Good Bye Blue Eyes

Paul Newman, one of the greatest film legends of the 20th century, passed away this last Friday (September 26th, 2008) due to cancer. He was 83. While Paul Newman will always be remembered by the enormous footprint he left on the film industry, what always was remarkable to me was not his ability as an actor, but the greatness of his character. 

Paul Newman was best known as the likable rebel in films like Cool Hand Luke, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, Slapshot, Hud, and The Verdict. His trademarks being his cool blue eyes, his steely nerve, and magnetic charisma onscreen. His acting abilities were oft challenged due to his good looks, but these doubts were silenced when he won the Oscar for "Best Actor" for his performance in The Color of Money, along with five solid nominations for the same category. But his likeliness to a typical Hollywood actor ended there. 

Paul Newman was a philanthropist. A common Holiday tradition of making salad dressing for his friends and family turned into a charitable enterprise. He formed "Newman's Own". A food company that sold salsa's, salad dressing, lemonade, pasta sauce, and wine, giving all of the profits to charity. The recorded donations as of 2006 were recorded at $200 million. He began a summer camp dedicated to kids with cancer, it was called "Hole in the Wall Gang", named after a gang of the same name in his film Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. The camp even included cowboy hats so that the children with chemotherapy could hide their bald heads. He donated $10 million to his alma matter Kenyon College to help fund a scholarship. He was also one of the founders of the CECP (Committee Encouraging Corporate Philanthropy). A group made up of CEOs and other corporate chairpersons dedicated to encourage the philanthropic donation of monies by large companies. After his son Scott passed away due to drug overdose he started the "Scott Newman Center", aimed at preventing drug and alcohol addiction. 

As a husband he stood loyally by his wife for over 40 years. As a man in the tumultuous world of Hollywood this stands a testament to his character. When asked about fidelity inside a marriage by Playboy, Paul Newman once quipped, "Why go out for a hamburger when you have steak at home?" 

Paul Newman was also a motor enthusiast. Competing and winning many auto-races. 

At the age of 83 Paul Newman has lived harder, and accomplished more than many men or women. There are many men of talent and skill that have blessed the film community, but it is very rare to have a man with the honorable character that Paul Newman possessed bless the entertainment industry, or any industry for that matter. May his example produce more like him. 

“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.”

"It ain't over til it's over."

Tonight the Yankees played what will most likely be the last game ever to be played in the old Yankee stadium, "The House That Ruth Built", the Cathedral of baseball. Home to 6,581 Yankees home games, 161 play-off games (more than any 3 stadiums combined), 85 years of tradition, 37 American League Pennant titles, 26 World Series Championships, 20 classic boxing match-ups, 3 Papal visits, and one legendary baseball team.  

While Yankee stadium will always be known as the home of the Bronx Bombers, it also hosted many many historic boxing matches. Including an aging Jack Dempsey's come from behind win over Jack Sharkey, the historical knock out of the German Schmeling by Joe Louis, and Muhammad Ali defending his title against Kevin Norton. Yankee stadium also hosted a myriad of football games. The Notre Dame-Army game, where coach Knute Rockne was said to give his "win one for the gipper speech at half-time" at half time. The NFL championship game between the Colts and the Giants in 1958, a nail-biter that is hailed as the single game that elevated American Football into the national spotlight. 

Aside from sports the stadium served as a meeting place for Mass during Papal visits, a concert venue for U2, Pink Floyd and Billy Joel, and a memorial service for those who suffered during 9/11. The stadium also held a wedding, between blind Yankee sportswriter Ed Lucas and his fiancee Alison Pfieffle. 

But of course when people think of Yankee stadium they will always think of the Yankees. They will think of pinstripes, and they will think of the prestige. Those who have attended games will recall the Hammond Organ playing "Take Me Out To The Ball Game" during the seventh inning stretch, the deafening clamor of the New York fans, and the white frieze running atop the stadium. Players who were lucky enough to play there will always remember that moment that they got to share the same space that baseball legends such as Ruth and DiMaggio once occupied. 

I feel our society does not hold onto tradition as much as we should. We're too quick to tear down our history, and being such a young country we have so little to begin with. The Yankee stadium is history. It's our coliseum, it's our pyramid. It's one of the most storied buildings in New York city, and without a doubt the greatest stadium in baseball history. 

In the words of Bob Sheppard, voice of the Yankees, during the seventh inning stretch of the last game:

Farewell old Yankee Stadium, farewell

What a wonderful story you can tell

DiMaggio, Mantle, Gehrig and Ruth

A baseball cathedral in truth

Farewell.

Coming to a heaven near you...

You may not know the name Don LaFontainea, but you've heard his voice; you've memorized his voice, and you've mimicked his voice. He's told you about far away lands, heroes in need, and evil villains. Don LaFontainea is perhaps the most famous voice in film, yet has never starred in a film. If you haven't guessed by now, Don LaFontainea is the famous grizzly voiced baritone of the trailer world. Known as the "King of Voiceovers", he has had over 40 years of voice over work experience, he is know to have recorded for over 5,000 movie trailers, recording up to 80 in a single day. Don passed away on September 1st, 2008. He is survived by his daughters Christine, Skye, and Elyse. 

