William Bradley: The Guy In My Refrigerator: Paul Newman

Paul Newman, seen here in Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid , passed away last night. The man whose picture has been in my refrigerator for 25 years has passed away. That would be Paul Newman, who said of his Newman's Own salad dressing: "The sad thing is that the salad dressing out-grosses my films." He was being amusing, as usual. The proceeds, incidentally, went to charity. Paul Newman died of cancer last night at his home in Westport, Connecticut. His illness, which came on this year, had been kept private. He was 83. Newman was one of the biggest stars in the history of movies, equally adept at playing the hero and the anti-hero. Like his mostly friendly rival, Steve McQueen, Newman set the standard in the '60s for the action-oriented matinee idol. Like McQueen, he was also a top race car driver, finishing second in the 24 Hours of Le Mans and running a US racing outfit for decades. Yet offscreen, he was a staunch political activist. He said he was prouder of making the ... (link)