# 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:** 9
**Author:** ![Master\_Wang-Ka](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/master_wang-ka/32/3325_2.png) [@Master\_Wang-Ka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Master_Wang-Ka)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2015, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-before-majority-of-people-forget-that-paul-newman-was-an-actor/732234/161 "2015-09-24T21:23:16Z")
> [@Scumpup](#): > > [Surf’s up!](https://pubdhub.info/mobile/#basiccats) When I examined your link, I was delighted. I clicked on it, and it took me to a menu. And then my antivirus programs went completely nuts. I return to my original stance on the issue. ---
**Author:** ![ISiddiqui](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/97f17d/32.png) [@ISiddiqui](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ISiddiqui)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2015, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-before-majority-of-people-forget-that-paul-newman-was-an-actor/732234/162 "2015-09-24T21:32:58Z")
> [@Master\_Wang-Ka](#): > > I am also thinking that although I am aware of a HUGE number of classic novels, books, reference works, and classic, powerful, ICONIC films… > > …that when some people get home from work, they don’t WANT to do a research project to dig up classic entertainment. They wanna flip on the screen and maybe surf a menu. Indeed. The xkcd comic that **Ulf the Unwashed** put up is also relevant. I don’t think you’ll get many people wanting to watch old movies, if people make fun of folks for not knowing them, or act all smug about it. That doesn’t incentivize anyone. Vinegar and honey, guys. People don’t want to do extra work to find what is important from before they were born unless they feel its worth the effort - folks who try to entice with honey are usually the ones who are considered be “worth the effort” to watch what they are saying. I’m 35, I’ve never seen “Butch Cassidy…” or “The Sting”, though they are likely on my Netflix queue. This thread makes me less likely to want to see them. ---
**Author:** ![Scumpup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce73a5/32.png) [@Scumpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scumpup)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2015, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-before-majority-of-people-forget-that-paul-newman-was-an-actor/732234/163 "2015-09-24T21:38:12Z")
> [@Master\_Wang-Ka](#): > > When I examined your link, I was delighted. I clicked on it, and it took me to a menu. > > And then my antivirus programs went completely nuts. > > I return to my original stance on the issue. Maybe check your anti-virus. I use that site on a Roku, an android tablet, and a Windows PC. Without issues. Ad Aware, Malware Bytes, Glary, and Windows Defender all think it is safe. ---
**Author:** ![Master\_Wang-Ka](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/master_wang-ka/32/3325_2.png) [@Master\_Wang-Ka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Master_Wang-Ka)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2015, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-before-majority-of-people-forget-that-paul-newman-was-an-actor/732234/164 "2015-09-24T21:44:01Z")
> [@ISiddiqui](#): > > Indeed. The xkcd comic that **Ulf the Unwashed** put up is also relevant. I don’t think you’ll get many people wanting to watch old movies, if people make fun of folks for not knowing them, or act all smug about it. That doesn’t incentivize anyone. Vinegar and honey, guys. People don’t want to do extra work to find what is important from before they were born unless they feel its worth the effort - folks who try to entice with honey are usually the ones who are considered be “worth the effort” to watch what they are saying. > > I’m 35, I’ve never seen “Butch Cassidy…” or “The Sting”, though they are likely on my Netflix queue. This thread makes me less likely to want to see them. My point was more towards convenience, but I’m there with you… this was largely the point I’m tryin’ to make. That being said, I personally feel that if you like westerns, _Butch Cassidy_ is more than worthwhile… and if you like caper films, _The Sting_ is excellent. I’d also recommend _Cool Hand Luke_, although a lot of people would need a lesson in the history of the time it was released in order to “get” all of it. Otherwise, it’s a fine prison film with a bit of a message in it. Oh, and **Scumpup**? Ad-Aware is one of the programs that complained about it. Have you visited this site lately? I mean, it LOOKS like a treasure trove, but the computer’s reaction makes me suspicious. ---
