# How long before majority of people forget that Paul Newman was an actor? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [September 22, 2015, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-before-majority-of-people-forget-that-paul-newman-was-an-actor/732234 "2015-09-22T20:56:10Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![stui\_magpie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stui_magpie/32/11010_2.png) [@stui\_magpie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stui_magpie)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2015, 1:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-before-majority-of-people-forget-that-paul-newman-was-an-actor/732234/41 "2015-09-23T01:43:27Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > I’m in my early thirties and I don’t believe I’ve ever seen any of his films. haven’t seen “The colour of Money”? He was in that with Tom Cruise. My son is 25 and it’s one of his favourite films ---
**Author:** ![Scumpup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce73a5/32.png) [@Scumpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scumpup)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2015, 1:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-before-majority-of-people-forget-that-paul-newman-was-an-actor/732234/42 "2015-09-23T01:45:01Z")
The best part of this thread is the smug self-assurance that if a poster and hir little circle of friends are unfamiliar with an actor’s work, then the world at large has forgotten that actor. I see the same attitude from the 7th graders I teach, they just compress the time frame to anything from more than 2 or 3 years ago. ---
**Author:** ![Lucas\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lucas_jackson/32/303_2.png) [@Lucas\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucas_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2015, 1:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-before-majority-of-people-forget-that-paul-newman-was-an-actor/732234/43 "2015-09-23T01:55:03Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > I’m in my early thirties and I don’t believe I’ve ever seen any of his films. Go rent Hombre now. ---
**Author:** ![Lucas\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lucas_jackson/32/303_2.png) [@Lucas\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucas_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2015, 1:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-before-majority-of-people-forget-that-paul-newman-was-an-actor/732234/44 "2015-09-23T01:57:10Z")
> [@madsircool](#): > > His performance in Diamonds Are Forever convinced him that sausage making was his future. He had an ok variety show… and he introduced the Muppets! ---
**Author:** ![Snarky\_Kong](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a183cd/32.png) [@Snarky\_Kong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snarky_Kong)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2015, 1:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-before-majority-of-people-forget-that-paul-newman-was-an-actor/732234/45 "2015-09-23T01:58:57Z")
> [@Scumpup](#): > > The best part of this thread is the smug self-assurance that if a poster and hir little circle of friends are unfamiliar with an actor’s work, then the world at large has forgotten that actor. I see the same attitude from the 7th graders I teach, they just compress the time frame to anything from more than 2 or 3 years ago. You’re funny. So tons of people younger than you say that they don’t know about people you’re familiar with and you claim that they’re not being forgotten. When you listed all those actors and asked if they were forgotten I thought it was a sarcastic joke because, excluding Chapman, yes, 100% yes they have been. ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2015, 2:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-before-majority-of-people-forget-that-paul-newman-was-an-actor/732234/46 "2015-09-23T02:01:10Z")
> [@madsircool](#): > > Laughton is likely remembered by horror film fans. As much as I love **Island of Lost Souls** and **Hunchback of Notre Dame** , I’d say Laughton is more likely to be remembered for **Mutiny on the Bounty**. Folks are still doing Captain Bligh impressions. ---
**Author:** ![Omega\_Glory](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/7c8e57/32.png) [@Omega\_Glory](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omega_Glory)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2015, 2:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-before-majority-of-people-forget-that-paul-newman-was-an-actor/732234/47 "2015-09-23T02:07:02Z")
> [@Small\_Hen](#): > > His products are awesome. No way they’re going away. And each package states that the ingredients are all natural and that all the profits go to charity. I’ll bet a lot of people, these days, are drawn to the products because of that and not because of Paul Newman’s face. ---
**Author:** ![Scumpup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce73a5/32.png) [@Scumpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scumpup)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2015, 2:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-before-majority-of-people-forget-that-paul-newman-was-an-actor/732234/48 "2015-09-23T02:15:52Z")
> [@Snarky\_Kong](#): > > You’re funny. > > So tons of people younger than you say that they don’t know about people you’re familiar with and you claim that they’re not being forgotten. > > When you listed all those actors and asked if they were forgotten I thought it was a sarcastic joke because, excluding Chapman, yes, 100% yes they have been. U mad bro? Don’t be so defensive. You’re just ignorant and ignorance can be corrected. Many of their movies are public domain and are available free on-line or on Roku/Apple TV channels. People discuss the actors and their pictures at length at IMDB. But you and your “tons of younger people” probably didn’t know that. P.S. It’s Chaplin. Charlie Chaplin. ---
