Paul Newman Dies At 83

NY TIMES: Paul Newman, the Academy-Award winning superstar who personified cool as the anti-hero of such films as ''Hud,'' ''Cool Hand Luke'' and ''The Color of Money'' -- and as an activist, race car driver and popcorn impresario -- has died. He was 83.

Newman died Friday after a long battle with cancer at his farmhouse near Westport, publicist Jeff Sanderson said. He was surrounded by his family and close friends.

I don't know if this story is legend or not or if I have the facts straight, but a friend tells me of the time Paul Newman was in town for a Broadway show. It was in a land that time forget before cell phones and Newman, being the star that he was, needed national and international phone service.

He called the phone company and opened an account to be able to dial an access code from any phone to call anywhere in the world for a flat rate. It was something ridiculous at the time like $10,000 for 3 months.

Well, one thing led to another and the show he was in town for was cancelled a day or two after opening the phone account. He called the phone company and tried to cancel his account and get his money refunded. The phone company refused. No surprise there, huh? They had his money and that was that. So what did Newman do? He took an ad out in the Village Voice with the access number and directions telling everyone they could use this number for free phone service for the next three months.

I don't know if it's a true story, but it's a cool one, and I'd like to think it's real.