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'Paul Leonard Newman' (born January 26, 1925) is an Academy Award, Golden Globe, Cannes Award, and Emmy Award-winning American method actor and film director.
He is also the founder of Newman's Own, a food company of which all profits and royalties are donated to charity.[1] As of May 2007, these donations have exceeded $220 million USD.[2]
Background
Paul Leonard Newman was born in Shaker Heights, an affluent suburb of Cleveland. His Jewish father[3], Arthur, ran a profitable sports goods store. His mother, Theresa (née Fetzer), was Catholic and helped out in the shop, while raising Paul and his brother Arthur (later a producer and production manager).
Young Paul was bright and good at sports. He also showed an early interest in the theater, something that his mother encouraged. He made his acting debut at seven, as the court jester in a school production of ''Robin Hood''. Paul graduated from Shaker Heights High School in 1943. He then attended Ohio University in Athens, Ohio, where he was initiated into the Phi Kappa Tau fraternity.
Newman served in the Navy in World War II in the Pacific theater. He flew from aircraft carriers as a rear gunner in the Avenger torpedo bomber. He had wanted to be a pilot, but did not qualify because he was color blind.
After the war, he completed his degree at Kenyon College. Newman later studied acting at Yale University and under Lee Strasberg at the Actors' Studio in New York City.
Oscar Levant writes that Newman was initially hesitant to leave New York for Hollywood: "Too close to the cake," he reports him saying, "Also no place to study."[4]
Film career
He made his Broadway theater debut in the original production of William Inge's ''Picnic'' with Kim Stanley. He later appeared in the original Broadway productions of ''The Desperate Hours'' and ''Sweet Bird of Youth'' with Geraldine Page. He would later star in the film version of ''Sweet Bird of Youth'', which also starred Page.
His first movie, ''The Silver Chalice'' (1954) has been described by Newman himself as the "worst movie of the entire 1950s decade," but he rebounded with acclaimed roles in ''Somebody Up There Likes Me'' (1956), as boxer Rocky Graziano, ''Cat on a Hot Tin Roof" (1958) opposite Elizabeth Taylor and "The Young Philadelphians" (1959) with Barbara Rush and Robert Vaughn.
Newman appeared in a screen test with James Dean for ''East of Eden'' (1955). Newman was testing for the role of Aron Trask, Dean was testing for the role of Aron's older brother Cal Trask (although Newman is older than Dean). Dean won the part of Cal, while the role Newman was up for went to Dick Davalos.
Major films
With his piercing blue eyes and handsome chiseled features, he could have been just a romantic leading man. Instead, Newman fought for more challenging parts, rather than trading on his good looks and taking the standard roles Hollywood offered every young handsome actor. Newman was one of the few actors who successfully made the transition from 1950s cinema to that of the 1960s and 1970s. His rebellious persona translated well to a subsequent generation. He has been frequently mentioned by younger actors as an influence.
Newman starred in ''Exodus'' (1960), ''The Hustler'' (1961), ''Hud'' (1963), ''Harper'' (1966), ''Cool Hand Luke'' (1967), ''The Towering Inferno'' (1974), ''Slap Shot'' (1977) and ''The Verdict'' (1982). He teamed with fellow actor Robert Redford and director George Roy Hill for ''Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid'' (1969) and ''The Sting'' (1973).
He also appeared with his wife, Joanne Woodward, in the feature films ''The Long, Hot Summer'' (1958), ''Rally 'Round the Flag, Boys!'', (1958), ''From the Terrace'' (1960), ''Paris Blues'' (1961), ''A New Kind of Love'' (1963), ''Winning'' (1969), ''WUSA'' (1970), ''The Drowning Pool'' (1975), ''Harry & Son'' (1984) and ''Mr. and Mrs. Bridge'' (1990). They also both starred in the HBO miniseries ''Empire Falls'', but did not have any scenes together.
In addition to starring in and directing ''Harry & Son'', Newman also directed three feature films (in which he did not act) starring Woodward. They were ''Rachel, Rachel'' (1968), based on Margaret Laurence's ''A Jest of God'', the screen version of the Pulitzer Prize-winning play ''The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-Moon Marigolds'' (1972), the television screen version of the Pulitzer Prize-winning play ''The Shadow Box'' (1980) and a screen version of Tennessee Williams' ''The Glass Menagerie'' (1987).
Recent work
In the video game ''X-Squad'' Newman voiced Colonel Clifford.
Recently, he appeared in a Broadway theatre revival of Thornton Wilder's ''Our Town''. He received his first Tony Award nomination for his performance. PBS and the cable network Showtime aired a taping of the production, and Newman was nominated for an Emmy Award, for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Miniseries or TV Movie.
One of his most recent screen appearances is as a conflicted mob boss in ''Road to Perdition'' opposite Tom Hanks. Most recently, in keeping with his strong interest in car racing, he provided the voice of Doc Hudson, a retired race car in Disney/Pixar's ''Cars''. The movie ''Dale'', about the life of the legendary NASCAR driver Dale Earnhardt, has been released in 2007, with Paul Newman as the narrator.
