# Paul Newman only has weeks to live **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 9, 2008, 2:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paul-newman-only-has-weeks-to-live/459403 "2008-08-09T14:33:43Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![MrBelding](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7feea3/32.png) [@MrBelding](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrBelding)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2008, 2:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paul-newman-only-has-weeks-to-live/459403/41 "2008-08-11T14:13:22Z")
This is terrible news. I have to say the guy was a real nice guy with a ton of talent. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![BaneSidhe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/c5a1d2/32.png) [@BaneSidhe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BaneSidhe)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2008, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paul-newman-only-has-weeks-to-live/459403/42 "2008-08-11T15:24:58Z")
Well, fuck. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![Gary\_T](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Gary\_T](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gary_T)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2008, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paul-newman-only-has-weeks-to-live/459403/43 "2008-08-11T15:51:43Z")
[QUOTE=Ducktail] Waaait…is Cool Hand Luke the one with the egg-eating contest? :eek: I walked in on my mother watching that scene and walked right back out. [/QUOTE] Yes, that’s the one, but it’s not a movie about eating eggs. It’s a film well worth watching. Close your eyes during the egg scene if you have to. ---
**Author:** ![Rick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9f8e36/32.png) [@Rick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2008, 11:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paul-newman-only-has-weeks-to-live/459403/44 "2008-08-19T23:44:33Z")
I just got this in e mail about Mr. Newman > [@](#): > > I read this in the VRG Newsletter–very sad: > > “Wednesday, August 13, 2008 > Lime Rock Park was closed down for an hour and > half today to honor Paul Newman. He was attended > by his family, close friends, Skip Barber, mechanics > on his race team, and those who happened to be at > the track. PLN toured the track in his Corvette race > car with his Buick V8 powered Volvo station wagon > following. He had come to say goodbye. Diagnosed > with terminal cancer he is not expected to live beyond > September. Race driver, actor, humanitarian, family > man and friend b they did not come any better.” A great man who will be missed. ---
**Author:** ![Defensive\_Indifference](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/defensive_indifference/32/6502_2.png) [@Defensive\_Indifference](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Defensive_Indifference)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2008, 11:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paul-newman-only-has-weeks-to-live/459403/45 "2008-08-19T23:58:36Z")
[QUOTE=Rick] I just got this in e mail about Mr. Newman A great man who will be missed. [/QUOTE] Damn. ---
**Author:** ![River\_Hippie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/river_hippie/32/26_2.png) [@River\_Hippie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/River_Hippie)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2008, 12:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paul-newman-only-has-weeks-to-live/459403/46 "2008-08-20T00:11:13Z")
[QUOTE=Struan] I hope things work out peacefully for Paul Newman,… [/QUOTE] Well put, I second that! ---
**Author:** ![Hometownboy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/5e9695/32.png) [@Hometownboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hometownboy)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2008, 3:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paul-newman-only-has-weeks-to-live/459403/47 "2008-08-20T03:11:05Z")
My only Newman story, second hand. When he was filming “Sometimes a Great Notion” on the Oregon coast, an older friend of mine was on vacation with his wife and decided to drive by the place where they were filming. It was on a Sunday and the crew was taking a day off. Mr Newman was standing there next to a modest trailer with a beer. When they got out of the car and asked if they could take a picture, he offered to stand by my friend’s wife, and did so, with his arm around her – AFTER ASKING HER PERMISSION, which she quickly gave. In the photo they showed me, she had a HUGE grin and he had that twinkly smile. A thorough gentleman, instinctively kind, and he puts his money and earning power to good causes. Nice for a few good ones at least to have a long and successful career. I wish him peace. ---
**Author:** ![UntouchedTakeaway](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/d78d45/32.png) [@UntouchedTakeaway](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UntouchedTakeaway)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2008, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paul-newman-only-has-weeks-to-live/459403/48 "2008-08-20T16:31:53Z")
And my list of “Men Over the Age of 80 I’d Do In A New York Minute” will decrease to Kirk Douglas until Clint Eastwood has a few more birthdays ☹ VCNJ~ ---
