Paul Newman, the famous actor whose blue eyes have lit up both the silver screen and the grocery aisle, died in his Westport, Connecticut home yesterday of cancer at 83. He starred in nearly 60 films and was at the forefront of a class of actors that made the transition from the studio system to becoming independent superstars on their own. The legendary actor was almost equally known for his pursuits off screen from political......

There is growing speculation that 83-year-old actor Paul Newman is battling lung cancer. According to LA Times blog The Dish Rag, Newman is receiving outpatient treatment at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in Manhattan. Rumors about Newman’s ill health have escalated since last week, when Martha Stewart published the above photo on her website, depicting a frail Newman attending a benefit for his Hole in the Wall Gang summer camp for children with cancer and other serious illnesses....

We've said before that Mayor Bloomberg's girlfriend (or companion, which is what the NY Times refers to her as) Diana Taylor seems like a classy lady, unlike some other mayor's girlfriends. But we don't know much about her, except that she went to Dartmouth (Mayor Bloomberg accompanied her on an alumni weekend there), she worked in senior management at Keyspan, she was the state's superintendent of banking under Pataki, she was shortlisted by President Bush......

Staten Island needs some cheerleaders every once in a while, especially after their ice cream flavor was named after their landfill. The NY Times has a piece on the borough's historian, "Brooklyn has Walt Whitman to sing praises of its 'ample hills.' Manhattan has Woody Allen to capture its outsize style and neuroses. And Staten Island? Well, Staten Island has Thomas W. Matteo for a borough historian to chronicle its glories, its goofs and, yes,......

Things defense attorney Bruce Cutler brought up in his closing argument, in the "Mafia cop" case, per the NY Times, Daily News, and the NY Post (the Times has to most detailed description of Cutler's summation, comparing him to a stream of consciousness "bebopping poet" - of sorts: - The Bridge Over the River Kwai (mind you, the defendents never served in WWII or built bridges, from what Gothamist knows) - Gnome (what he called......

Gothamist was a bit underwhelmed by this year's Golden Globe nominees, and we were thinking of not liveblogging. But, gosh darn it as we watched the E! preshow and saw the starlets sparkle their way down the red carpet, we realize it was hopeless, so here we are. Let it be known that: - Keira Knightley looks gorgeous in her white Valentino - and there's something surprisingly youthful about the dress, even though there's that......

Chris Genoa, author, Foop!...

Maud Newton...

- Getting to know Baltimore - The Sneaker Lootings of 2003 - Bad celebrity tattoo ideas - Paul Newman is joking. Joking, okay? Like being funny. Not serious. - Renee Zellweger: Anorexic, alcoholic, or just plain crazy - Will the NJ Nets move to Brooklyn? Not if Jersey can help it. - Where to pee in the city - See American Splendor - Tiny Factory t-shirts: There's nothing wrong with being North Korean; it's just......

Oh, that Paul Newman is funny (now in that crusty, 70-something way, but still funny) - he's going to sue the Department of Housing and Urban Development for ruining the name "Hud" (and his residual opportunities). Ah, nothing like the rich and famous laughingly trying to get richer. Read his op-ed in today's Times. Buy HUD on DVD. One of our favorite salad dressings is Newman's Own Balsamic Vinagrette. Yummy.......