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.
Curious
Amused
Awake
Accomplished