Rest in peace Don LaFontainea, the film world will miss you. 

Death to an American Legend

It is a sad day in America. The great American beer giant Anheuser Busch was bought out by  InBev, a Belgium/Brazillian brewing and beverage company. While you will still see Budweiser in stores, the deal includes the addition of 'InBev' name into the Anheuser Busch on their bottles. On top of all of that, they plan to sell more Budweiser in other countries to capitalize on their name, which means a possible rise in prices if they don't start building more breweries. (Get stock while you can, it's not going to be 66.87 in two years that's for sure). 

Bottom line: the Budweiser we know and love is no more. A sad day indeed. 

RIP - George Carlin

On June 22nd, 2008 the great comedian, political commentator, New Yorker, actor, author, and word smith George Carlin died of heart complications. While not my favorite comedian out there, I've always appreciated his smart humor and word play. To honor his passing away here are a few of my favorite bits of his. 

Baseball vs. Football

Pro Life is Anti-Woman

Soft Language

Saving the Planet

Seven Words You Can't Say On TV

Loving Lovingly Loving

I just ran across an obituary I thought would share with you. Mildred Loving, 68, suffered wounds from an auto accident and died in her home Friday, May 2nd. If you're like me you probably have no idea who Mildred Loving is. But after reading her obituary I was shocked that she is not more well known.

"At 2 a.m. on July 11, 1958, three policemen burst into the bedroom of Mildred and Richard Loving in Central Point, Va. One of them demanded, "Who is this woman you're sleeping with?" Mildred Loving said, "I'm his wife." Her husband, a bricklayer, pointed to their marriage certificate on the wall. "That's no good here," came the reply. Because Richard was white, and Mildred was part black and part Native American, their union was illegal in Virginia. They challenged the law as unconstitutional, though, and nine years later, the U.S. Supreme Court agreed." -The Week May 16, 2008

What separates her fight for other civil rights from others is that it was not really a fight for civil rights at all. Mildred never considered herself a racial pioneer, or a hero, she just fell in love. As she states in an address she gave back in June 12th, 2007:

 "When Richard and I came back to our home in Virginia, happily married, we had no intention of battling over the law. We made a commitment to each other in our love and lives, and now had the legal commitment, called marriage, to match. Isn't that what marriage is?" 

In a time where divorce rates for first marriages hover around %50, and overt sexuality controls our media and mindset it was refreshing to read about a man and woman who believed so heavily in love and their love for one another that they took it to the highest court in the Nation. Of course the racial and civil right implications were huge, and life-changing for the entire country, but what stuck out more for me was the humbling tone of Mildred. It wasn't a politically driven fight, it was a woman and man believing that love should be the highest form of power, not the government. 

I'm recently working with a lesbian (well, a few lesbians). One of them recently brought her girlfriend to work, and introduced all of us to her. As experienced as I am, love is still a convoluted and mysterious thing that sometimes makes no sense at all, often tearing at my heart or sending me down twisting alleyways with no end. But when I saw those two I was sure of what I saw: it was true love. The kind of love you you thought you had as a child before you learned to kiss, where holding hands for hours was just perfect. The kind heard in the vibrations of Otis Redding's voice as he trembles out "Come to me." The kind where you could swear among that in the middle of that busy Venice boardwalk they were the only ones standing there. They are engaged and to be married soon, but in Canada, not in America. 

When the court overturned the Virginia's law against interracial marriages the judge stated: "Marriage is one of the 'basic civil rights of man,' fundamental to our very existence and survival... Under our Constitution, the freedom to marry, or not marry, a person of another race resides with the individual and cannot be infringed by the State." Of course race is the issue here, and not sexual orientation so this ruling cannot directly be used towards an argument of same-sex-marriage in a supreme court today. But why not? 

Mildred and Richard Loving originally only wanted to be married. They wanted the love they possessed for each other to be recognized by the state. And shouldn't that be what marriage is about? I understand that marriage puts one under a certain obligation fiscally, fidelity-wise, and so on and so forth, but are we looking to far into it? In the days of prenuptial agreements, marrying for visas (which I just heard being called "marriedish"), marrying due to accidental pregnancy,  binge vegas marriages, gold diggers, and "power marriages" I think the entire institution is under attack at this point. Give marriage back to people who will cherish it and appreciate it. Not to say there won't be any same-sex couples who take advantage of the right, but there are so many out there who love just as deeply as Mildred and Richard yet are being neglected the right to marry who they chose to be their life partner. Marriage should be about the the devotion that the two parties are pledging towards each other, not about racial or religious prejudice. 

At the end of her life Mildred's biggest accomplishment was that she could choose the person that she loved as her life-partner, not that she enabled a black and a white person to marry. As she said herself, "I am still not a political person, but I am proud that Richard's and my name is on a court case that can help reinforce the love, the commitment,  the fairness, and the family that so many people, black or white, young or old, gay or straight seek in life."