Thoughts on Paul Newman

Different eras of Hollywood are often defined by the stars who were in the most popular films or the greatest films of that period. Mention the 1930's, and you might think of the King of Hollywood, Clark Gable. Mention the 1940's, and you might think of Katherine Hepburn or Humphrey Bogart or Cary Grant. And then there is the man who I believe defined the 1950's with style and grace, intensity with a twinkle in his eye: Paul Newman.



Many may bring up Marlon Brando or even Montgomery Clift as the actors who define this very rich period of Hollywood past, and while these students of the Method school were great in their own unique style, Newman was the one who integrated plain and simple humanity in his roles that often was missing in the craft of others. Even when Newman played self destructive losers such as Fast Eddie in The Hustler or Ben Quick in The Long, Hot Summer, he did so with a devil may care wink in his eye that just drew you in to like the character just a little bit more, to have sympathy with these characters. Such is the craft of a great actor--to make us care about what happens to the person they are creating for us.


Newman, Brando, and Clift were all amazing at defining a new kind of hero for the movies, where heroes doubted themselves, questioned their own motives, and longed to know a certain kind of personal self esteem in a world that denied such self worth in so many ways. The Forties, except for Film Noir, dealt in heroic attributes not many could measure up to. Fast Eddie was more like me so I could care more about Fast Eddie than say, Rhett Butler. It was amazing too that the fifties would produce such actors like Newman or a Brando,but it seemed that there was always a dark undercurrent of dissatisfaction with all the apparent success of American economic and social life, that lovable losers like James Dean could make their way into our hearts. And no one did it better than Newman. Steve McQueen or William Holden could get close, but the twinkle in those icy blue eyes could always convince me that the world still has a place for the underdog loser. Newman could always make me believe in him.


Newman would continue to be a very good actor as well as a great star long after his contemporaries had either died, retired, or ceased to have much relevance anymore. Even in his later years, Newman seemed to enjoy playing old guys and I would think that Tom Cruise or Brad Pitt might struggle to feel comfortable with that inevitability. A class act on screen or off, Paul Newman, human being and great actor, will be missed by this movie lover!