Paul Newman, RIP

I've long been an admirer of Paul Newman, but not a huge fan, so I was a little taken aback at just how touched I am by the news of his death yesterday at age 83. Maybe it's because I am so used to seeing his handsome, cheery face on bottles of salad dressing & cookies at the grocery store every week. Maybe it's because in every one of the 5 or 6 movies I've seen him in, his work consistently struck me as both charming and authentic. Maybe it's because of the Adam Sandler lyric from his first Chanukkah Song: "Paul Newman's half-Jewish; Goldie Hawn's half, too / Put 'em both together: what a fine-lookin' Jew!" Whatever the reason, I am tearing up over here, and I'm indulging my very mild dose of grief by reading & viewing the following:

Paul Newman, A Magnetic Titan of Hollywood, is Dead at 83 (NY Times)
A Late, Great Movie Star (slide show w/Manohla Dargis from the NY Times)
RIP, Paul Newman (The AV Club, including a priceless clip from Butch Cassidy & The Sundance Kid)
Paul Newman & James Dean screentest footage (YouTube -- there's TONS of this stuff there, if you just search "paul newman")

Now's the time to showcase Paul Newman's work at your library -- maybe an impromptu week of his films, with snacks from his Newman's Own line? -- so go through your DVD collection & generate some flyers!