Paul Newman Passes Away

Just minutes ago, I heard that Paul Newman died Friday of cancer.

In recent months, I've heard vague reports that he was ill, but I heard no reports that indicated the end was near. Apparently, Newman succeeded in keeping the details of his condition private.

Nevertheless, when one is 83 years old, as Newman was, anything can happen, and you should always be prepared.

But, speaking from the vantage point of my generation, as someone who remembers when Newman was a guaranteed box office draw and a Hollywood sex symbol, it was hard for me to imagine Newman in his 80s, let alone imagining that the robust actor would ever die.

At the CNN website, a poll has been set up where people can vote for their favorite Paul Newman film. I'll admit, that's a tough choice to make — in more than half a century, Newman made at least one movie in all but a handful of years, and there are valid cases to be made for many of them.

Even so, I've already named my choice in this blog — a few months ago. More on that in a minute.

(By the way, as of 11:26 a.m. Central, CNN shows "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid" leading its informal poll with 31%, followed by "Cool Hand Luke" with 27% and "The Sting" with 20%.

(The online survey also reminds me of a fact that is seldom mentioned or acknowledged. Although the movie partnership of Newman and Robert Redford was widely hailed, it produced only two movies — "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid" and "The Sting." Newman and Redford often talked about making another film, but could never agree on the details.)

Anyway, I was reminded, when I heard the news, of a blog post I wrote in June, in which I wrote that I had heard news reports that Newman was "seriously ill."

I wrote in June about his great career, but mainly I observed that this year is the 35th anniversary of the release of the film "The Sting." It's really been my favorite Newman film since I saw it as a teenager. If I cast a vote in CNN's online poll, I'll vote for "The Sting."

At the time of my post, I urged people to watch "The Sting" to mark its anniversary — and enjoy the story.

And now that Newman has passed away, I urge you to watch it and enjoy his performance.

Incidentally, at a time like this, I'm always reminded of what a truly remarkable job the New York Times does in its obituaries. If you want to see how well a person's life can be summarized in a single article, take a look at any obituary in any edition of the Times.

But, today, read the Times' tribute to Paul Newman.