Rest Easy, Butch Cassidy

Hollywood lost one of its old guard yesterday when Paul Newman died at 83. He had a career that spanned generations, a real rarity on the silver screen. My mother had a school-girl crush on him even into her 40's, my dad introduced me to Cool Hand Luke when I was a teenager, and my own boys heard Mr. Newman's craggly voice as Doc Hudson in the Pixar movie "Cars."

It's always sad when somebody dies. When we're talking about someone famous, most of us don't know these people in the least, but we still feel some sense of loss at their passing. Paul Newman reminds me of my childhood. When I hear his name, I think of my mom wearing a tee-shirt with his picture ironed on to it. I think of watching "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid" with my brother on channel 20's "Saturday Morning Classics." I'm saddest, though, because Paul Newman seemed like a really good guy, and those kind of people are the greatest loss of all.

In this age when the press seems to glorify all that's bad in the world, Newman was someone who seemed to personify all of its good. He was happily married to the same woman, Joanne Woodward, for over fifty years. A great quote of his came when asked if he was ever tempted to stray on his wife and he replied, "Why would I go out for hamburger when I've got steak at home?" How great is that? Every time I read of another Hollywood break-up, I always wished the same report would tell me how long Newman and Woodward had been married for. We don't celebrate that kind of commitment and success enough these days.

Paul Newman was also an incredible philanthropist. By the time he died, he had given away nearly $200 million dollars!?! That's incredible. He gave away 100% of the profits from his food line "Newman's Own." 100%! Here's some information I found online about some of Paul Newman's other charitable acts.

"Paul Newman is more than just an actor. He is a well-known philanthropist, having given over $175 million dollars to charity from the profits on his Newman's Own food products and he is at it again.

ABC News reports that Mr. Newman and his wife, actress Joanne Woodward, are giving $10 million to Kenyon College in Ohio, which is Newman's alma mater. The money will be used to help start a scholarship fund.

Mr. Newman, 82, who graduated from the private liberal arts school in 1949 with a degree in drama and economics, had this to say about Kenyon. "My days there were among the happiest and most formative of my life. I believe strongly that we should be doing whatever we can to make all higher education opportunities available to deserving students. I hope others will support Kenyon in this manner."

The Newman's Own line was started in 1987 with the intent of it being a small, boutique type operation. Instead it spread like wildfire and is now on grocery store shelves nationwide. The line includes popcorn, salsa, salad dressing, lemonade, steak sauce, and marinades. The expected profit of the business was $1200 a year. In the last 20 years the company's profit has been over $175 million dollars.

In 1988 Mr. Newman donated the funding to create the "Hole in the Wall Gang" camps for children with cancer and other life threatening illnesses. The first camp was opened in Ashford, CT, and there are now 8 camps- five in the United States and 1 each in Ireland, United Kingdom, and France, with more scheduled to be opened in the future. 13,000 children attend the camps each year, free of charge; thanks to the profits from the Newman's Own food products." (courtesy of Associated Content)

This article actually fails to mention another $250,000 that Newman and his wife donated to Kosovo refugees in 1999.

In the end, Paul Newman probably lived as full and as fulfilling of a life as a person can live. He showed the importance of giving time and time again. It's a lesson for us all to think about.

Rest easy, Butch Cassidy.