Paul Newman is dancing with the stars |
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Paul Newman is now dancing with the stars after leaving the physical plane on Friday 26th September 2008 at the ripe old age of 83. He was undoubtedly one of the biggest film icons ever, especially for me as a child in the 70’s. His movies were part of the family feast where we’d all sit around the only TV in the house and enjoy the entertainment together.
On reading the excellent coverage in the New York Times Paul Newman, a Magnetic Titan of Hollywood, the very last paragraph gives us a greater insight into the sort of chap he was... “We are such spendthrifts with our lives,” Mr. Newman once told a reporter. “The trick of living is to slip on and off the planet with the least fuss you can muster. I’m not running for sainthood. I just happen to think that in life we need to be a little like the farmer, who puts back into the soil what he takes out.” Tragedy hit the Newman family on 28th November 1978 when Paul’s only son, Scott, died from an overdose of drink and drugs. In his memory and to help others, Paul set up The Scott Newman Center which educates the young to the dangers of drink and drugs. Today, over 500 people, in family groups, enjoy the summer at Rowdy Ridge Gang Camp as part of their recovery process and many thousands more will benefit from the educational materials and videos The Scott Newman Center produces. Paul made a salad dressing, bottling it as a Christmas gift for some friends and family and this resulted with him turning to manufacturing his own range of products with a writer pal and giving all the profits to charitable causes! Some of this went to set up Hole in the Wall Gang Camps to provide summer fun for children with cancer and other serious illnesses. There are now 13 camps and associated camps around the world, the nearest of which is just down the road in Alton, Hampshire. To date Newman’s Own has generated over $200,000,000 for good causes... What a guy, he had fun making movies and becoming a hero to millions. Recognising this he turned his gift to helping others and now his legacy lives on... he’ll be dancing with the stars and sprinkling his magic over those most in need of a bit of a lift.
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