Mourning The Loss Of Paul Newman (1925-2008)
I was extremely saddened this morning to learn that legendary actor and humanitar-ian
Paul Newman has died. The stage and film icon lost his battle with cancer on Friday.
Newman's Academy Award-winning career on the silver screen is very well known by audiences, who enjoyed his on-screen work beginning in 1956 with "
Somebody Up There Likes Me" right through his Oscar nominated turn in "
Road to Perdition" (2005).
But like so many great American actors of his time, Newman had his start on the Broadway stage. In fact, Newman received a 1953 Theatre World Award for his portrayal of Alan Seymour in
William Inge's
Picnic. After his 1964 turn in
Baby Want a Kiss, Newman would be absent from the Great White Way until 2002, when he would return in his Tony-nominated role as the Stage Manager in the Rialto revival of
Our Town.
Personally, I feel extraordinarily fortunate to have seen this giant among giants, both in that production -- where my front row seat gave me a unique perspective of this actor as he towered directly over me through much of the performance -- and in an early 2007 benefit entitled
Come Be My Love...Love Spoken Here for the Westport Country Playhouse. At the time, I wrote:
Miraculously amassed for this one-time-only event, Joanna Gleason, Charles Grodin, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Eartha Kitt, Paul Newman, Chris Sarandon and Joanne Woodward offered their own unique, individual voices on the ecstasy and agony that arguably make love life’s ultimate affection. Wow!
To call this breathtaking would be a major understatement. With the megawatt cast’s refrains reverberating throughout the theatre, this audience member was left reeling as though Cupid had shot another arrow through his heart. Alternately laughing and misty-eyed, I couldn’t help but ponder just how truly blessed I am to have found the love of my life, my own true love.
At the time, I had no idea, of course, that this would likely be one of Newman's last public performances. In fact, looking back at my notes, I mentioned how "it’s a little heartbreaking to know that this night will never again be repeated for wider audiences."
Count me among the heartbroken that we've forever lost this great actor and philanthropist. But I will always cherish my opportunity to have reveled in his amazing presence, and continue to honor his contributions by giving to the Hole in the Wall Camps he helped create.
UPDATE (October 2, 2008, 7:25 p.m.) - As is customary whenever any Broadway great dies, Great White Way theatres will briefly go dark tomorrow in his memory.This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).
Click here to donate to the Association of Hole in the Wall Camps founded by Paul Newman.Labels: Come Be My Love...Love Spoken Here, Hole In The Wall Camps, In Memoriam, Our Town, Paul Newman
Wishing Paul Newman PeaceJust read
the startling news regarding
Paul Newman.
Here's wishing this acting legend and his wife
Joanne Woodward nothing but the best, including the privacy and peace they deserve.
They're in my thoughts and prayers.
Click here to donate to the Association of Hole in the Wall Camps founded by Paul Newman.Related Stories:Ever Had A Front Row Seat? (October 1, 2007)
Newman's Own Admission: That's Enough (May 29, 2007)
SOB's Best of 2006-07: Best Special Theatrical Events (May 23, 2007)
Come Be My Love...Love Spoken Here (The SOB Overview) (February 11, 2007)
Labels: Charitable Organizations, Illness, Joanne Woodward, Paul Newman
Ever Had A Front Row Seat?Last week's
discussion on where you prefer to sit when taking in live theatre got me to reminiscing about all the shows I've seen from a front row vantage point.
Among the Broadway shows:
Spring Awakening (
Lilli Cooper practically sang to me),
Our Town (
Paul Newman as the narrator towered directly over me for a significant portion of the show),
The Boy From Oz,
Rent,
Xanadu (I could have reached out and touched
Kerry Butler and
Cheyenne Jackson as they were perched on the edge of the stage) and
Long Day's Journey Into Night (
Robert Sean Leonard's off-stage gaze seemed to be staring straight through me) .
Topping them all was when I took in the excellent 2004 revival of
Assassins. My front row center seat at
Studio 54 literally placed me face to face with
Neil Patrick Harris, who looked straight into my eyes as he sang part of one of the show's tunes. Talk about riveting.
While I'm sure there's more, those are the ones that sprang to mind. My positioning certainly made a difference in how I viewed each show literally and figuratively.
