R.I.P. Mr. Newman

After months of unnecessary, insensitive, and, quite honestly, disrespectful blogosphere speculation, Paul Newman died of cancer yesterday at his home in Westport, Conn. He was 83.

Easily one of Hollywood’s most talented, handsome, and generous guys, Newman was a man who did it all in his own terms.

He acted terrifically.

The actor shot to stardom in the 1950s and never lost his movie-star aura, appearing in classics such as Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (one of my favorites) opposite Elizabeth Taylor, Exodus, The Hustler, Cool Hand Luke, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid and The Sting with Robert Redford, and The Verdict. He won an Oscar in 1986 – on his eighth try – for The Color of Money, a sequel to The Hustler. And he most recently appeared in 1994’s Nobody’s Fool and 2002’s Road to Perdition, and voiced a character in 2006’s Cars.

He raced cars. He suffered no fools. And most admirably, he was half of one of the most successful showbiz marriages – to actress Joanne Woodward, whom he married in 1958.

And as co-founder of Newman’s Own food products, he gave to charity.

He was Paul Newman, and I will miss him.

Photo: TheSartorialist.blogspot.com.

Update: Click here to watch David Letterman’s tribute to Paul Newman.