Paul Newman

Paul Newman
Newman in 1958
Born
Paul Leonard Newman

(1925-01-26)January 26, 1925
DiedSeptember 26, 2008(2008-09-26) (aged 83)
EducationKenyon College (BA)
Occupations
  • Actor
  • Film director
  • Race car driver
  • Philanthropist
  • Entrepreneur
Years active1949–2008
OrganizationsSeriousFun Children's Network, Safe Water Network
WorksOn screen and stage
Political partyDemocratic
Spouses
  • Jackie Witte
    (m. 1949; div. 1958)
  • (m. 1958)
Children6, including Scott, Nell, and Melissa
Military career
AllegianceUnited States
Service / branchUnited States Navy
Years of service1943–1946
Rank Petty Officer Third Class
Battles / wars
Awards Navy Good Conduct Medal

Paul Leonard Newman (January 26, 1925 – September 26, 2008) was an American actor, film director, racing car driver, philanthropist, and entrepreneur. He was the recipient of numerous awards, including an Academy Award, a BAFTA Award, three Golden Globe Awards, a Screen Actors Guild Award, a Primetime Emmy Award, a Silver Bear, a Cannes Film Festival Award, and the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award.[1]

Born in Shaker Heights, Ohio, a suburb of Cleveland, Newman showed an interest in theater as a child and at age 10 performed in a stage production of Saint George and the Dragon at the Cleveland Play House. He received his Bachelor of Arts degree in drama and economics from Kenyon College in 1949. After touring with several summer stock companies including the Belfry Players, Newman attended the Yale School of Drama for a year before studying at the Actors Studio under Lee Strasberg. His first starring Broadway role was in William Inge's Picnic in 1953.

Newman won the Academy Award for Best Actor for his performance in The Color of Money (1986). His Oscar-nominated performances were in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (1958), The Hustler (1961), Hud (1963), Cool Hand Luke (1967), Absence of Malice (1981), The Verdict (1982), Nobody's Fool (1994), and Road to Perdition (2002). He also starred in such films as Harper (1966), Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969), The Sting (1973), The Towering Inferno (1974), Slap Shot (1977), and Fort Apache, The Bronx (1981). He also voiced Doc Hudson in Cars (2006).

Newman won several national championships as a driver in Sports Car Club of America road racing. He co-founded Newman's Own, a food company which donated all post-tax profits and royalties to charity.[2] As of May 2021, these donations totaled over US$570 million.[3] Newman continued to found charitable organizations such as the SeriousFun Children's Network in 1988 and the Safe Water Network in 2006. Newman was married twice and fathered six children. He was the husband of the actress Joanne Woodward.

  1. ^ "Persons with 5 or More Acting Nominations". Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. March 2008. Archived from the original on March 1, 2009. Retrieved December 30, 2008.
  2. ^ "Newman's Own Foundation – More than $350 Million Donated Around the World". newmansownfoundation.org. Archived from the original on October 25, 2015. Retrieved October 21, 2015.
  3. ^ "Total Giving". newmansownfoundation.org. May 5, 2020. Archived from the original on August 23, 2020. Retrieved August 26, 2020.