Retirement from acting
In his early eighties, Newman announced that he would entirely retire from acting on May 25 2007. He stated that he doesn't feel he can continue acting on the level that he would want to. "You start to lose your memory, you start to lose your confidence, you start to lose your invention. So I think that's pretty much a closed book for me."[5][6]
Awards and honors
Academy Awards
Wins
★ Honorary Award (1986) for his "many and memorable and compelling screen performances"
★ Best Actor, ''The Color of Money'' (1986)
★ Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award (1994) for his charity work
Nominations
★ Best Actor, ''Cat on a Hot Tin Roof'' (1958)
★ Best Actor, ''The Hustler'' (1961)
★ Best Actor, ''Hud'' (1963)
★ Best Actor, ''Cool Hand Luke'' (1967)
★ Best Picture, ''Rachel, Rachel'' (1968)
★ Best Actor, ''Absence of Malice'' (1981)
★ Best Actor, ''The Verdict'' (1982)
★ Best Actor, ''Nobody's Fool'' (1994)
★ Best Supporting Actor, ''Road to Perdition'' (2002)
BAFTA Awards
Win
★ Best Actor, ''The Hustler'' (1961)'
Nominations
★ Best Actor, ''Cat on a Hot Tin Roof'' (1958)
★ Best Actor, ''Hud'' (1963)
★ Best Actor, ''Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid'' (1970)
★ Best Supporting Actor, ''Road to Perdition'' (2002)
Emmy Awards
Win
★ Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Miniseries or a Movie, ''Empire Falls'' (2005)
Nominations
★ Outstanding Directing in a Limited Series or a Special, ''The Shadow Box'' (1981)
★ Outstanding Lead Actor in a Miniseries or a Movie, ''Out Town'' (2003)
★ Outstanding Miniseries, ''Empire Falls'' (2005)
Other
He won Best Actor at the Cannes Film Festival for ''The Long, Hot Summer''.
In 2007, Paul narrated the Dale Earnhardt documentary / movie titled "Dale" which debuted in theatres and on televisions CMT channel on September 4, 2007.
In 2005, he won a Golden Globe Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Miniseries or TV Movie, for ''Empire Falls'', which he also produced.
In 1969, he won the Golden Globe award for Best Director, for ''Rachel, Rachel'', but failed to get an Academy Award nomination even though the film was nominated for Best Picture. He won the Golden Globe Cecil B. DeMille Lifetime Achievement Award in 1984.
In 1968, Newman was named "Man of the Year" by Harvard University's performance group, the Hasty Pudding Theatricals.
Newman Day has been celebrated at Bates College, Princeton University, and other American colleges since the 1970s. Although the tradition is named after Newman, he has expressed disapproval of the drinking aspect of it, saying that since his son died of a drug overdose, he cannot condone any excessive use of drugs or alcohol.
Life outside the cinema
Personal life
Detached from Hollywood, Newman makes his home in Westport, Connecticut with his wife Joanne Woodward.
He has married twice. His first marriage was to Jackie Witte, and lasted from 1949 to 1958. Together they had a son, Scott, born in 1950, and two daughters, Susan Kendall (1953) and Stephanie. Scott died in 1978 from an accidental drug overdose.[7] Scott had appeared in such films as ''The Towering Inferno'' as a firefighter, and in the 1977 film ''Fraternity Row''. Newman started the Scott Newman Center for drug abuse prevention in memory of his son.[8] Susan is a documentary filmmaker and philanthropist. She also produced his telefilm ''The Shadow Box''.
Newman married Joanne Woodward on January 29, 1958. They have three daughters — Elinor Teresa (1959), Melissa Steward (1961), and Claire "Clea" Olivia (1965). Newman directed his daughter Elinor (stage name Nell Potts) in the central role alongside her mother in the film ''The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-Moon Marigolds''. Newman has been married to Woodward now for almost 50 years. When asked why he never committed adultery by ''Empire'' magazine, he famously replied "Why go out for a hamburger when you have steak at home?"
For his strong support of Eugene McCarthy in 1968 (and effective use of television commercials in California), Newman was 19th on Richard Nixon's enemies list. He has said that this is one of his life's proudest achievements.
Consistent with his work for liberal causes, Newman publicly supported Ned Lamont's candidacy in the 2006 Connecticut Democratic Primary against Senator Joe Lieberman, and was even rumored as a candidate himself until Lamont emerged as a credible alternative. He has donated to Chris Dodd's presidential campaign.[9]
Auto racing
He first became interested in the motorsport ("the first thing that I ever found I had any grace in") while training for and filming ''Winning'', a 1969 film.
Newman's first professional event was in 1972, in Thompson, Connecticut. He ran the 24 hours of Le Mans once in 1979 and finished second in a Porsche 935 of Dick Barbour.
From the mid seventies to the early nineties, he drove for the Bob Sharp Racing team, racing mainly Nissans. He became heavily associated with the brand during the eighties, even appearing in commercials for them. Although they named a Skyline model after him, calling it the "Newman", he was most closely associated with the Z series, which he used for most of his race victories and championship titles.
