Paul Newman, 1925 - 2008

Paul Newman, a very private man over the span of his remarkable life, said that he wanted to die at home.

And so he did, amongst close friends and family on Friday, September 26th, at age 83 following a long bout with lung cancer.

As recently as June 11th of this year, FoxNews learned that Newman decided to make a massive final donation. Philanthropy.com reports:

The actor Paul Newman has donated his ownership in Newman’s Own, a food company, to his foundation — a gift valued at $120-million, reports Fox News.

The Newman’s Own Foundation received the donation over 2005 and 2006, Fox News reports. The announcement comes amid reports that Mr. Newman is ailing from cancer, which the actor has not confirmed or denied.

On August 8th, pushed in a wheelchair from a last chemotherapy visit, Newman stated to friends and family that he simply wished to die at home.

I would wish nothing more than that myself.

The finest tribute to Paul Newman that I could find was delivered in a stellar fashion by Roger Ebert. Please go here to read Ebert's full and true memorium.

Newman's last major film was "The Road To Perdition" shot in 2002 and starring Tom Hanks. His actual last on-screen captured work was in the HBO series "Empire Falls," 2005. He was, of course, stellar.

Paul Newman officially retired in 2007, telling ABC: "You start to lose your memory, you start to lose your confidence, you start to lose your invention. So I think that's pretty much a closed book for me."

My two personal favorite Newman films? Of course, 1969's "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid" -- but also his little-known "The Life And Times of Judge Roy Bean" (Stacy Keach being wonderful as Bad Bob!) from 1972, directed by John Huston, with a script written by the incredible John Milius ("Dirty Harry", "Apocalypse Now", "Dillinger", "The Wind And The Lion.").

Actor, racer, philanthropist, businessman with "Newman's Own" -- where do I start and where do I end about this man? He truly fits into the very select category of Hollywood Legend. True. Humble. Honest. Considerate. Human. Human.

I can only remotely hope that I end where Mr. Paul Newman ended. At home. With those closest to me. In comforting surroundings, familiar surroundings, away from the white, the garish, the startling, the chromed, the shared, the sterile.

Perhaps he did as I would wish, to be on the couch next to my large window, looking up at the sky, watching the surrounding pines, their tips bending so slightly in the caught breeze.

Perhaps he watched, out his own window, the clouds scudding by, white and gray and various shades, blue and its variants, noted the passage of clock ticks, heard the chatter of squirrels, the calls of birds and then, so satisfied, he knew now he could then pass with ease. Perhaps even better, a palm on his forehead, a hand squeezing his own.

Oh, so many journeys yet to go.

BZ