When I was eleven years old, my father, knowing I was a huge hockey fan, rented me Slap Shot with specific instructions not to tell my mother. I watched it three times in a row. It was so dirty, so skuzzy, yet so sweet and innocent. Paul Newman was masterful as aging player/ coach Reg Dunlop. So, I decided to pick up some more of his movies. The Sting. The Hustler. Butch Cassidy And The Sundance Kid. He just had this way of making drifters and scoundrels really likeable. Eventually, I got through most of his movies and came to the same conclusion millions of others had: Paul Newman was the greatest actor of his generation. Oh yeah--he also made a damn good salad dressing.

Paul Newman died this morning at the age of eighty-three. The Academy Award winner had been dealing with health problems over the last few months but downplayed his illness. In a time when celebrity marriages lasting over five years are considered successes, Paul was faithful to his wife, actress Joanne Woodward, for fifty years. They lived quietly in Connecticut and rarely made public appearances. Always charitable and decent, the two donated all of the proceeds from Newman’s Own Salad Dressing to charity.

Cinema Blend sends out its thoughts to Joanne, their families, and all those fans touched by Paul Newman’s passing. He was a gentleman, a scholar, and the all-time best at personifying the good-hearted rapscallion. He will be missed.