Aurel Bacs
"This is what happens when you
love billiards, Rolex and Paul Newman"
Aurel Bacs is the most famous auctioneer in the horological world and he is most famous for successfully auctioning Paul Newman's trademark 'Paul Newman Daytona' which features Paul Newman's personal Rolex Daytona with an exotic white dial, which went for close to $18 Million.
Aurel Bacs, who to my way of thinking is a horological poet laureate (right up there with Wei Koh) who is always a fascinating storyteller shares the story about how he fell in love Paul Newman's 36MM Rolex Datejust and then he goes into detail on his passion for his modern 41MM Datejust, both of which are pictured below.
The Hustler
Since I am so familiar with the backstory behind The Color of Money Rolex which I published a dozen years ago, I thought now would be a great time to dive deeper into the background of Paul Newman's Rolex Datejust.
Paul Newman co-starred with legendary fellow actor, Jackie Gleason in The Hustler which debuted in 1961 and told the story of a small-time pool hustler named "Fast Eddie" Felson who wanted to become a player in the "major league" of high-stakes wagering of professional pool hustling. In The Hustler Paul Newman plays Fast Edie, and he goes up against the most legendary pool shark named "Minnesota Fats, who is played by Jackie Gleason.
Jackie Gleason was one of the most loved and famous and beloved actors of all time. Jackie became a superstar when he played Ralph Kramden on The Honeymooners which ran 39 episodes from 1955 to 1956. Jackie Gleason is pictured below in the 1960s rocking his yellow gold Rolex Day-Date which was discovered by Nick Gould.
Jackie Gleason and Paul Newman are pictured below in the 1961 movie named "The Hustler".
Paul Newman reprised his role as Fast Eddie Felson in 1986 in the movie named 'The Color of Money' in which he costarred with a young Tom Cruise as well as his stainless steel Rolex Datejust.
In a bizzare twist of fate, in 1984, when I was 18 years old, which was two years before Paul Newman showed up on the big screen wearing his stainless steel Rolex Datejust in The Color of Money, I had purchased the exact same stainless steel Rolex Datejust model as you can see in the photo below of me wearing it. It's funny, because my young Elvis lid at the time was similar to Tom Cruises hairstyle in The Color of Money, but I wore the same watch as Paul Newman!?!! I don't mean to sound arrogant, but I remember when I saw The Color of Money in the movie Theaters in 1986, I remember tripping on the fact that Paul Newman was wearing the same stainless steel Rolex Datejust I was wearing :-0
The Money Shot
Tom Cruise Holding Paul Newman's Rolex Datejust
In the next photo we see a screen-shot taken from the The Color Of Money, that shows Tom Cruise playing with Paul Newman's Rolex Datejust in the movie. Of course this close-up helps making a solid positive I.D., as a stainless steel Rolex Datejust. Notice the bezel has no fluting, thus making it a straight stainless steel bezel.
Paul Newman is pictured below in 1986 with his two costars from The Color Of Money, Tom Cruise and Mary Elizabeth Mastrantinio. Marin Scorsese who directed the movie is pictured on the far right. Paul Newmans is wearing his trademark stainless Rolex Daytona on his wrist on a Fatstrap.
Paul Newman won the Academy Award for best actor for his 1986 performance in The Color Of Money. After he won the Oscar he said "It's like chasing a beautiful woman for 80 years. Finally she relents and you say, "'I'm' terribly sorry, I'm tired."
Paul Newman also received another Oscar as the recipient of the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award, that was presented by Tom Cruise in 1994.
1986 Academy Award
Winning Performance For Best Actor
Paul Newman Daytona
Accepting An Academy Award On The Set Of The Color Of Money
This first image was taken on March 24, 1986 and shows Paul Newman accepting an Honorary Oscar via Satellite on the set of The Color Of Money. Notice Paul Newman is wearing one of his trademark Paul Newman Rolex Daytona watches on a FatStrap. Ironically, Paul Newman would go on to win another Academy Award for Best Actor later that year, for his role in The Color Of Money!!!
This next image taken on the set of The Color Of Money, show Paul Newman with his co-star, Tom Cruise. Notice Paul Newman is sporting his same black dial Rolex Daytona on a FatStrap. What makes these two images interesting is that Paul Newman wore a stainless steel Rolex Datejust in the movie, but you see that when he was not acting he was wearing his trademark Paul Newman Daytona. In the future, I will add these image to The Complete History Of The Paul Newman Daytona Story on Jake's Rolex World.
