Jeff penned a very nice eulogy for Paul Newman, and if you click on the list he linked you'll see how productive Mr. Newman was. I'm sure we'll be exposed to many of his movies in the weeks to come, but in the meantime let's look at a tv oldie.
Archive.org has the ambitious mission of digitizing things that are in the public domain, and it's a fun place to browse. And sure enough, there were some old tv shows with Paul Newman.
For example, there's Tales of Tomorrow - Ice from Space, a 1950s sci-fi tv show, in which Mr. Newman has a minor role as Sgt. Wilson. The show really isn't worth the time to watch except for a glimpse of a young Paul Newman. So I'll go ahead and spoil the plot for you.
It seems that an AR76 test missile was fired into the sky, but it didn't come back down right away like it was supposed to. When it finally returned to earth it contained a large block of ice. So for 20 something minutes the characters pondered what to do about that ice as it grew larger, became more radioactive, and developed an internal flashing light. The actors speculated that it would eventually freeze the entire planet earth, but a brave Major Dozier saved the day by having it loaded back onto the AR76 and flying with it on a suicide mission to blow it up in space.
Although we got to see a film of the rocket take off in the beginning, the entire show was filmed on a set that could have been someone's den and garage. There now, aren't you glad you didn't watch it yourself?
Updated 10/2/08 -- TCM has scheduled a tribute to Paul Newman on October 12 with the following movies:
Eastern time:
6:00 AM The Rack
8:00 AM Until They Sail
10:00 AM Torn Curtain
12:15 PM Exodus
3:45 PM Sweet Bird of Youth
6:00 PM Hud
8:00 PM Somebody Up There Likes Me
10:00 PM Cool Hand Luke
12:15 AM Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
2:15 AM Rachel, Rachel
4:00 AM The Outrage
George, thanks for the kind words, and the link. I'll be watching those TV listings in the days ahead.
Posted by: Jeff | October 02, 2008 at 09:50 AM
Jeff, TCM has scheduled Paul Newman movies all day on October 12.
[Later: The TCM 10/12 schedule was added as an update.]
Posted by: Geo | October 02, 2008 at 09:58 AM