How about for you?
This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).
Related Stories:Where's Your Best Seat In The House? (September 26, 2007)
Xanadu (The SOB Review) (July 11, 2007)
Spring Awakening (The SOB Review) (March 3, 2007)
Flashback: Best of 2002-03 (May 25, 2006)
Flashback: Best of 2003-04 (May 25, 2006)
Labels: Assassins, Broadway, Front Row Seats, Long Day's Journey Into Night, Neil Patrick Harris, Our Town, Paul Newman, Rent, Robert Sean Leonard, Special Messages, Spring Awakening, The Boy From Oz, Xanadu
Newman's Own Admission: That's EnoughImmediately before I closed down my computer last Friday, I came across
a story from ABC News reporting that Paul Newman has given up acting. According to the report, the
82 year old actor told "
Good Morning America":
I'm not able to work anymore as an actor at the level I would want to...You start to lose your memory, your confidence, your invention. So that's pretty much a closed book for me....I've been doing it for 50 years. That's enough.
Instead the Academy Award-winning and Tony-nominated legend will devote his time to the
Hole in the Wall Camps he created in 1988; thirteen camps strong, they now rank as the world's largest family of camps for children with serious illnesses and life threatening conditions, including cancer, sickle cell anemia, HIV/AIDS.
The esteemed actor and philanthropist will also devote time to the
Dressing Room, which is described as a "home-grown" restaurant "designed to reflect the feel of living in the Connecticut countryside and features a fieldstone fireplace, exposed reclaimed barn board walls, and heavy-timber wood columns and beams -- all of which create a warm, updated country setting."
On a personal note, I vividly recall my memorable evening at the
Booth Theatre where I saw him and a superb cast perform in the 2002 revival of
Thornton Wilder's
Our Town. As I was perched in my Row B seat, I was stunned that my knees were literally knocking the stage. Even more astounding was that Paul Newman, as the Stage Manager, was towering right above me throughout much of the performance as he narrated the show's action. It was one of those thrills of live theatre that I'll never forget.
Just last week,
I noted how extremely fortunate I had been this past February to be among the relatively few to enjoy Newman in the Westport Country Playhouse's
Come Be My Love...Love Spoken Here benefit. There, he and his wife
Joanne Woodward -- along with
Joanna Gleason,
Charles Grodin,
Philip Seymour Hoffman,
Eartha Kitt and
Chris Sarandon -- took my breath away with their beautiful and touching megawatt poetry reading.
Newman first caught the public's attention back in 1952 with his appearance on television's "
Tales of Tomorrow" when he appeared as Sergeant Wilson. The following year, he made his Broadway debut as Alan Seymour in
William Inge's Pulitzer Prize-winning drama
Picnic (both Newman and
Eileen Heckart earned Theatre World Awards for their performances) -- he would go on to perform in four more Broadway productions. Of course, movies provided the vehicle that transformed him into an undisputed superstar -- his first film role came in 1954 when he portrayed Basil in "
The Silver Chalice," but it was his portrayal of Brick in "
Cat On A Hot Tin Roof" in 1958 that earned him his first of ten Academy Award acting nominations.
While it's with very mixed emotions that I read the news about his withdrawal from acting, bravo to Paul Newman for deciding himself on when to give up the amazing career that he nurtured for more than fifty years. Not only has he entertained us -- and done that extraordinarily well -- but he's also done it with such finesse and grace, often while making us think about important, vital issues.
With the news of his retirement, I'm even more thankful for those rare opportunities I've enjoyed to have seen him perform in person. Just as we should all be thankful that his legacy will live forever on film and DVD, we should be even more grateful that in his retirement, his continued philanthropy could very well become his most enduring and inspiring legacy. If ever there's a question,
that's what becomes a legend most.
This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).
Click here to donate to the Association of Hole in the Wall Camps.Related Stories:SOB's Best of 2006-07: Best Special Theatrical Events (May 23, 2007)
Come Be My Love...Love Spoken Here (The SOB Overview) (February 11, 2007)
Labels: Broadway, Come Be My Love...Love Spoken Here, Our Town, Paul Newman, Picnic, Play, retirement, tribute