**Author:** ![TBG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c89c15/32.png) [@TBG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TBG)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2015, 2:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-before-majority-of-people-forget-that-paul-newman-was-an-actor/732234/49 "2015-09-23T02:30:57Z")
How long until? How about how long since? People have been making jokes about the salad dressing guy since the late 80’s at least. ---
**Author:** ![Odesio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/odesio/32/20003_2.png) [@Odesio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Odesio)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2015, 2:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-before-majority-of-people-forget-that-paul-newman-was-an-actor/732234/50 "2015-09-23T02:37:28Z")
> [@Scumpup](#): > > Is Rudolph Valentino forgotten? Francis X. Bushman? Charlie Chaplin? Charles Laughton? Dick Powell? Alan Ladd? Robert Mitchum? Cary Grant? I doubt a lot of younger people are familiar with Valentino. The last pop reference about Valentino I can remember was from The Bangles “Manic Monday.” Remember, the title of the thread asks “How long before a _majority_ of people forget?” not “How long before _everybody_ forgets?” I would hazard a guess that the majority of people today don’t know who Buster Keaton is. Or Fatty Arbuckle. Incidentally, this reminds me of a thread we had here at the Straight Dope years ago where one of our fellow Dopers was quite distraught because a lot of young people didn’t know who James Cagney was. ---
**Author:** ![Snarky\_Kong](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a183cd/32.png) [@Snarky\_Kong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snarky_Kong)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2015, 2:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-before-majority-of-people-forget-that-paul-newman-was-an-actor/732234/51 "2015-09-23T02:41:50Z")
> [@Scumpup](#): > > U mad bro? Don’t be so defensive. You’re just ignorant and ignorance can be corrected. Many of their movies are public domain and are available free on-line or on Roku/Apple TV channels. People discuss the actors and their pictures at length at IMDB. But you and your “tons of younger people” probably didn’t know that. > > P.S. It’s Chaplin. Charlie Chaplin. I’m not remotely mad. Yes, I’m ignorant of lots of film stars that were popular 80 years ago. So are most people today. That’s the entire point. ---
**Author:** ![Small\_Hen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ad7895/32.png) [@Small\_Hen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Small_Hen)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2015, 2:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-before-majority-of-people-forget-that-paul-newman-was-an-actor/732234/52 "2015-09-23T02:54:30Z")
> [@Scumpup](#): > > The best part of this thread is the smug self-assurance that if a poster and hir little circle of friends are unfamiliar with an actor’s work, then the world at large has forgotten that actor. I see the same attitude from the 7th graders I teach, they just compress the time frame to anything from more than 2 or 3 years ago. I didn’t say that Paul Newman was forgotten. I asked _when_ people were likely to forget that he was an _actor_. There’s a point where the face regularly staring back at you from the refrigerator becomes more relevant to you than an artist who’s works you’ve never seen. Will most Americans still be watching Butch Cassidy in, say, seventy five years? Will Newman’s Own’s logo still sport a grinning, blue-eyed cartoon man in funny clothes? If the answer to the second question is yes, then one day Paul Newman will be known in the same way that the Quaker Oats man is known. I think you overestimate the collective memory of society when it comes to art. Seems to me that only a tiny fraction of it really survives. ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2015, 2:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-before-majority-of-people-forget-that-paul-newman-was-an-actor/732234/53 "2015-09-23T02:56:00Z")
The coolest thing about Chaplin was that he was the first human being who was recognized _all over the globe._ Anywhere you could carry a small projector and a can of film – from darkest Africa to a Chinese rice paddy to a god damn igloo – people went to see Chaplin and laugh at him. Proving that falling down and kicking Authority Figures in the ass are part of _Spiritus Mundi._ The uncoolest thing about Chaplin was the fucking underage girls part. ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2015, 2:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-before-majority-of-people-forget-that-paul-newman-was-an-actor/732234/54 "2015-09-23T02:57:37Z")
Don’t people have to\* know\* something before they can _forget_ it? If all these oblivious youngsters have no idea who Newman is, how can they forget him? Can we all forget Mark Twain, now? Any reason to read “Catcher in the Rye” any more since it isn’t relevant in our time? ---
