This is the entrance to the Mission Apartments in the historic Alexander Building. The structure was built in 1910 and stretches across a block of downtown Mission Street. It has street level shops, with apartments on the second floor. In my usual habit of associating places with scenes from movies, I have always thought this classic early 20th century building looked like it could have been one of the places where Johnny Hooker and Henry Gondorff might have rigged a card game in The Sting.So, I felt compelled to post this photo today as the world mourns the loss of another 20th Century classic. So long, Paul Newman. You will be missed.
19 comments:
I cried when I heard the news this morning. It's hard to lose the best people that have populated our lives.
In the early years of the Toronto Film Festival, there was a very good and well-known ice cream parlor at the corner of Bloor and Bedford, and it was popular both with Torontonians and film
people. One day a woman walks in to buy an ice cream cone and
realizes that the person in line ahead of her looks an awful lot like Paul Newman, but she's too shy to ask him if it really is him. She pays for her cone and goes to leave and realizes that she doesn't have her cone. She's looking around for it and the man turns to her and says "Yes, I am Paul Newman, and it's in your purse."
This story is apocryphal. It has been attributed to Newman, Redford, Nicholson and others. Newman said he was going to sue Redford and Nicholson for stealing his false story!
I'm sad that we won't see the likes of those clear blue eyes again. Thanks for the tribute and the neat old building today.
Sigh, yes he will be. Lovely tribute, Laurie.
The Sting a classic. I'm deeply saddened by the loss of Paul Newman. He really was one of the greatest actors and always came across as a gentleman. He was Gary's favourite actor and he has posted his own portrait of him on his blog. W recently watched Hud and the cahraectirization in that is something that is sadly lacking from todays films. Great post today.
Well, since I told a Newman story, I thought I'd tell a Redford story.
A friend of mine was working in Information Technology at Univeral Studios. When she needed to go to the office building where all the top executives work, she would take an underground tunnel from the building where she worked to the executive office building and then take the elevator up from the basement. One day she was called to repair a computer for some big exec on one of the upper floors. When she was done, she got on the elevator and pressed the button
to take her to the basement. A few floors later, the elevator stops and Robert Redford gets in and pushes a button for one of the upper floors. Knowing that Redford was going to have to ride all the way down to the basement with her and feeling somewhat embarrassed that he was going to be thereby inconvenienced, my friend said, "You're going to have to go all the way down before you can go back up again." Redford looked at her slyly and said, "Oh... is THAT how it's done!"
And speaking of great people who have populated our lives, my new avatar is my actual ticket from the last Beatle concert ever, on August 29, 1966 at Candlestick Park in San Francisco.
There are some great stories here.
This looks like an interesting building and I can see the reference to The Sting right away. I'm another who was saddened by the loss of Paul Newman, my first movie star infatuation.
I agree, even though I think he was really in his prime well before I came into this world, I know we've lost something big.
We're still going to be able to buy his salad dressing, right???
Yes, we've lost someone important, and as Ben points out he was just as important to the world of charity as he was to the world of films. Maybe moreso. I don't have figures but the the amount of money, time and love he donated is staggering.
Thanks for the pic and the thoughts, Laurie.
HUD!
Nice post, Laurie! I was so moved by the photo of Newman on the front page of our local paper that I was momentarily choked up. Those eyes were indeed something, but the humility with which he appears to have lived his life is so inspiring.
Sorry to have missed you this week. I am have had such a hard time with my computer(s) lately, and I am having trouble keeping up with my email, let along visiting.
Some really lovely shots!
what did u do to this pic, little laurie?
did u run it thru some photo software. is this the same fuji??
it just looks so unreal, more old postcardashian.
it came out lookin like it kept you up past midnite workin on it.
berry interesting "photo."
Hi Cafe,
Just high color saturation/high contrast. As I've said before, I don't do any visual editing other than pushing contrast/brightness or pushing the color saturation.
L, you're The Natural!
btw, I'm looking at a Panasonic Lumix?!
Panasonic Lumix, cool! I think that's what Jilly shoots with over at Monte Carlo Daily... but I could be wrong. Are you going DSLR or compact?
Love the complementary green awning with the red door. What a fitting tribute to one of the greats. :~)
A DSLR?? Is that a typo? You're not talkin to P or PA, or any other female who gets their pleasure readin from a camera manual. Only me.
L, if a point/shoot & ask questions later is good enuf 4 u, it's more than enuf 4 me.
btw, has a newer model of your e9oo come out?
i need 2 get a camera before our economy shuts down & the de japanese no longer export to us.
I should never read others' posts before I submit my own. I concur with Judy about the green and red entrance to the building. As for Paul Newman, to use somebody's words, "He was a man among men." We all seem to have tears in our eyes and lumps in our throats for the love of a man, a superb actor, a fine human being that we only know from movies and pictures and his philanthropy, which was mighty. He never played up his good looks, but they always came shining through no matter what part he played. With admiration and sadness I say,"Goodbye" Paul Newman. You will live in our hearts forever.
Thanks, everyone.
I was watching some of Newman's work tonight and it struck me how much his image is a part of my childhood memories. I remember the first time I saw Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid when I was still too young to really understand it -- but I knew how COOL he was. WHen I got older, my girlfriends and I always said we wanted marriages like the one between Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward. As I became politically active in my early 20s, I marveled at Newman's massive philanthropic efforts at a time before Bono or Bill Gates, when Greed was king and Michael Milken and Ivan Boesky were the poster children of the day.
I just always thought Newman was grand beyond words -- which, I guess, is why so many of us have poured out so many of them trying to express our feelings about him.
I appreciate all of your contributions. Thanks, folks.
And is the room sheap ???
Post a Comment