I find myself unexpectedly saddened by the news that Paul Newman has died. My sadness comes not so much from the idea of an actor I won't see in a new role. He had officially retired from acting, after all. It's rather because he was a Good ManTM, someone with views about social responsibility that mirror my own, famously loyal to his wife (I feel sad for Joanne Woodward) - someone who just seemed thoroughly decent. The world is always diminished by the loss of such a human being. Somehow, though, I find myself thinking of the scene in Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid where he is riding a bicycle with Katherine Ross, happy and carefree.
Tags: