Paul Newman was a great actor known for his diverse range of roles, including anti-heroes and flawed characters. He also had a successful marriage to Joanne Woodward and founded charities such as the Hole in the Wall Gang Camps and Newman’s Own. He died of cancer in 2008 at the age of 83.
Paul Newman is widely recognized as one of the great actors and perhaps one of the “last great actors,” as stated by the New York Times. He is often regarded as the natural successor to actors such as Cary Grant, and his career, which spanned just over five decades, has produced many examples of his craft displaying a diverse range, from work in films such as Cool Hand Luke and Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid in his last screen appearance in 2002 as the menacing but strangely likable boss in The Road to Perdition, and then his beloved voice acting in the film Cars.
Paul Newman was born January 26, 1925 in Cleveland, Ohio. He showed an early interest in both acting and sports. When he wasn’t playing football in high school, he was in high school plays.
Newman received a BA from Kenyon College in 1949 and married his first wife during this time (the couple had three children). In the early 1950s, he joined Yale University to study filmmaking, but was unable to continue at Yale due to financial circumstances. Newman began regular theater work, had a few television roles and then his first film job The Silver Chalice, where his performance was memorable and the film was memorably terrible, even according to Newman.
Recognition in films came a couple of years later when Paul Newman was cast in the film Somebody Up There Likes Me. Film critics suggest he was most successful in roles where he played against type. With his chiseled good looks and strikingly blue eyes, he could have easily slipped into comfortable romantic hero roles. Instead, Newman’s work was probably best when he played anti-heroes and flawed characters.
Life may have mirrored art somewhat. Her first marriage ended in the mid-1950s and clearly Paul Newman was having a hard time drinking too much. His marriage to actress Joanne Woodward may have provided a calming influence, and the two raised three daughters together, choosing to live far away from Hollywood. Their intentional decision to stay away from the glamor of Hollywood may partially explain their wildly successful 50-year marriage. They celebrated their golden anniversary in January 2008.
As an actor, Paul Newman has received numerous accolades. He earned multiple Academy Award nominations for Best Actor and Best Supporting Actor, eventually taking home his first Oscar in the 1990s for the film The Color of Money. His life certainly cannot be defined by his acting skills alone. He was an avid race car driver and began to show a strong interest in both politics and charities.
Perhaps Newman’s most successful charity was the establishment of the Hole in the Wall Gang Camps, free summer camps for children suffering from serious illnesses such as cancer. He also began branding his own salad dressing in the early 1980s, under the Newman’s Own brand. Since then, the company has grown and now sells a variety of cookies, lemonades and snacks, all organic and considered excellent by many consumers. All profits from Newman’s Own go to charity. After the death of his only son in 1978, Newman also founded the Scott Newman Center, to raise awareness of drug and alcohol abuse.
After a long and successful second marriage and an equally long and successful acting career, Paul Newman died of cancer at the age of 83 on September 26, 2008. Five daughters and his wife Joanne survive him. He leaves behind a Hollywood community that will significantly mourn the loss of him and an impressive body of film work that they are sure to cherish for many years to come.
Protect your devices with Threat Protection by NordVPN
