When Paul Newman died, it was the loss of the last of one of the greats. He was a legend because of his stellar acting ability as well as his approachability.
About a year before he died, I had an interaction with him that I'll never forget, so long as I live, and he's a true gentleman from beginning to end.
The story:
I am in charge of my high school reunions. I got the idea I would hold a raffle to raise funds and I asked a number of former Ohio residents, famous people, as I am from Ohio, for donations. I mailed out about 100 letters, never expecting to hear from any of them. I did, in fact, hear from a number of people such as Tim Conway, R.L. Stine, John Glenn... The ONLY ones I heard back from were the older people, you know, when actors had class.
One day, about a month before my reunion, my home phone rang and it said, "Newman Enterprises". I had no clue what that was and was actually about to run out the door. I answered it anyway and when I said, "Hello?" I heard, "Good morning. This is Paul Newman. May I speak with Ms. Dickinson, please?"
I didn't believe it was him and told him so, even going so far as to accuse my brother of doing something to try to trick me. I hung up... He called back two more times before he was able to convince me it was really him, and it took his reading the letter I wrote aloud to me.
He ended up donating over $100 worth of Newman's Own food to the raffle.
The man had more class in his little finger than the actors of today have in their whole bodies, ten-fold. When he died, it was the end of an era.
Side note on Tim Conway: He donated a hand drawing he did of a jockey with a really large behind, to signify a "ten pound penalty" used in horse racing. He supports a charity that provides a retirement of sorts for jockeys who can no longer race. R.L. Stine donated two signed first editions of his books, one of them an advance copy that still wasn't in the stores. Like I said, all class, all of them. These three items, by themselves, brought in over $300 from my classmates and a fist fight almost broke out over the Tim Conway donation. ;-)
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