At the age of 70, he became the oldest driver to be part of a winning team in a major sanctioned race, the 24 Hours of Daytona in 1995. Newman told an Associated Press journalist in March 2005 that he'll "probably race for another year".
Newman co-founded Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing with Carl Haas, a Champ Car auto racing team, in 1983. He is also a partner in the Champ Car Atlantics team Newman-Wachs racing. The 1996 racing season was chronicled in the IMAX film ''Super Speedway'', which Newman narrates.
His team Newman/Haas/Lanigan recently completed a partnership with Robert Yates Racing of the NASCAR Nextel Cup Series.
Philanthropy
With writer A.E. Hotchner, Newman founded ''Newman's Own'', a line of food products, in 1982. The brand started with salad dressing, and has expanded to include pasta sauce, lemonade, popcorn, and salsa, among other things. Newman donates the proceeds, after taxes, to charity. As of early 2006, the franchise has resulted in excess of $200 million in donations. He co-wrote a memoir about the subject with Hotchner, ''Shameless Exploitation in Pursuit of the Common Good'' (ISBN 0-385-50802-6). Among other awards, Newman co-sponsors the PEN/Newman's Own First Amendment Award, a $25,000 reward designed to recognize those who protect the first amendment as it applies to the written word.
One beneficiary of his philanthropy is the Hole in the Wall Gang Camp, a residential summer camp for seriously ill children, which is located between Ashford and Eastford in Connecticut. Newman cofounded the camp in 1986; it was named after the gang in his film ''Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid'' (1969). Newman's college fraternity, Phi Kappa Tau, adopted "Hole in the Wall" as their "national philanthropy" in 1995. One camp has expanded to become several Hole in the Wall Camps in the U.S., Ireland, France and Israel. The camp serves 13,000 children every year, free of charge.[10]
On June 1 2007, Kenyon College announced that Newman had donated $10 million to the school to establish a scholarship fund as part of the college's current $230 million fund-raising campaign. Newman and Woodward were honorary co-chairs of a previous campaign.[11]
Filmography (as actor)
| Main Filmography |
|---|
| The Silver Chalice (''1954'') | Somebody Up There Likes Me (''1956'') | The Rack (''1956'') | The Helen Morgan Story (''1957'') | The Left-Handed Gun (''1958'') | Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (''1958'') | The Long, Hot Summer (''1958'') | The Young Philadelphians (1959) | Exodus (''1960'') | The Hustler (''1961'') | Sweet Bird of Youth (''1962'') | Hud (''1963'') | The Prize (''1963'') | Torn Curtain (''1966'') | Harper (''1966'') | Hombre (''1967'') | Cool Hand Luke (''1967'') | Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (''1969'') | Sometimes a Great Notion (''1971'') | The Sting (''1973'') | The Mackintosh Man (''1973'') | The Towering Inferno (''1974'') | The Drowning Pool (''1975'') | Slapshot (''1977'') Absence of Malice (''1981'') | The Verdict (''1982'') | The Color of Money (''1986'') | Fat Man and Little Boy (''1989'') | Blaze (''1989'') | The Hudsucker Proxy (''1994'') | Nobody's Fool (''1994'') | Message in a Bottle (''1999'') | Road to Perdition (''2002'') | Cars (''2006'') |
Cultural reference
Newman is mentioned in S.E. Hinton's novel, ''The Outsiders'', as it begins with "When I stepped out into the bright sunlight from the darkness of the movie house, I had only two things on my mind: Paul Newman and a ride home."
The English rock band Dogs Die In Hot Cars wrote a song entitled "Paul Newman's Eyes" on their first album ''Please Describe Yourself'' - a ballad to his infamous blue-eyed gaze.
Artist Gil Kane based his original illlustrations of Hal Jordan on a Mid-30s Paul Newman.
Further reading
★ ''Paul Newman'' (1990); Elena Oumano ISBN 0-517-05934-7
★ ''The Films of Paul Newman'' (1986); Lawrence J. Quirk ISBN 0-8065-0385-8
★ ''The Films of Paul Newman'' (1978); Kenneth Thomson ISBN 0-912616-87-3
★ ''Paul Newman: a Biography'' (1999); Eric Lax ISBN 1-57036-286-6
References
1. http://www.newmansown.com/faqs.cfm
2. ABC.com Nightline News Interview. May 24 2007
3. http://www.nndb.com/people/804/000022738/
4. Oscar Levant, ''The Unimportance of Being Oscar'', Pocket Books 1969 (reprint of G.P. Putnam 1968), p. 56. ISBN 0-671-77104-3.
5. http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,21797406-2,00.html
6. [1]
7. ''New York Times'': "Biography: Paul Newman — Hollywood's Charming Rebel"
8. Scott Newman Center
9. http://www.wfsb.com/politics/12281464/detail.html?rss=hart&psp=news
10. http://www.newmansown.com/faqs.cfm#q2a
11. Paul Newman donates mln to Kenyon College
External links
★
★ Newman/Haas Racing
★ Newman's Own
★ Paul Newman image gallery at The Guardian
★ Paul Newman speaks at The American Ireland Fund Dinner Gala 2007 - video
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