The following is a commentary by Michael Josephson,
from CharacterCounts.org:
Paul Newman’s life was commemorated in thousands of obituaries all over the world. It was often noted that he was an Oscar-winning Hollywood superstar who often played unsavory characters – pool hustlers, con men, and killers.
But in life he was so much better than that.
Other common descriptors included director, race-car driver, entrepreneur, activist, philanthropist, humanitarian, practical joker, father of five, and a happily married man for 50 years. That’s quite a legacy, especially in Hollywood.
I saw him interviewed many times and was always struck by how fundamentally down to earth and sensible he seemed. He was a man who knew how to capitalize on his fame and enjoy his wealth without pretention or vanity. He was proud to have been in the top 20 of Richard Nixon’s Enemies List, and he loved and took quite seriously driving race cars on the professional circuit.
Yet the most exceptional thing about Paul Newman was his philanthropy. He created Newman’s Own, a natural food company with his picture on every label and the slogan “Shameless exploitation in pursuit of the common good.”
Although he was shocked that the brand became hugely successful (he once remarked that it was a joke that got out of control), he never wavered from his commitment to donate every cent of profit to charity – about $250 million so far.
His Hole in the Wall Gang camps have become the world’s largest family of camps serving children with serious illnesses.
It was reported that a week before he died he sat with his daughter in the arbor of his garden and said, “It’s been a privilege to be here.”
It was our privilege as well.
I once wrote that what will matter in the end is how long you will be remembered, by whom, and for what. Paul Newman will long be remembered by millions of beneficiaries of his talent and generosity as a man who made the world better.
This is Michael Josephson reminding you that character counts.
*CharacterCounts
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