**Author:** ![Scumpup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce73a5/32.png) [@Scumpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scumpup)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2015, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-before-majority-of-people-forget-that-paul-newman-was-an-actor/732234/165 "2015-09-24T21:44:53Z")
I visited it about 2 minutes before I posted the link to you. ---
**Author:** ![Master\_Wang-Ka](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/master_wang-ka/32/3325_2.png) [@Master\_Wang-Ka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Master_Wang-Ka)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2015, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-before-majority-of-people-forget-that-paul-newman-was-an-actor/732234/166 "2015-09-24T21:53:26Z")
Ah, here we go. Got it. There doesn’t seem to be any provision for stopping, fast forwarding, or rewinding the film, or for that matter, leaving the window, short of closing the window or using the BACK button. Is it supposed to be like this? ---
**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 24, 2015, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-before-majority-of-people-forget-that-paul-newman-was-an-actor/732234/167 "2015-09-24T22:13:41Z")
> [@Dag\_Otto](#): > > What baffles me is that **Small Hen** started the thread with “The other day, I was watching Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid…”. > > Was the other day a few decades ago? I’m weird if I watch 'em, I’m uneducated if I don’t. Since I’d rather be weird than uneducated, I guess I’ll watch 'em. probably shouldn’t mention that i’ve never seen it’s a wonderful life. It’s a pretty good movie, people. I don’t know about best 100 of all time, but it’s quite good. Very, very lovely men. _swoons_ ---
**Author:** ![Scumpup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce73a5/32.png) [@Scumpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scumpup)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2015, 11:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-before-majority-of-people-forget-that-paul-newman-was-an-actor/732234/168 "2015-09-24T23:21:59Z")
> [@Master\_Wang-Ka](#): > > Ah, here we go. Got it. > > There doesn’t seem to be any provision for stopping, fast forwarding, or rewinding the film, or for that matter, leaving the window, short of closing the window or using the BACK button. Is it supposed to be like this? When I open a movie in android or from a Windows browser the page shows a Pub-D-Hub player logo with the usual media player start/stop progress bar at the bottom. ---
**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 24, 2015, 11:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-before-majority-of-people-forget-that-paul-newman-was-an-actor/732234/169 "2015-09-24T23:39:19Z")
> [@Small\_Hen](#): > > Very, very lovely men. _swoons_ Indeed. Most men, myself included, can take that movie or leave it. But every woman I’ve ever known ADORES it. ---
**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 24, 2015, 11:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-before-majority-of-people-forget-that-paul-newman-was-an-actor/732234/170 "2015-09-24T23:45:36Z")
> [@Small\_Hen](#): > > I’m weird if I watch 'em, I’m uneducated if I don’t. Since I’d rather be weird than uneducated, I guess I’ll watch 'em. probably shouldn’t mention that i’ve never seen it’s a wonderful life. > > It’s a pretty good movie, people. I don’t know about best 100 of all time, but it’s quite good. Very, very lovely men. _swoons_ **Small Hen** , who says you’re weird if you watch 'em? I didn’t re-read the entire thread in detail, but I don’t think anybody said _that_! If they did, screw 'em. Expanding your horizons is to be applauded. EVERYONE IS WEIRD! BTW, you asked upthread if anybody would be watching Butch Cassidy 75 years from now. “The Wizard of Oz” is 76 years old and I don’t see its popularity dropping off any time soon. And it doesn’t have a line extension of salad dressings. ---
**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 24, 2015, 11:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-before-majority-of-people-forget-that-paul-newman-was-an-actor/732234/171 "2015-09-24T23:48:37Z")
> [@Ukulele\_Ike](#): > > Indeed. Most men, myself included, can take that movie or leave it. But every woman I’ve ever known ADORES it. Between you and me: “Kelly’s Heroes” has a very similar syndrome. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2015, 11:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-before-majority-of-people-forget-that-paul-newman-was-an-actor/732234/172 "2015-09-24T23:58:53Z")
> [@Ukulele\_Ike](#): > > Indeed. Most men, myself included, can take that movie or leave it. But every woman I’ve ever known ADORES it. Male and I adore it too. The wife says I’d go gay for Robert Redford at that age. She isn’t wrong. ---
