The blue-eyed actor who seemed to have a heart of gold died Friday in his Westport, CT home from complications with cancer, reports confirm.

A true heartthrob in his day, Newman starred in such giant films as “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof,” “Exodus,” “The Hustler,” “Cool Hand Luke,” “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid,” “The Sting” and “The Verdict.”  He also co-founded Newman’s Own, a food company with ties to charity and whose popcorn and cookies have stocked my pantry for years.

Paul Newman was one of those Hollywood actors who gave the profession dignity, a sense of humor, and a much needed dose of humility.  He also married his wife Joanne Woodward in 1958 and stayed married to her until the day he died, scoffing at questions of infidelity with the quote, “Why would I go out for a hamburger when [I] have steak at home?”

Paul, we’ll miss you.

So, you’ve been single for a while. A long while. And it’s starting to get to you. Of course, you’re still a confident and amazing person. You’ve got friends, you’re friendly, you’re good looking, and smart to boot. You’re a cool person.

But for some reason, you just can’t nab a great guy.

It’s the weirdest thing. You go out to bars or clubs, get attention from dudes, have dated around and maybe even pulled out a condom or two, but none of these prospects turn into anything other than forgettable names or slight embarrassments.

Maybe you used to have a long term guy, or maybe you’ve never been in anything really serious, but either way, you’re now in your twenties and clinically single. It’s not the Sex in the City single, either. Those women never went through the 3, 4, 6 month dry spells some of us have been through. They spent maybe a week, two weeks tops, without a man, but the show could never go very long without Miranda or Samantha banging some dude they met at an ice cream parlor or incredibly fancy martini bar (this sort of thing doesn’t happen to the average New Yorker. At least not to me. The only people I meet in ice cream parlors are babies and their old nannies).

No matter how many girl-power chats you have with your friends, or self-date nights with a movie and Newman’s Own, you can’t seem to shake the feeling that something’s wrong with you. You have friends who are dating. You have friends who are getting married. You see ugly people together on the street all the time! What’s going on here? Read More »