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(Read Paste's list of the top 10 films by which to remember Paul Newman.)
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Despite the fact that when the film opened in 1969 Paul Newman was already a major star, there was no more enduring image in his career—and few ever in the movies—than the final moments of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. Cornered in an abandoned house in Bolivia, Butch (Newman), in muted acknowledgment that the pair could go no further, suggests a next stop in Australia (at least, he reasons, they speak English there). Sundance bickers, but Butch is resolute, and the two bloodied men emerge from the house, pistols ready, to a freeze-frame and the terrible sound of gunshots.
It is a defining image not only for the movie but for Newman, one of
the last faces of old Hollywood celebrity, who died over the weekend
after a bout with lung cancer. Released at the height of creative
and industrial turmoil in Hollywood, the film and its grimly violent conclusion
marked the kind of star Paul Newman was—a risible antihero, the
consummate screen actor, and a timeless figure evocative of a
particular romantic past in Hollywood lost in a new industry.
Along with Marlon Brando, who he resembled both in looks and in the
ability to command audiences with the sound of his voice or a look in
his eye, Newman inspired a cross-generational following that traveled
through many eras of Hollywood moviemaking. His sister roles as Eddie
Felson in The Hustler and The Color of Money, released 25
years apart and both madly acclaimed, provide a sense of just how much
of an anomaly his celebrity really was.
His 2007 retirement cut short his plans to reunite with Robert Redford
for one more film, A Walk in the Woods, making his last role a voice
part in Pixar’s Cars. Newman left a legacy of more than 60 films that earned him 10
Oscar nominations and a lifelong place at the center of an industry he
worked like no other actor in its history.
Related links:
The New York Times: An appraisal of Paul Newman's work
Chicago Sun-Times: Reaction to Newman's death
The Boston Globe: Newman planned for charitable legacy after death
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My father died with lung cancer and he was a tenacious navy seal that served in 7 tours during the Vietnam War. Paul's image remeinds me of my dad and I'll have to say that will pray for those he has left behind. What comfort that can be given is that he created his life to have meaning and go beyond what his physical body could do on its own.
it's hard not to admire Paul Newman for putting his money to work in such productive ways, such as his Newman's Own line--high quality stuff and the proceeds go to good causes... very smart.