Tom Lynch

Screen legend Paul Newman has died. My very favorite actor, I’ll forever be turned on by “The Hustler,” made to feel infinitely cooler than I really am by “Cool Hand Luke,” amused and tickled by “Butch Cassidy” and “The Sting” and bittersweetly moved by “Nobody’s Fool.” There are a number of powerful, specific lines Newman delivers in that last film, the loveliest being his response to the question, “Doesn’t it bother you that you haven’t done more with your life?” Newman’s response, “Not often.” Then a sly, subtle grin, “Now and then.” It comes early in the film, and it’s a doozy. Pulitzer Prize-winning author Richard Russo penned the novel from which that movie was made, as well as memorable works “The Risk Pool” and “Empire Falls” (the film version of which Newman starred in as well). Most recently, he offered “Bridge of Sighs,” another strong, emotionally epic piece of work to his collection. My favorite, though, has always been “Nobody’s Fool,” its calming wash of upstate New York quaintness, the cranky, endearing humor, the portrait of a man finally facing his mistakes and quietly seeking redemption. There’s a piece that involves a little boy returning to an old lawyer his prosthetic leg in a dark, damp tavern, and the layers and layers of subtext could inspire weeks of discussion, not too mention just the surface-level sentiment. Russo’s a master at small-town America and its fascinating people, the secret and not-so-secret histories that make life worth looking back upon. Tonight, he discusses his work, and maybe, if we’re lucky, we can get a few choice Newman anecdotes as well. Rest in peace, Sully.

Richard Russo discusses his work October 2 at the Harold Washington Library Center, 400 South State, (312)747-4300, at 6pm. Free.

(2008-09-30)

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When the Pixies toured in 2004 and played five dates at the Aragon Ballroom, I thought at the time that we’ve seen the last of the great, unlikely reunions, that it was finally time to put a cap on the era and begin searching for potential lasting newcomers. Of course, multiple successful reunions have since followed—Dinosaur Jr. and The Jesus and Mary Chain come to mind—but neither of those bands quite pack the punch of the Pixies, at least not for me. But alas, not even a half-decade later, just last fall, news that another disappeared group, a legend responsible for creating arguably the best record of the 1990s and then famously vanishing, was threatening a return
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