by Dan Doyle
At the Bates College Parents Weekend in October 1969, my mom and dad took me to a local steakhouse, and then to the movie, “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid”. Perhaps as much as any era in American history, it was a period in which the views of college students differed sharply from those of their parents. Yet by the end of the movie, with a full house made up largely of Bates parents and their offspring, everyone seemed quite happy to be in each others company.
Never before – or since – have I attended a film that produced such utter joy for those present. When the movie ended, the old theater erupted in thunderous applause. The two leading men, a splendid cast, and a marvelous script had taken us away from our day to day concerns and disagreements, united us in appreciation for cinema at its best, and led us all to reflect on the values the film espoused – good humor, goodwill, self-effacement and friendship.
On the way out of the theater, I knew I had watched a superstar practice his craft at the highest level. I had no idea that for millions of us, Paul Newman would one day become the very embodiment of an exemplary life.
