27 Sep 08 Dead at 83
Oscar-winning actor Paul Newman has died at his home in Connecticut at the age of 83. He starred in around 60 films in a career that spanned five decades.
He starred in a number of movies, such as Cat On A Hot Tin Roof (1958); The Hustler (1961); Cool Hand Luke (1967), Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969); The Sting (1973); The Towering Inferno (1974) and The Color Of Money (1986).
He didn’t actually get an Oscar until he won Best Actor in The Color Of Money, although he was nominated many times.
He was a co-founder of Newman’s Own, a food company from which Newman donated all profits and royalties to charity. As of May 2007, these donations had exceeded US$220 million. (source: Wikipedia)
He quit acting in 2007, and pulled out of directing a project earlier this year, citing health issues. He leaves a widow (Joanne Woodward, to whom he had been married 50 years this past January) and five daughters.
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02 Jan 08 New Year And All That
It’s the same every year isn’t it? New Year Resolutions. New Starts. Sweeping statements about what the new year will bring, how it will compare to the last. It’s worse with decades of course. Then the whole ten years in generalized in a few words.
- The Hungry Thirties
- Â The Roaring Twenties
- The Swinging Sixties
Still, I’m not going to do that. I’m not going to summarize 2007 or try to guess what will happen in 2008. It’s really more of the same. It’s election year in the US, so plenty of bullshit coming from that direction, as each candidate tries to convince the voters that they’re the saving grace for the nation.
Personally, I shall strive to remain healthy first and foremost. Without that, everything else fades into insignificance almost. Money? Well it’s the way the world goes around, so I shall attempt to make more, but again, it’s an ongoing thing, and not something I start each January.
January is also the month when I get another year older too, although I’ve long given up worrying about birthday celebrations.
Meanwhile, I shall drink another glass of cool fresh 2008 tap water. Will this year be a good vintage?
Tags: birthday celebrations, bullshit, decades, election year, else fades, few words, hungry thirties, insignificance, iowa 2008, money, new year, new year resolutions, roaring twenties, saving grace, swinging sixties
24 Dec 07 Oscar Peterson RIP
Oscar Peterson, whose early talent and speedy fingers made him one of the world’s best known jazz pianists, has died at the age of 82.
His death was confirmed by Hazel McCallion, mayor of Mississauga, Ontario, the Toronto suburb where Peterson lived. McCallion told The Associated Press that he died of kidney failure but that she did not know when. The hospital and police refused to comment.
“He’s been going downhill in the last few months, slowing up,” McCallion said, calling Peterson a “very close friend.”
During an illustrious career spanning seven decades, Peterson played with some of the biggest names in jazz, including Ella Fitzgerald, Count Basie and Dizzy Gillespie.
Tags: count basie, death, decades, dizzy gillespie, ella fitzgerald, fingers, hazel mccallion, illustrious career, jazz pianists, kidney failure, mayor of mississauga, mississauga ontario, oscar peterson, oscar peterson dies, toronto suburb
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