Categories
Archives
-

-
Recent Posts
- “Rock n’ roll! It’s the music of puberty.” — Suzi Quatro
- 2026 Shakespeare Reading Project: Twelfth Night: or, What You Will
- “Literature is the written expression of revolt against expected things.” Happy Birthday to the least happy man ever, Thomas Hardy
- “I’m not interested in money. I just want to be wonderful.” – Marilyn Monroe
- “[My ambition is to] give something to our literature which will be our own.” — Walt Whitman
- “I don’t want to show things, but to give people the desire to see.” — Agnès Varda
- “I never made a message picture, and I hope I never do.” — Howard Hawks
- “If I am going to be a poet at all, I am going to be POET and not NEGRO POET.” — poet Countee Cullen
- Reviews: Currents (2026)
- Reviews: Forge (2026)
Recent Comments
- Lyrie on “Rock n’ roll! It’s the music of puberty.” — Suzi Quatro
- Maddy on “I’m not interested in money. I just want to be wonderful.” – Marilyn Monroe
- Mike Molloy on 2026 Shakespeare Reading Project: Much Ado About Nothing
- sheila on “I never made a message picture, and I hope I never do.” — Howard Hawks
- Bryan Summers on “I never made a message picture, and I hope I never do.” — Howard Hawks
- Lyrie on “I just love telling stories. That’s what we do and it’s a good business to be in, especially if you know you have talent.” –Jensen Ackles
- Kendra Williams on Josh White, singer of “the fighting blues”
- sheila on “I dont want to just do just country type stuff the rest of my life. I want to do some different things.” — Charlie Rich
- sheila on The Books: “Awake and Sing” (Clifford Odets)
- Jincy Willett on “There’s nobody as good as the Ramones, never will be.” — Joey Ramone
- Bill Wolfe on “I dont want to just do just country type stuff the rest of my life. I want to do some different things.” — Charlie Rich
- Donn Harris on The Books: “Awake and Sing” (Clifford Odets)
- sheila on “Listen, I never meant to make money. I never wanted it. I’m a singer, man.” — Gene Vincent
- Pat on “Listen, I never meant to make money. I never wanted it. I’m a singer, man.” — Gene Vincent
- sheila on “There’s nobody as good as the Ramones, never will be.” — Joey Ramone
- Jincy Willett on “There’s nobody as good as the Ramones, never will be.” — Joey Ramone
- sheila on 2026 Shakespeare Reading Project: Hamlet
- Biff Dorsey on 2026 Shakespeare Reading Project: Hamlet
- sheila on 2026 Shakespeare Reading Project: Hamlet
- Dave on Review: The Chronology of Water (2025)
-
Tag Archives: Paul Newman
“Acting is like letting your pants down; you’re exposed.” — Paul Newman
It’s his birthday today. I am so glad I grew up in a time when Paul Newman was still a leading man (and he was a leading man up until the end). So I got to experience the pleasure of … Continue reading
Posted in Actors, Movies, On This Day
Tagged Elvis Presley, James Dean, Joanne Woodward, Marlon Brando, Paul Newman, Sidney Lumet
26 Comments
Rachel, Rachel (1968)
I wrote about Paul Newman’s directorial debut, Rachel, Rachel, starring Joanne Woodward, for my Substack.
Posted in Actors, Directors, Movies
Tagged drama, Joanne Woodward, newsletter, Paul Newman
Leave a comment
Sidney Lumet: Excerpts from Making Movies
It’s Sidney Lumet’s birthday. Here are many excerpts from his classic and invaluable film-making handbook Making Movies: In Murder on the Orient Express, I wanted Ingrid Bergman to play the Russian Princess Dragomiroff. She wanted to play the retarded Swedish … Continue reading
Posted in Actors, Books, Directors, Movies, On This Day
Tagged Al Pacino, Dean Stockwell, Dog Day Afternoon, Faye Dunaway, Ingrid Bergman, Jane Fonda, Katharine Hepburn, Long Day's Journey Into Night, Marlon Brando, Network, Paul Newman, River Phoenix, Robert De Niro, Running on Empty, Sidney Lumet, William Holden
15 Comments
Dynamic Duo #23
Paul and Joanne
Happy Birthday, Paul Newman
Paul Newman in “Slap Shot” Here’s the piece I wrote for House Next Door when Paul Newman passed away.
Paul Newman’s TCM Tribute to Elizabeth Taylor
He gets her right. Not a lot of people did.
Sweet Bird of Youth: “Hello There, Chance Wayne. Somebody Said You Were Back In St. Cloud, But I Didn’t Believe Them.”
New Directions has come out with new trade paperback editions of Tennessee Williams’ Camino Real, Sweet Bird of Youth, The Night of the Iguana and The Rose Tattoo. I have received some review copies, and they are gorgeous new editions … Continue reading
Posted in Books, Theatre
Tagged Geraldine Page, Lanford Wilson, Paul Newman, Tennessee Williams
5 Comments
20 Favorite Actors
Joining the fun that’s been going on, and to quote Nathaniel who started this whole thing: “In no particular order and extremely subject to change.” For example: where the hell is Robert Mitchum? And William H. Macy? And Sean Penn … Continue reading
Posted in Actors
Tagged Cary Grant, Dean Stockwell, Ewan McGregor, Gary Cooper, Gene Hackman, George Sanders, Humphrey Bogart, Jack Nicholson, James Cagney, Jeff Bridges, John Wayne, Johnny Depp, Kurt Russell, Marlon Brando, Mickey Rourke, Paul Newman, Richard Widmark, Robert Duvall, Russell Crowe, Thomas Mitchell
32 Comments
The Books: “As I Am: An Autobiography” (Patricia Neal)
Daily Book Excerpt: Entertainment Biography/Memoir: As I Am: An Autobiography, by Patricia Neal This is one of those rare books where my response to it was, “Dear God, it’s me, Sheila. Could you please give Patricia Neal a break? Hasn’t … Continue reading
Posted in Actors, Books
Tagged entertainment biography, Gary Cooper, Patricia Neal, Paul Newman, Roald Dahl
9 Comments

