Man, I'm a wee bit bummed out right now. I just discovered one of my favorite actors ever, Paul Newman just died from cancer. It's strange, remembering how I saw Cool Hand Luke in high school, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid and The Color of Money on TV while in middle high, and then being surprised how he still was able to be potent in late-bloomers as Empire Falls, Road to Perdition (still one of the best looking movies of this decade, IMHO), and even playing a talking roadster in Cars.
What still shocks me in retrospect is that I can't claim to have seem a bad movie from him (and yes, this list includes The Towering Inferno). It's rare to see an actor make his own way in an industry that seems only locked on satisfying the lowest common denominator, and still contribute outside of Hollywood. I recall hearing him discuss retiring from Hollywood last year (even though he was planning to direct a stage play prior to his cancer treatment), and felt how much I'll miss seeing ol' Butch Cassidy again on the big screen. But man, what he left behind...
