The Great Paul Newman
This column was written by CBS News Early Show Co-Anchor Harry Smith.
Paul Newman believed those of us who were lucky should share the advantages that luck gives us.
He said he was lucky.
Which was a kind of smart place to go with his intelligence and talent and yes, good looks.
A smart place to go because a big part of Paul Newman's public persona was how much fun he was having with his life.
That fun belied the fact of how serious a person he was.
The food business was a sort of lark, right? That happened to make a quarter of a billion dollars in profits which all went to charity.
I interviewed Newman several times. Long interviews about public service and acting, he was deeply passionate about both.
He was a voracious consumer of news. He really knew what was going on and wasn't afraid to share his opinions.
There was a goodness about him, a selflessness. He had a lot of choices, how to spend his time, his money, his talent.
We're the ones who are lucky -- to have known him.