‘Blue eyes’ bids goodbye
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Adieu Paul Newman’s long and distinguished career comes to an end. V. Gangadhar
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Paul Newman
At 82, ‘Ole Blue Eyes’ has decided it is time to quit. Paul Newman (and his blue eyes), who charmed audiences all over the world since his Hollywood debut in the forgettable ’The Silver Chalice,’ announced that he is no
longer capable of performances that are expected of him.
Newman has had a long and distinguished career of over 50 years. He received the Best Actor Oscar (Color of Money), one honorary Oscar, 11 nominations and dozens of other awards.
Coming from a family that owned a sports goods shop in Cleveland, Newman’s rise as an actor and a liberal icon has been spectacular.
Drama student
Newman studied at the Yale School of Drama. He hung around New York theatre groups during the early 1950s and made an impressive debut in ‘Picnic.’ Warner Brothers offered him a contract but Newman shuddered at the memory of his debut film. Success and fame came with the lead role in ‘Somebody Up There Likes Me,’ based on the life of the boxer, Rocky Graziano. It was one of the few comic roles that came his way. Newman was known as a ‘Method’ actor, and this group included Marlon Brando, James Dean and Montgomery Clift. The brooding looks and the intensity of approach suited the characters created by the leading playwright of the era. Newman excelled in portraying the Tennessee Williams heroes, particularly Brick in ‘Cat on a Hot Tin Roof’ and Chance Wayne in ‘Sweet Bird of Youth’ This was a great period in the actor’s life because he helped popularise serious cinema. The brooding image got a further boost with the role of a doomed pool player in ‘The Hustler’ and the prison inmate boiling over with rage in ‘Cool Hand Luke.’
Turns producer
Newman’s creative instincts, not satisfied with mere acting, led him to form the Artists Production Company under whose banner he produced and directed some memorable movies (starring wife Joanne Woodward). One of them, ‘Rachel, Rachel’ fetched Joanne Woodward an Oscar. The Newmans worked best in thought-provoking small-budget films. Newman’s hold as an actor over the audiences continued when he bowled them over with two of Hollywood’s biggest hits, ‘Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid’ and ‘The Sting,’ both featuring another popular hero, Robert Redford.
The search for excellence continued with a wide variety of roles in films such as ‘The Drowning Pool,’ ‘Slap Shot,’ ‘Absence of Malice,’ ‘Blaze’ and ‘The Verdict,’ where the actor played a boozing, has-been lawyer who makes a spectacular comeback. The new millennium saw Newman play a bank robber all set for a last heist in ‘Where the Money Is.’
His last major role was in the 2002 production, ‘Road to Perdition,’ though one can hear his voice in the 2006 animation film, ‘Cars.’
The Newmans, long standing liberals and committed to social causes and racial equality, are Hollywood’s most enduring, popular and respected couple.
Their eldest son died of drug overdose. The tragedy spurred Newman to donate millions for a drug research and rehabilitation centre. As a liberal, Newman always spoke out against the wars in Vietnam and Iraq and perhaps, this is the reason why the conservative American Motion Picture Academy delayed in presenting him with the prestigious Oscar.
But for someone like Newman, commitment for a cause is more important than any award.
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