PeaceBang
The manic mind of the minister -- Auntie Mame Meets Cotton Mather. Blogging about Unitarian Universalism, UU Christian spiritual practice, occasional cultural and political ravings, and the inner life of ministry. PeaceBang is the alter ego of a small town pastor serving an historic New England Unitarian Universalist congregation.
Newman’s Own
September 27, 2008 on 2:06 pm | In Reminiscence, Shout-Outs | I just learned that Paul Newman died yesterday.
My feelings for him have always been mixed up with my feelings for my Uncle Marvin — they were the same age, both total studs, and even remind me of each other physically.
Newman was a class act. He was one of the only celebrities to brand himself beyond the silver screen and not make an oaf of himself doing it. His products are great, he got on the organic bandwagon early, and made buckets and buckets of money for charity.
His long marriage to Joanne Woodward, herself a total class act, was admirable.
Newman lived for a time in the same neighborhood as my Uncle Marvin in Connecticut, and they played tennis together. Legend has it that I visited as a toddler, was swept onto Newman’s lap by the great actor, and promptly soaked my diaper on his knee.
Sorry, Mr. Newman.
We sure will miss you.
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My connection to Paul Newman…
I used to have relatives in southwestern Connecticut, and as part of our family visits in the summertime, we would spend a day at Lime Rock Park, an automobile racetrack where they host various car and motorcycle races. I remember that Paul Newman had his own racing team with (Jay?) Hass. They raced Datsun/Nissan cars with a cool red/white/blue color scheme.
On one of our visits to Lime Rock, somehow we all got into the paddock where the cars are prepared for the race. I was usually a very shy little kid, so I don’t know how I managed to poke my head into the Newman/Hass Datsun and snap a picture with my little Kodak camera!
I wish I knew where that picture went…
Comment by Jim B. — September 27, 2008 #
Among his many accomplishments, he made a mean creamy italian salad dressing. He lived long, and prospered; his was a good life.
Comment by hsofia — September 27, 2008 #
He spent eight decades making a mockery of the common excuse that money and success naturally and inevitably corrupt the soul. The more he succeeded in things — and he was fiercely ambitious for his craft and his life — the more he then turned that spotlight back in on himself as a human being. And yet, he also showed that examining the soul need not eat the very thing it is trying to feed.
A real loss, except insofar as the good works and good example live on.
Comment by Elz — September 27, 2008 #
He is one of the few “famous” people that I truly admire.
A few more interesting facts about Paul:
He co-owned the highly-successful Newman-Haas Indycar racing team with Carl Haas. At age 70, Paul was the oldest man to drive on the winning team at the 24 hours at Daytona race.
He was a patron of The Nation magazine, contributing articles as well as money. There’s a nice tribute to him there: http://www.thenation.com/blogs/thebeat/365464
Comment by Renee — September 28, 2008 #
Her Grace +Maya Pavlova, Feline Bishop Extraordinaire, has eaten Newman’s Own Organic Cat Food since the week she moved in with me. We salute a prince of a man, and will remain aficionados of his cat food.
Comment by Jane R — September 28, 2008 #
He was one of my mother’s favorite actors, and that’s how I remember him best.
Comment by Comrade Kevin — September 29, 2008 #