Paul Newman

 

Paul Newman + Robert Redford in The stingPaul Newman in The hustlerPaul Newman + Katharine Ross + Robert Redford in Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid

Biography

Paul Newman

Paul Newman

The embarrassing thing is that my salad dressing is out-grossing my films

Remarkable:

Paul has a star on Hollywood Boulevard.
It’s located between Orange Drive and La Brea Avenue.

Born:

January 26, 1925

Born as:

Paul Leonard Newman

Paul was born in Cleveland, Ohio (USA). He served as a navy radio operator during World War II and after the war he studied economics at Ohio's Kenyon College but discovered drama instead. Newman completed one year of graduate studies in theatre at Yale University but gained his most important experience at New York's Actors Studio.

The success of his first Broadway appearance, Picnic (1953) led to a film contract with Warner Bros. and a first screen role in The silver chalice (1955).

Paul went on to become one of the top box office draws of the 1960s, starring in films as The Hustler (1961), The Prize (1963), Hud (1963) and Cool Hand Luke (1967).

In 1968 Newman made his debut as a filmmaker directing his second wife Joanne Woodward in Rachel, Rachel. Paul appeared in 1969's Winning, which cast him as a professional auto racer; the motor sport remained a preoccupation in his real life as well.

He was executive producer of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969) featuring himself and Robert Redford. The film was at the time the highest-grossing Western in movie history. In 1973 the pair portrayed Depression-era con men in The Sting.

In the late 1970s Newman began to play older and less idealized characters, but he maintained his star status by appearing in such films as Absence of Malice (1981) and The Verdict (1982).

In 1982 Newman started to market his recipes for spaghetti sauce and salad dressing under the “Newman's Own” label.

In the early nineties he appeared onscreen less and less but despite his movement away from Hollywood, Newman has remained a prominent public figure.

Academy awards:

2003 Nominated Actor for: Road to Perdition (2002)
1995 Nominated Actor for: Nobody's Fool (1994)
1994 Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award
1987 Won Best Actor for: The Color of Money (1986)
1986 Honorary Award
1983 Nominated Actor for: The Verdict (1982)
1982 Nominated Actor for: Absence of Malice (1981)
1969 Nominated Best Picture for: Rachel, Rachel (1968)
1968 Nominated Actor for: Cool Hand Luke (1967)
1964 Nominated Actor for: Hud (1963)
1962 Nominated Actor for: The Hustler (1961)
1959 Nominated Actor for: Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (1958)

Selected Movies:

Books:

Elena Oumano -> Paul Newman (1996)
Lawrence J. Quirk ->The Films of Paul Newman (1997)
Eric Lax -> Paul Newman a Celebration (1999)

 

Paul Newman + Elizabeth Taylor in Cat on a hot thin roof

Trivia

Paul has a star on Hollywood Boulevard.
It’s located between Orange Drive and La Brea Avenue.

Paul has his own line of food products Newman’s Own since 1982. He donates the proceeds, after taxes, to charity. As of early 2005, the franchise has resulted in $175 million in donations.

Actor’s trainer Lee Strasberg said that Paul would have been as great an actor as Brando if he hadn’t been so handsome. “Newman had the talent, but he too often relied on his good looks to coast through a role”

Paul has his handprints set in cement on Hollywood Boulevard (Hollywood, USA, in the forecourt of Grauman’s Chinese Theater). Source / More (Web)

When Paul was nominated for an Oscar for The color of money he felt guilty because he believed that Tom Cruise equally deserved the award for his performance. Newman sent Tom a telegram with his condolences which Cruise framed and hung up in his apartment. Source / More (Book)

Newman owns The Hole In The Wall Gang Camp, a summer camp for children with cancer and other blood-related diseases.

Newman was discovered as one of many famous names on president Richard Nixon’s “Enemies list” (1971). Paul Newman: “This is one of my life’s proudest achievements” Source / More (Book)

Bibliography