**Author:** ![E-DUB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/e-dub/32/403_2.png) [@E-DUB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E-DUB)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2015, 1:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-before-majority-of-people-forget-that-paul-newman-was-an-actor/732234/173 "2015-09-25T01:37:42Z")
As Yogi Berra might have said: “The Sting is one of those movies you can only see for the first time once.” ---
**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 25, 2015, 1:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-before-majority-of-people-forget-that-paul-newman-was-an-actor/732234/174 "2015-09-25T01:51:02Z")
I’ve seen **The Sting** twice; first in a theater shortly after it came out, as a young teen. Second around 2003 with my daughter when she was 13. Enjoyed it both times and could stand to see it again now, because I’ve forgotten the twist again. Robert Shaw was great, as were all the supporting cast. ---
**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 25, 2015, 1:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-before-majority-of-people-forget-that-paul-newman-was-an-actor/732234/175 "2015-09-25T01:57:03Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > The wife says I’d go gay for Robert Redford at that age. Not my type at all. I could maybe go for Rudolph Valentino, but nobody here knows who he was. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2015, 7:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-before-majority-of-people-forget-that-paul-newman-was-an-actor/732234/176 "2015-09-25T07:03:40Z")
The word “forget” in the OP implies once having known, and then not knowing anymore. As opposed to “How long before majority of people don’t know that Paul Newman was an actor?” Not sure if anyone else pointed it out (did try and read the thread, but some of the digressions made me glaze over). Also, the Paul Newman-\>food product thing isn’t universal outside the US, so that’s another thing to consider - some places, he has no competing legacy. ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2015, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-before-majority-of-people-forget-that-paul-newman-was-an-actor/732234/177 "2015-09-25T14:54:50Z")
What might be fun spinoff from this thread would be one that identified other celebrities (not already mentioned here) whose claims to fame would rival whatever notoriety they achieved through their primary celebrity vehicle. Like, for example, [Rula Lenska!](https://www.youtube.com/watch?t=12&v=5-SJoIpTPk8) ---
**Author:** ![ralph124c](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8797f3/32.png) [@ralph124c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ralph124c)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2015, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-before-majority-of-people-forget-that-paul-newman-was-an-actor/732234/178 "2015-09-25T15:00:24Z")
Interesting thread-old actors do get forgotten-so unless you are a film buff, the Newman name is probably mostly unknown today. Will the late Paul Walker be remembered 20 years from now? probably not. That is the way it is-there is a constant demand for new entertainment, and so, the old stuff is pushed aside. As an aside, I recently saw “Butch Cassidy”-it looks very dated today-the robbery sequences looked phony as hell. It was a movie of its time, and the 1960s were a long time ago. ---
**Author:** ![E-DUB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/e-dub/32/403_2.png) [@E-DUB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E-DUB)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2015, 3:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-before-majority-of-people-forget-that-paul-newman-was-an-actor/732234/179 "2015-09-25T15:15:01Z")
There’s always the possibility that a younger generation would “adopt” Newman as the baby boomers adopted Bogart and James Dean. I’m in my early sixties and remember Bogey posters on the dorm walls of college friends. (Now, my dad was a contemporary of Bogart but was relatively old when I was born, so Bogey is arguably two generations removed.) Newman had a long and varied career, was such a good actor, and had the looks so yeah, that could happen. It already has, to a certain extent, with Al Pacino and that was based on basically one movie (Scarface). ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2015, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-before-majority-of-people-forget-that-paul-newman-was-an-actor/732234/180 "2015-09-25T15:20:18Z")
> [@E-DUB](#): > > … It already has, to a certain extent, with Al Pacino and that was based on basically one movie (Scarface). Surely you didn’t mean to ignore the **Godfather** things? ☹ [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-before-majority-of-people-forget-that-paul-newman-was-an-actor/732234.md?page=8) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-before-majority-of-people-forget-that-paul-newman-was-an-actor/732234.md?page=10)