Saturday, September 27, 2008

Paul Leonard Newman (January 26, 1925 - September 26, 2008)


I really liked Paul Newman. He was a fine actor. He could be all sorts of people, from funny and fun people like Butch Cassidy, to dark and conceited people like Hud, or an halfbreed indian like John Russell in Hombre, which is my favorite Newman film.

These are my favorite movies Paul Newman performed in:

1. Hombre
2. Cool Hand Luke
3. The Sting
4. Hud
5. Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid
6.The Left-Handed Gun
7. The Hustler
8. Cars






Here's something I never knew about Paul Newman, and found it very interesting:

"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. 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."

Did Paul Newman go to be with Jesus Christ? I have no idea. I hope he was a Christian. I hope I do meet him in the presence of God the Father and Jesus Christ the Son, and we will both fall before the Lord Jesus Christ, and worship Him together.

5 comments:

Litl-Luther said...

Cool Hand Luke was one of the best movies. I'd like to watch it again.

mommanator said...

It seemed a different breed from most of hollywood, I respected his thought on marraige

donsands said...

I agree Triston. There's that one screen where the woman washes the car that's sensual though. But it is a great film.

Paul was married for 50 years to Joanne Woodward. Very nice indeed.

Litl-Luther said...

Yes. Theirs is one of the only Hollywood marriages that has lasted. I just read this morning in the paper that one time Playboy interviewed him and asked if he was ever tempted to stray and he said "I have steak at home. Why would I want to go out for hamburger?"

It has been so long since I've seen Cool Hand Luke, I can't remember the whole movie. But I remember the warden giving him a hard time and him taking his baseball and mitt into solitary confinement with him and bouncing it against the wall.

donsands said...

The baseball and mit was Steve McQueen in "The Great Escape".

Paul Newman eats fifty eggs as cool hand Luke.

And the warden says to him at one point: "What we have here, is a failure to communicate!"