Images of U.S. actor Paul Newman, who died late on Sept 28, adorned newspaper front pages around the world last Sunday, his piercing blue eyes vying for attention alongside headlines of the financial crisis.
Underlining Newman’s international appeal, Britain’s Independent featured his photograph across the whole of page one, relegating the latest news of the country’s banking woes to the inside pages.
Paul Newman: Death of King Cool ran the caption headline in the Sunday Times above a portrait of the heartthrob and philanthropist, who lost his battle against cancer aged 83.
The Observer weekly devoted a two-page spread under the words: An Actor of True Genius and a Man of Great Decency, focusing on Newman’s philanthropy and devotion to his family, as well as on his big screen roles.
In Germany as elsewhere, news television channels have been showing clips from his films.
Paul Newman - the Last Hero is Dead ran a headline on the back page of the mass-selling Bild am Sonntag. A strapline in the same newspaper read: This damn cancer. Now it has killed the bluest eyes in the world!
Several obituaries repeated comments he made about his famous good looks. I picture my epitaph, he was quoted as saying. “Here lies Paul Newman, who died a failure because his eyes turned brown.”
-Mike Collett-White
A renaissance man
The New York Times called him a magnetic Hollywood titan, and in Italy actress Sophia Loren, who appeared in Lady L with Newman, called the news a blow.When such important personalities die, one despairs and thinks that, little by little, all the greats are disappearing, she told the Il Messaggero daily.
Israeli actor Haim Topol, who Newman helped to set up camps for children with incurable diseases, called him a dear human being.He busied himself with the professional rather than with PR, Topol told Israel Radio. His main motto was, ‘If you do not exploit your success in order to improve things in the world, then you are really wasting it’.
Paul Leonard Newman, known as PL to friends, appeared in more than 50 movies, including Cat On A Hot Tin Roof, Butch Cassidy And The Sundance Kid and The Sting. He earned nine Oscar nominations for acting and won the best actor honour for 1986’s The Color Of Money.
A director and race car driver as well as an actor, Newman was also known for his extensive philanthropy. He created Newman’s Own food products, which funnelled more than $250 million in profits to thousands of charities worldwide.
Newman said his deepest satisfaction came from philanthropy.Particularly close to his heart were his Hole-in-the-Wall Camps for seriously ill children. Today, there are 11 around the world that have helped over 135,000 kids, all free of charge.
Newman is survived by his wife of 50 years Joanne Woodward, five daughters, two grandsons and his older brother, Arthur. Newman also had a son Scott, who died in 1978.
The MPAA said Newman’s charitable deeds — his foundation has donated more than 100 million dollars to worthy causes — would rival his acting legacy. “The art of film-making and a world in great need of big hearts with bold ambitions is mourning the loss of a legend today,” MPAA chairman Dan Glickman said. “He will be remembered as an artist, gentleman and humanitarian whose extraordinary career was rivaled in every respect by an exemplary life. “Incredibly, the effect of his charitable work will rival and perhaps even exceed the legacy he leaves us all on the silver screen.”
Former US president Bill Clinton and first lady Hillary Clinton also praised Newman’s generosity. “Paul was an American icon, philanthropist and champion for children,” the Clintons said in a statement.”Our prayers and thoughts are with Joanne (Newman’s widow, actress Joanne Woodward) and the Newman family and the many people who Paul impacted through his endless kindness and generosity.”
California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger saluted Newman as “the ultimate cool guy, who men wanted to be like and women adored.” “He was an American icon, a brilliant actor, a Renaissance man and a generous but modest philanthropist,” the actor-turned-politician added.
n Reuters, AFP Agencies
Hollywood icon and gentleman
America and the world mourned Paul Newman , with co-star and long-time friend Robert Redford leading a flood of moving tributes to the Hollywood icon and philanthropist. Family and friends of the actor, who passed away last Friday, remembered a loving family man and passionate humanitarian who, in an oft-repeated phrase, had lived an “exemplary life.” Robert Redford, 72, who starred with Newman in beloved Hollywood classics Butch Cassidy And The Sundance Kid and The Sting, said in a statement: “There is a point where feelings go beyond words.” “I have lost a real friend,” he added. “My life — and this country — is better for his being in it.” Newman’s daughters cited the “selfless humility and generosity” that characterised their father’s life. “Paul Newman played many unforgettable roles but the ones for which he was proudest never had top billing on the marquee. Devoted husband. Loving father. Adoring grandfather. Dedicated philanthropist,” stated the family. Hollywood heart-throb George Clooney said simply: “He set the bar too high for the rest of us. Not just actors, but all of us.” Actress Julia Roberts, who was involved in Newman’s camps for sick children, told People Magazine: “He was my hero.” Sally Field, Newman’s co-star in the 1981 drama Absence of Malice, added: “Sometimes God makes perfect people and Paul Newman was one of them.” Oscar-winning actor Russell Crowe said Newman had been an inspiration. In Los Angeles flowers were placed on Newman’s star on Hollywood’s Walk of Fame as the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) hailed his career.
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