Cyrena, knowing there are those who care about you after you’re gone makes being here all the better.  I knew I could count on you.  You can’t count on me, too.

By Dr. Knowitall, PhD, PhD, September 27 at 9:05 am #

I really liked Paul.  But the only difference between him and me are the eyes and the money.

Truthdig, will you do a thread on me when I buy the farm?  Or, do eyes and money matter?

~~~~~~

Dr. Knowitall,

I will. (do a thread on you). Just send me the details. Real name and location so I’ll know which obituaries to keep track of. Or, if you’d rather not reveal your real name, just make sure this name is included in your obit. (you’ll have to set that up in advance). I’ll include it with my own instructions in case I buy the farm before you do.

I liked Paul as well, which should say a lot, since I don’t really keep up with big screen entertainers. So, I liked him for all of the other stuff..his Humanitarianism.

I didn’t know he was ill, (cancer) but I think that shouldn’t surprise anyone, since he was as private as he was public.

Godspeed Paul…

Background about Newman that people sometimes do not know:

(Source: wikipedia.org)
Newman was born in Shaker Heights, Ohio (a suburb of Cleveland). Graduating from Shaker Heights High School in 1943, he briefly attended Ohio University in Athens, Ohio, where he was initiated into the Phi Kappa Tau fraternity.
Newman served in the Navy in World War II in the Pacific theater. Newman was sent to the Navy V-12 program at Ohio University, with hope of being accepted for pilot training, but this plan was foiled when a flight physical revealed him to be colorblind.
He was sent instead to boot camp and then on to further training as a radioman and gunner. Qualifying as a rear-seat radioman and gunner in torpedo bombers, in 1944, Aviation Radioman Third Class Newman was sent to Barber’s Point, Hawaii, and subsequently assigned to Pacific-based replacement torpedo squadrons (VT-98, VT-99, and VT-100).
These torpedo squadrons were responsible primarily for training replacement pilots and combat air crewmen, placing particular importance on carrier landings.
He later flew from aircraft carriers as a tail gunner in the Avenger torpedo bomber. As a radioman/gunner, he served aboard the USS Bunker Hill during the battle for Okinawa in the spring of 1945.
He was ordered to the ship as radioman/gunner in an Avenger with a draft of replacements shortly before the attack, but by a fluke of war was held back because his pilot had an ear infection. The rest of his detail died.
After the war, he completed his degree at Kenyon College in Gambier, Ohio, graduating in 1949.

In 1982, Paul Newman appeared on ABC’s Nightline with Ted Koppel, for a one-on-one debate with Charlton Heston about a nuclear arms freeze.  Newman was brilliant, with clear arguments in favor a such a freeze, completely focused on his purpose, without a trace of relying on charm, wit or appearances—it was the kind of policy debate we ought to be seeing now.

At the end of the show, Koppel made a rare decision to continue this significant debate, and the following evening that continuation aired.

Therein lies the difference between Newman and others, and that is what I especially honor today.

There has never been an entertainer in any of the fields—acting, music, sports, etc, whose passing brought tears to my eyes—until yesterday.

He was not a perfect man.  Nobody is. But he lived a perfect life, flaws and all. Who can hope to live a better one than Paul Newman did?

Only one other entertainer, still alive, can make me feel that way on the day of his passing: Pete Seeger, now 89 but, thankfully, still going strong.

Rest in Peace, Paul, and thanks for all you did.

I think Ebert got it right when he said that Newman originated a different kind of acting—from a mannerist kind to a more realist kind. “The Hustler” ranks among the ten best films ever made (more modern Film Noir), in my opinion, thanks in no small part to Newman, but also to Scott, Laurie and Gleason. All four are terrific in an exceptional film. (Who knew Jackie Gleason—of “Honeymooners” fame—could be so great in a dramatic role?)  But Paul Newman’s “’Fast’ Eddie Felson” stole the show—in the case of show very difficult to steal. Of course he didn’t set out to do so. He just did what he did.

