Behind the Blue Eyes: Remembering Paul Newman

Today is a sad day in the history of motion pictures as we have lost one of the finest actors who ever graced the screen. This morning, Paul Newman died at his Westport, Connecticut home following complications from lung cancer.

Newman is famous for roles such as Eddie Felson in The Hustler, Prof. Michael Armstrong in Hitchcock's Torn Curtain, his Academy Award nonimated performance as Luke Jackson in Cool Hand Luke, Rocky Graziano in Somebody Up There Likes Me and playing opposite Elizabeth Taylor in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof. His obituary in the New York Times billed Newman as "one of the last of the great 20th-century movie stars" and provides a detailed list of the actors roles, accomplishments, and personal life.

Perhaps the only thing exceeding Newman's reputation in film is his reputation as an activist and philanthropist. Newman was quoted as saying "You can't stop being a citizen just because you have a Screen Actors' Guild card". His "Hole in the Wall Gang Camp" provides services for seriously ill children and he has donated millions of dollars to charitable organizations. I find it hard myself to sit down to a family supper without at least one bottle of "Newman's Own Dressing" sitting beside me on the table. His warm face staring up from the bottle is a reminder of his charitable efforts worldwide.

Newman said of his own legacy: "I would like it if people would think that beyond Newman, there's a spirit that takes action, a heart, and a talent that doesn't come from my blue eyes". Through his actions, Newman proved his heart was as big as his talent and the memories we have of him will forever radiate on the screen. We will miss those blue eyes piercing up at as but we will even more so miss the heart and the talent behind those blue eyes.