Cultureshark remembers Paul Newman

A couple years ago, I was walking with my parents through a grocery store when suddenly my father picked up a bottle of Newman's Own salad dressing, one of the many on which the movie legend had a ridiculous combination of facial hair/headwear/haircut, and said, "Remember when Paul Newman used to be cool?"

We had a good laugh, and I still chuckle thinking about that. It really stinks that Paul Newman is gone, but I don't feel bad about yukking it up as his expense. The point, of course, is that Newman WAS still cool. In fact, his willingness to make an ass of himself and send up his image by letting his mug resemble a bandito or Caesar or whatever sell food was merely more proof how cool he was. He did it for charity, and besides, he didn't care so much about his "persona" that he couldn't have fun with it.

By all accounts, Paul Newman was a great guy--self-effacing, philanthropic, sincere--and that's what I thought about when I heard of his passing. As I started to consider his movie career, I realized that there are a lot of his films I need to see (I was hoping TCM would include "Harper" and "Drowning Pool" in its tribute package, but no such luck; guess I'm hitting Netflix) and that among those I have seen, the star often stands out a lot more than the overall picture.

I don't love "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid" and "The Sting," but, man, when you think about big movie STARS of that era, you have to think Newman and Redford--and admire them. Redford, of course, became known for politics and activism, while Newman--though far from apolitical--became known for maintaining a dignified privacy that preserved his aura, not that it needed it, even as his big-screen work became less frequent.

For the record, my favorite Paul Newman movies are "The Hustler" and "Slap Shot." But he's cool in just about everything I see him in, and not straining to be cool, either, just a born movie star. In his later years, he became a sort of Cool Guy Emeritus, instantly classing up pictures like "Road to Perdition" with his presence. He was even pretty damn cool in "Cars," for crying out loud, in which he played a cartoon automobile.

Of course, making that work must have been child's play for a guy who could look cool on a bottle of salad dressing. Except the beret on the french dressing. Not even Paul Newman pulled that one off. But he had other priorities, like family and charity, and he took them a hell of a lot more seriously than he did himself. I think that attitude, not just his incredible acting legacy, is why he's gonna be so missed.