For me, Paul Newman epitomized the term "Hollywood movie star." His devastating good looks (especially those blue eyes that make your knees go wobbly), paired with a great talent and sheer charisma made for a rare and winning combination. His cinematic career spanned over 50 years, a feat that only a handful of actors will probably ever match.

The New York Times has a terrific article about his life, and contextualized his mark in film with the following:

If Marlon Brando and James Dean defined the defiant American male as a sullen rebel, Paul Newman recreated him as a likable renegade, a strikingly handsome figure of animal high spirits and blue-eyed candor whose magnetism was almost impossible to resist, whether the character was Hud, Cool Hand Luke or Butch Cassidy.

While Newman will be remembered for his extraordinary career in movies, it was his mark in philanthropy and his dedication to his children and his wife of 50 years, Joanne Woodward, which ultimately made the man. It's an old cliché but it seems like it was coined for him: beautiful on the inside and out. He will be missed.

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