**Author:** ![Richard\_John\_Marcej](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Richard\_John\_Marcej](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Richard_John_Marcej)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2015, 5:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-before-majority-of-people-forget-that-paul-newman-was-an-actor/732234/55 "2015-09-23T05:01:22Z")
It’s interesting that today, in 2015 when everyone has **easy** access to information, with all the sites on the web, with the availability of nearly every movie, ever made, on Cable, satellite, internet, DVD, etc… that people are less informed. Yes, I know, there’s **A LOT** out there, but seriously, how many people do you know will watch the same crap over and over and over and over again, instead of trying something new (to them) or different. To answer the question of this thread, How soon will Paul Newman be forgotten? To the ignorant and lazy he’ll be forgotten quickly. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2015, 9:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-before-majority-of-people-forget-that-paul-newman-was-an-actor/732234/56 "2015-09-23T09:06:48Z")
> [@Odesio](#): > > Incidentally, this reminds me of a thread we had here at the Straight Dope years ago where one of our fellow Dopers was quite distraught because a lot of young people didn’t know who James Cagney was. I was watching _ **Jeopardy!** _ not long ago, and none of the contestants (all of them adults) recognized either Cary Grant or Gregory Peck. Who’s next—John Wayne? Clark Gable? Tony Curtis? ☹ ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2015, 9:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-before-majority-of-people-forget-that-paul-newman-was-an-actor/732234/57 "2015-09-23T09:15:07Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > I was watching _ **Jeopardy!** _ not long ago, and none of the contestants (all of them adults) recognized either Cary Grant or Gregory Peck. Who’s next—John Wayne? Clark Gable? Tony Curtis? ☹ I was at a pub trivia game last night. For certain rounds they had bonus questions; one member of each team would take up the answer sheet and gather around the host. He’d ask the question and the first person to write the answer and show it to him would win the prize. It usually involves very fast scribbling. Last night one of the questions was whose catch phrase (whether he actually said it or not) was “you dirty rat”? I had time to cross the room, get the answer sheet from my teammate, and write “Cagney”. No one else knew. ---
**Author:** ![efyou](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/4da419/32.png) [@efyou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/efyou)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2015, 9:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-before-majority-of-people-forget-that-paul-newman-was-an-actor/732234/58 "2015-09-23T09:19:41Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > I’m in my early thirties and I don’t believe I’ve ever seen any of his films. Yep, same. I’ve heard of a few of his movies mentioned in this thread but not seen any. ---
**Author:** ![foolsguinea](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foolsguinea/32/14751_2.png) [@foolsguinea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/foolsguinea)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2015, 9:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-before-majority-of-people-forget-that-paul-newman-was-an-actor/732234/59 "2015-09-23T09:33:30Z")
I know some of these actors because my parents both liked film and passed it on to me, and my father would have me watch movies with him. I’m not sure I’ve ever seen Tony Curtis in a starring role. Newman, Cagney, sure. Cary Grant, yeah, I think I got to see some of his stuff on my own after my father died. Alan Ladd and Clark Gable are practically just trivia question names to me. I just now started to name Joel McCrea and called him Joel McHale by mistake. :smack: Chaplin, though? Yeah, I think he’s still gaining new fans. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2015, 10:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-before-majority-of-people-forget-that-paul-newman-was-an-actor/732234/60 "2015-09-23T10:32:30Z")
> [@foolsguinea](#): > > I’m not sure I’ve ever seen Tony Curtis in a starring role. Films off the top of my head: _ **The Great Race** _, \*\*\*Some Like It Hot \*\*\*(both with the great Jack Lemmon), _ **The Great Impostor** _, _ **Houdini** _ (both based on true stories), _ **Who Was That Lady?** _ (with real-life wife Janet Leigh of _ **Psycho** _ fame; later remade as _ **True Lies** _); _ **Taras Bulba** _ (with Yul Brynner and second wife Christine Kaufman); _ **Boeing, Boeing** _ (opposite Jerry Lewis), _ **Operation Petticoat** _ (with Cary Grant). Janet Leigh also played his wife in _ **Houdini** _. More trivia: Cary Grant and Tony Curtis were the only two actors ever to have worked with both Mae West and Marilyn Monroe. Curtis was also paired with Roger Moore ('60s TV’s _ **The Saint** _, the third cinematic James Bond) in the '70s ITV series _ **The Persuaders** _. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-before-majority-of-people-forget-that-paul-newman-was-an-actor/732234.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-before-majority-of-people-forget-that-paul-newman-was-an-actor/732234.md?page=4)