Seeing
Paul Newman last night in an old film prompted me to write him, one of
my all time favourite stars. It's often said that fame is fleeting. Not
in the case of many great people who have achieved outstanding merits in
their profession, in their heroic or selfless deed, or just in their
being the kind of great people that they are. Paul Newman was one of
them, being remembered, respected and continues to be famous,
influential and 'active', even after death, through representation of
what he had started.
He couldn't be there in person but he was definitely and clearly present in everybody's minds fairly recently, in the Davis Symphony's Hall of San Francisco. The event was to raise funds for the project he had designed and prepared, one of the many he had been active in, all for benevolent purposes. The event had been converted by his colleagues and friends into also a homage in his honour. Many brilliant stars of the Hollywood legend interpreted the work Newman had done in Broadway, 'The world of Nick Adams', an adaptation of a story by Ernest Hemingway, written by an old collaborator of the actor, A.E. Hotcher. The two had founded the alimentation company 'Paul's Own', all earnings of which were destined, right from the first moment, to help the needy. Jack Nicholson interpreted the story-teller, and Casey Affeck the protagonist, a 19 year old youth who, after breaking up with his girl, left his village and his family, to enlist in the Italian military of emergency. He met on his way all sorts of colourful characters, interpreted by, no less, great stars of the highest rank in Hollywood: Julia Roberts, Tom Hanks, Bruce Willis, Sean Penn, Robin Wright-Penn, Warren Beatty, Danny DeVito, Joaquin Phoenix, Annette Bening, Billy Crystal, Edward James Olmos, Danny Glover, and Rita Wilson. Such a cast in a single production would no doubt have been a dream for any Hollywood film producers. The funds raised were destined to the 'Painted Turtle', a camp up on the mountains of Los Angles, where very seriously ill children can realize certain possible activities and receive treatments. The actor had also similar camps in Connecticut, New York, Florida, North Carolina, Irland, France, Israel, Italy, Hungary and the United Kingdom of Britain. Even though during the lecture nobody actually talked about Newman, but when the children went up to the stage to sing with Bonnie Ratt 'Put a little love into your heart', the sighs of emotion filled the whole of the hall and many shed tears. |
- Current Mood:
Accomplished
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