With that he established himself as every bit as good as Dean or Brando ever was. Better than either, also in my opinion. Understated always, meaning so much the better. The best art is always understated, never, ahem, theatrical. Newman never even thought to chew scenery. As he said, he strove to be meticulous, which was the best he could do and plenty good enough.

Newman was the same in his personal life. (I confess too to relating to long-time smoking habit. THANK GOD! In a world liberals keep trying to regulate at the personal level.) He was the very best—man first, actor second. Half deserving of Joanne Woodward, the other greatest actor of a generation. Ahem again, but MY kinda woman! If that’s not too un-PC to write. Well, I wrote it, so the hell with any who objects. She’s amazing, and Newman had the excellent—even more to his credit—sense to realize just how amazing. Probably a little better actor than her husband, which I’ve no doubt Paul thought too—rightly so.

I’ve long admired their passion for one another and for the rest of us who were their audience. Never a hint of ingratitude on the part of either, never a rude remark, never contempt, never a stupidity committed. We should all be so grateful.

Personally, I felt a little better just knowing Paul Newman was among us. (I’m never without a bottle of salad dressing either.) Old cliché, but absolutely the case in this case: They (he, she, whomever or whatever) don’t make ‘em like Paul Newman or still-with-us Joanne Woodward anymore. I’m skeptical “they” ever will again.

Who else but Newman would have bought an ad to apologize for “The Silver Chalice”? Which wasn’t THAT bad! Bad enough, but not THAT bad! But Newman felt bad and I, for one, got that, having been there myself.

He had a right heart, was the genuine article—a humble man, which is the best kind.

Hell yes I loved him—a lot. How could anyone not have loved him?

With his politics of anti-establishment, his philanthropic work and concern for all children of the world and his continued marriage to the same woman, I think Paul Newman stands as a breed apart.

May God bless your noble and charitable soul Paul Newman! You will be missed!

Paul Newman- now THAT’S acting. Well done ‘Coolhand’. RIP!

nana909, sorry to give you the news, but you have to use the objective case in this case. He and I are subjective. I don’t have a PhD, and don’t need one for this.  I learned it in 5th grade English, back when they taught such stuff.

My screen name is a dig at all those “learned” bastards who have screwed with and screwed up education, my field, and government, among other fields.  And at those who buy into their bullshit.  How about the economy?   
And a dig at everyone who thinks, because they’re schooled, they know it all.  I know who and what I am, am reasonably comfortable with it and I try to understand my limitations, which, while I hope not legion, still many.  I still have a lot of respect for my kind of people, those who learned most of what they know by being hard workers, readers, being attentive and thinking, taking nothing for granted or at face value and trying to continue to learn. I do happen to have a couple bachelors and a graduate degree but those in no way define me or who I am, nor do I consider that they in any way set me apart from anyone else.  There are way too many very smart, “unschooled” people out there and I know that.  I wish unions and ed. departments allowed them into education.  What a waste! 

Thanks for the input, but I think I’m right on this one.  Let me know if I’m not.  BTW, why would you want to be thrown into a ditch and be forgotten?
That’s unsettling.

A rare breed—an actor who was a true class act.

Dear Paul,

Thank you for all the entertainment.

This life has passed, a vital light has dimmed and gone out, but your brilliance is not lost, it will be forever reflected in the productions of a brilliant career.

Above all, Paul, thank you for your extraordinary example.  In a world so often characterized by dread and indolence, how edifying and inspiring and needful are the great lights of genuine authentic character that burn so bright and true.

It is with the deepest and most sincere gratitude that I wish you bon voyage and happy trails. Via con Dios, amigo de todos, adios!

I really liked Paul.  But the only difference between him and me are the eyes and the money.

Truthdig, will you do a thread on me when I buy the farm?  Or, do eyes and money matter?