Well, Paul Newman has joined another one of the artists I most admire, David Foster Wallace, in the Great Beyond.
Newman was a terribly underrated actor, and I think that was because he was too good looking. He bridged the time from the end of the studio system into the beginning of new American cinema and I think he didn't get the respect he deserved because of it.
Obviously, there are as many opinions as people regarding his best work, but my favorites, in no particular order, are: The Hustler, Hudsucker Proxy, The Sting, Nobody's Fool (based on my friend Richard Russo's novel), Road to Perdition, and Cool Hand Luke. Cat on a Hot Tin Roof gets a mention as well, but only because of how it failed. The conventions of the time made what could've been a very interesting film, just OK. It would've been interesting to see Newman play a conflicted gay man, rather than just a pathetic drunk. Unfortunately, we'll never know...
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