**Author:** ![mlees](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba8739/32.png) [@mlees](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mlees)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2008, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paul-newman-only-has-weeks-to-live/459403/49 "2008-08-20T16:48:30Z")
Damn. All the Greats are passing on. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![singular1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ba9def/32.png) [@singular1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/singular1)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2008, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paul-newman-only-has-weeks-to-live/459403/50 "2008-08-20T17:28:28Z")
With a lump in my throat from **Rick** ’s post, I’ll relate my humble Paul Newman story. My parents always went to Watkin’s Glen for the annual Grand Prix races. I went for a couple years (until my folks figured out that it was a non-family-friendly atmosphere at night and left me home). My dad and I were walking the track on afternoon when we saw a couple guys struggling to push a car up a ramp into a truck. My father, ever the diplomat, went over yelling “Ya gotta put your _shoulder_ into it, ya horse’s ass!”, and he proceeded to do just that. He’s pretty strong, and the car rolled in easily. The guy in charged turned around, smiled and thanked him and offered him a beer. He turned to me and offered me something, but I hardly heard him. At 11, I was immediately smitten by the bluest eyes I ever saw and I was speechless and slackjawed. Apparently this happens to him a lot, as he just smiled and handed me a coke and turned to chat with my dad. What a beautiful and gracious man. I hope he’s as comfortable and at peace as it is possible for the man to be. It’ll be a great loss to us all. ---
**Author:** ![Walloon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/fbc32d/32.png) [@Walloon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walloon)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2008, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paul-newman-only-has-weeks-to-live/459403/51 "2008-08-20T19:24:43Z")
[QUOTE=SkeptiJess] Newman circa 1958 was the Platonic Ideal of Man as far as I’m concerned. [/QUOTE] [Jeffrey](http://www.jeffreyhuntermovies.com./images/Photos/greenjacket.jpg) [Hunter](http://www.jeffreyhuntermovies.com./images/Photos/swimsuitblackandwhite1.jpg) was a contender for that title (and made two movies with Joanne Woodward). ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2008, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paul-newman-only-has-weeks-to-live/459403/52 "2008-09-27T15:33:22Z")
Bumping this thread for the memories.☹ ---
**Author:** ![Autolycus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/22d042/32.png) [@Autolycus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Autolycus)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2008, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paul-newman-only-has-weeks-to-live/459403/53 "2008-09-27T15:43:31Z")
RIP Newman, even though I know you best from your salad dressings, after some quick reading you sound like a helluva guy. ---
**Author:** ![outlierrn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/outlierrn/32/3005_2.png) [@outlierrn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/outlierrn)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2008, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paul-newman-only-has-weeks-to-live/459403/54 "2008-09-27T17:00:35Z")
Well shit! ---
**Author:** ![Mama\_Tiger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/6de8d8/32.png) [@Mama\_Tiger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Tiger)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2008, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paul-newman-only-has-weeks-to-live/459403/55 "2008-09-27T17:21:30Z")
He was a helluva nice guy, too. We lived in Westport for a few years while I was in junior high (literally right around the corner from where he lived) and high school, and we’d see him around town. My sister was in classes with his son Scott, and he’d come to the school to speak to classes occasionally. And his eyes were such an piercing blue, I’ve never seen anything like them. To my total humiliation, one day when I was about 13, my sister were in downtown Westport when he came walking down the street – the unwritten rule was to treat him like a normal person, don’t bug him – and she stopped him to tell him how much she enjoyed his acting. To his credit, he was totally gracious and kind to her (I was cringing as far away as I could, being at the age of utmost humiliation). He will definitely be missed. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2008, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paul-newman-only-has-weeks-to-live/459403/56 "2008-09-27T21:01:26Z")
> [@Autolycus](#): > > RIP Newman, even though I know you best from your salad dressings, after some quick reading you sound like a helluva guy. And the best salsa in the supermarket! ---
**Author:** ![C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b2d939/32.png) [@C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/C_K_Dexter_Haven)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2008, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paul-newman-only-has-weeks-to-live/459403/57 "2008-09-27T21:14:53Z")
Obit thread is here: [Goodbye, Butch. (Paul Newman died.) - Cafe Society - Straight Dope Message Board](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=485285) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paul-newman-only-has-weeks-to-live/459403.md?page=2)