![]() In 1977, legendary hockey film "Slap Shot" was released to a great reception. And in this THN archive story from 2008, superstar actor Paul Newman's amazing contributions to "Slap Shot" were celebrated.
Today marks the 47th anniversary of the release of the legendary hockey film “Slap Shot”. And in this feature story from THN’s October 21, 2008 edition (Vol. 62, Issue 6) from veteran THN correspondent Jay Greenberg, we celebrated the life and hockey connections of “Slap Shot” icon Paul Newman.
Written by Greenberg after Newman died at age 83 on September 26, 2008, the THN story focused on Newman’s friendships he made via “Slap Shot” – chief among them (pun intended), the famous Hanson Brothers. Newman said he loved filming the movie in no small part because players like the Hansons made the film feel realistic. “He was so into helping Jeff, Dave and myself,” Steve Carlson, who portrayed Steve Hanson, said of Newman. “We weren’t actors, although we had been acting all our lives. Paul would give us tips and we would tell him what a real hockey player would do. He pulled off a cult classic. “You know in 1977, nobody talked like that on the screen and they wanted to rate it ‘X.’ He and (director) George Roy Hill argued it had to be realistic and used their influence to get it rated ‘R,’ and into (mainstream) theatres.” That sense of realism included Newman doing many of his on-ice scenes, but Carlson noted many of “Slap Shots” most memorable scenes came via the joy of the moment. “Paul did almost all his own skating,” Carlson told Greenberg. “The scene where the ref warns me during the national anthem and I say, “I’m listening to the (expletive) song!’ took four days because the ref kept falling. He finally stumbles up and gives his line and I’m so bored, bleeped off and said it so angrily, George Roy Hill thought it was perfect. “There was a lot of ad-libbing. We weren’t supposed to beat up the soda machine in the train station as badly as we did. We had to buy them a new one. Hey, it took my quarter. “The toy race cars? The truth, too. The bars were closed in Johnstown on Sundays and we had to entertain ourselves so we got a keg and these race car sets and bet. “The sign of the cross I did before we jumped the other team? That was ad-libbed, like Paul encouraged us. We lost a great man.” PAUL'S LAST SHIFT By Jay Greenberg October 21, 2008 “DON’T ACT.” That was the advice of one of the great actors of his generation to three kids hired to play themselves. “Put yourself in the situation,” the Academy Award winner told Steve Carlson, who swears – as Nancy Dowd’s script had its characters doing often in the comic masterpiece Slap Shot – that indeed there was a lot of the earthy, impish, Reggie Dunlop in Paul Newman, regular guy. “The first time I met him, I introduced myself to Mr. Newman and he said, ‘My name is Paul,’” said Carlson, who played one of the movie’s famous Hanson brothers along with real life brother Jeff Carlson and cousin Dave Hanson. “In his trailer between scenes you would talk to him about anything you wanted. We invited him to our place and he came a few times. We would go out and he didn’t say, ‘Put it all on my tab.’ We all bought. “The scene when Strother Martin (playing Charlestown Chiefs GM Joe McGrath) came into the dressing room all bleeped off that we had stopped gooning it up, we shot 20 times. “Strother’s pants were halfway down his butt and they were hanging differently each time. Newman was bleeping his pants, we all thought it was so funny. That’s the stuff I remember about him.” Likewise, Newman, who died Sept. 26 at age 83 from cancer, always recalled Slap Shot, inspired in part by the real-life antics of the Johnstown Jets’ Carlson brothers and filmed in the Western Pennsylvania mill town, as one of the most enjoyably shot of his 65-plus films. “He said that on talk shows,” said Steve, who later coached in Johnstown and now lives in Kenosha, Wisc. “He was so into helping Jeff, Dave and myself. We weren’t actors, although we had been acting all our lives. Paul would give us tips and we would tell him what a real hockey player would do. He pulled off a cult classic. “You know in 1977, nobody talked like that on the screen and they wanted to rate it ‘X.’ He and (director) George Roy Hill argued it had to be realistic and used their influence to get it rated ‘R,’ and into (mainstream) theatres.” A second sequel will debut in November, with the Hansons, who have taken their act to arenas for years, “putting on the foil” again for old time’s sake and old-time hockey’s sake. Even after 31 years, the original still “hones” the hockey community’s heart. “Paul did almost all his own skating,” Carlson said. “The scene where the ref warns me during the national anthem and I say, “I’m listening to the (expletive) song!’ took four days because the ref kept falling. He finally stumbles up and gives his line and I’m so bored, bleeped off and said it so angrily, George Roy Hill thought it was perfect. “There was a lot of ad-libbing. We weren’t supposed to beat up the soda machine in the train station as badly as we did. We had to buy them a new one. Hey, it took my quarter. “The toy race cars? The truth, too. The bars were closed in Johnstown on Sundays and we had to entertain ourselves so we got a keg and these race car sets and bet. “The sign of the cross I did before we jumped the other team? That was ad-libbed, like Paul encouraged us. We lost a great man.”
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