This essay isn’t about any specific Paul. It’s about the name Paul. When I was in elementary school, there were Pauls in each grade and each class. In 1964, Paul was an extremely popular name for newborn males. 1.32% of boys born that year were named Paul. It was the 16th most popular name. In 2021, only .074% of newborns were given that name, ranking it 257th. (Source: behindthename.com)
We need more Pauls. Pauls seem to be ultra productive and creative. Few better writers of music than Paul—McCartney and Simon. Paul Rodgers wrote songs and sang lead for Bad Company (a personal favorite). He is ranked by Rolling Stone as the 55th greatest singer of all time. Stanley Bert Eisen is a great guitarist, songwriter, and is in the Rock ‘n Roll Hall of Fame. You know him better under the name he adopted after helping form the rock group KISS: Paul Stanley.
Paul Giamatti has appeared in numerous movies and TV shows. He was John Adams, “Pig Virus” (Howard Stern’s boss) in Private Parts, Ben Bernanke in Too Big to Fail, Abraham Zapruder in Parkland and was the star of the highly acclaimed and justly awarded Sideways. He has been one of the central characters in the TV show “Billions” since its debut in 2016.
Paul Schrader is a great screenwriter. He wrote the screenplay for Taxi Driver and co-wrote the script for Raging Bull. He wrote and directed Blue Collar, Hardcore and American Gigolo. A great story concerns a movie Schrader was making about a Cleveland rock ‘n roll band. The title of the movie was Born in the USA. Bruce Springsteen was working on a song about a Vietnam veteran. He got wind of the Schrader project. He asked Paul if he could use the title. Schrader agreed but only if Bruce would write him a song for his movie. Thus, the title of the movie project became Light of Day. Excellent song, above average movie.
Paul Revere not only alerted citizens of Boston that the British were coming, he was in a popular band in the 1960s (“Kicks,” “Hungry,” “Steppin’ Stone”). When Paul McCartney and his band mates came across the pond, it was a different type of British invasion.
For the religious crowd, we’ve had six Popes named Paul and one Apostle.
I once saw a famous Paul. It was the day before the Indianapolis 500. I was with my cousin Dan who lived in Indy. We were given pit access. In immediate succession, we saw David Letterman, Sammy Hagar and Paul Newman. I swear Paul Newman was backlit with a halo. I said to my cousin, “So that’s what a movie star looks like.”
I am enamored with Newman’s 1982 movie The Verdict. I use the subplot of Laura Fischer being a spy for the defense’s law firm hooking up with boozy Frank Galvin (Newman’s character) in my writing class. The meeting conveniently takes place in a bar that Galvin frequents. It’s a great subplot—especially the way we learn Laura Fischer is a spy.
When I went to Boston last year, I visited 100 G Street (I was a Southie for a few days). It is at this address where Newman/Galvin has a heated conversation with nurse Maureen Rooney. She knows the real story behind what happened to Deborah Ann Kaye at St. Catherine Laboure Hospital but isn’t sharing the details.
The Verdict contains one of the great “Ah ha!” moments in movie history. When hungover Galvin wakes up in his office to the sound of the mail—including his phone bill—being slid under the door, he realizes Nurse Rooney probably got her phone bill, too. He returns to 100 G Street, pries open the mailbox, and looks at Rooney’s phone bill. The phone number with the New York area code that Rooney has been calling puts Galvin on the trail of finding Kaitlin Costello, the witness he needs to win the case.
One of the coolest Pauls is a fellow I know personally. He is a few years older than me. He was a great baseball pitcher, making it all the way to Federation League. That was the top of the pyramid when I was growing up. I only knew four people who played Federation League baseball. This Paul came from a baseball family. I don’t know that he ever played any other sport. I was once told when he was in Little League, he would pitch half the game right-handed and half the game left- handed.
When we were past our playing days, baseball Paul told me he was once scouted by the Pirates and the Astros. A few years later, he told me he was scouted by the Pirates, the Astros and the Orioles. A few years later, in the local bar, Paul told me he was scouted by the Pirates, the Astros, the Orioles and the Blue Jays. Inspired by Rolling Rock, I told Paul that if he and I both live long enough, all of Major League Baseball would have scouted him—including the expansion teams that didn’t exist when he played.
I included that story in the epilogue for How To Be Old. The section is titled “Glory Days” in tribute to Bruce Springsteen’s song (in his early bands, Bruce played a Gibson Les Paul guitar). When I told baseball Paul that the story is in the book, he was happy to learn that his baseball days were remembered.
If you’re of a certain age and are from Pittsburgh, you know the name Paul Shannon. That Paul hosted “Adventure Time”, an afternoon TV show on WTAE. A staple of the show was Three Stooges short films. Moe Howard of the Stooges credited Paul Shannon and a few other hosts with the resurrection of their career. Nobody else was playing the shorts. Paul Shannon was rewarded with a small role in The Outlaws is Coming, a movie the Three Stooges made while on the comeback trail.
In closing, I want to suggest a book for you to read. Last year, Bono published his autobiography, Songs of Surrender. It is the telling of his childhood, his family, and the history of the rock band U2. The story of Bono and his bandmates (still together all these years later) parallels the changes in the music industry over the last 40 years. U2 sold albums, 8-tracks, cassettes, CDs and was at the forefront of streaming music. They have done and seen it all. Bono’s love of reading—including the great Irish poets—made him the great lyricist that he is.
Of course, parents don’t name their children Bono. His real name is Paul Hewson.
Paul. We need more of you.
