terribly, Paul. May God rest your soul.


COOL HAND LUKE - IT'S NOT EASY TO BE ME
Great fan edit -- I love this video.




PAUL NEWMAN'S HOLE IN THE WALL GANG CAMP