I don’t care how it happens. I’m going to remember it like this.
Swayze will be 56 on the 18th of this month.
oh, those eyes…
I watch The Long Hot Summer whenever it’s on, which isn’t often enough.
I don’t know if it’s true, but I read somewhere that when Newman was asked about his marriage and why it was successful when other Hollywood marriages were failing, he responded “You don’t go out for hamburger when you have steak at home.”
One of the few celebrities I have ever met, repeatedly. Even though I was quite young, he was a very personable, nice and gracious individual. He was a bit of a prankster, but never cruel. I have a couple of pics of him in the late 70’s at the track, and boy was he sexy.
You met him in connection with his racing?
Sit down here, sonny boy, and tell us more. 
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.
I’ve heard this from other people, too.
My heart goes out to him and his family.
I just rented Slap Shot a week or so ago. I loved him in that role.
That scene in TLHS when he’s standing on the veranda outside Joanne Woodward’s bedroom - bare chested, wearing boxers & holding a pillow - taunting her. Jesus. There used to be a YouTube clip of that and it was a thing of beauty.
VCNJ~
When I was a kid I was always at the track. My mother did drag races, and my dad raced stock cars. They always had a 'vette, and we would often use it as a pace car. This was up at Brainerd International Raceway, which might have still been called Donnybrook at the time, I can’t remember. Paul Newman would have been around this track mid to late 70’s, maybe even early 80’s.
I was pretty young, and really he was just another adult, albeit a nice one. My parents were friends with one of the owners of the track at the time, so maybe that was why I got to see him more. I had no idea he was famous, or made movies, he was just another driver.
That is just awesome. Leaning up against a race car and having a beer with Paul Newman. Nothing cold possibly be cooler than that.
From all I’ve heard of him, he wouldn’t have wanted it any other way.
Probably around the same time, I was a kid with an older cousin who worked on a stock car’s crew. He told stories about how his racer was a younger guy, and they would jokingly razz Newman, calling him an old man and stuff, and he and his crew would razz right back at the “kid.” My cousin mentioned pranks too but I can’t remember any details. Sounded the same to me, just another guy trading jokes with the other racers and crews.
I tend to buy his company’s salad dressings and some other products just because I’m impressed by his dedication to doing charity work. I hope that whatever is happening to him, his life is happy and peaceful, and continues to be through whenever the end comes (now or years from now).
Newman’s whole family must be gorgeous. Back in the late 80’s, when the state of Michigan was celebrating it’s sesquicentennial(150th anniversary), there was a series of commercials that featured the relatives of famous Michiganders saying how they’d invited their famous relation home for the party.
Paul Newman’s brother looked almost exactly like him, and had those same blue eyes. Mmmm!
And Madonna’s brother, at least at the time, was quite a hunk. He said that he’d threatened to show everyone her Girl Scout Merit badges if she didn’t come back.
That was the best thing ever. Like, ever. I’m counting that as better than ice cream, sliced bread, the Declaration of Independence…
I think my favorite of his, besides The Long, Hot Summer is Cat on a Hot Tin Roof. Especially when he backs Maggie’s play at the end…
I read this to my mother. She just nodded knowingly.
I’ve met him a couple of times within the past year (he frequents the theater where I work). He is a very low-key, sweet, normal guy, devoted to his wife. And looks very good for his age.
We haven’t seen him recently, though, which makes me inclined to believe the rumors may be true. The denial of his illness seems to go with his don’t-make-a-fuss personality. 
The Color of Money wasn’t the greatest movie he did but to reprise a role 25 years later and act like it should be done more often. Hint to Harrison Ford as Indiana Jones, or Stallone in Rocky part XXIV.
fisha, that’s the coolest thing in the universe. Seriously. And exactly how Paul wanted it - just another driver. Awesome.