Paul Newman Dead at 83

Paul Newman 1925 - 2008

Iconic Hollywood actor and highly respected philanthropist

Paul Newman, who died on September 27, 2008, aged 83, was an iconic, multi-award winning film actor and director.

Newman made a lasting impression on the silver screen with his classic good looks and piercing blue eyes, and was nominated nine times for a best actor Oscar during his illustrious career.

He headed the Hollywood A-List in the 1950s with acclaimed roles in movies such as Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (1958) and proved his staying power by starring in a string of classics throughout the 60s and 70s such as Cool Hand Luke (1967), Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969) and The Sting (1973).

Born on January 26, 1925, in Shaker Heights, Ohio, to a successful sporting goods store owner, he studied acting at the Yale Drama School after serving in the Navy during World War II. He later attended the highly prestigious New York Actors’ Studio and made his Broadway debut with Picnic in 1953, after which he was snapped up by Warner Brothers.

Newman continued to act in films until his retirement in May 2007, appearing as a mob boss in Road to Perdition alongside Tom Hanks and providing his vocal talents for Disney/Pixar’s animated film Cars.

He said he was giving up acting because he could no longer perform to the best of his ability. "I'm not able to work any more... at the level that I would want to," he told US broadcaster ABC. "I was always a character actor - I just looked like Little Red Riding Hood. 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."

During the filming of Winning in 1969, Newman became passionate about motorsports. After years as an active racing driver, he co-founded an IndyCar racing team with Carl Haas in 1983. Also a keen philanthropist, in 1982 Newman and writer A.E. Hotchner founded a line of food products called Newman’s Own, the proceeds of which are donated to charity.

Newman spent his final years in Westport, Connecticut, with wife Joanne Woodward, with whom he had appeared in several films including The Long, Hot Summer (1958).

He had two daughter and a son from his first marriage to Jackie Witte and three daughters from his marriage to Joanne Woodward. Newman’s son, Scott Newman, died tragically in November 1978 from an accidental drug overdose.

A month before his death Newman was pictured being pushed from a New York cancer hospital in a wheelchair looking thin and frail.

"Paul's Newman's craft was acting. His passion was racing. His love was his family and friends. And his heart and soul were dedicated to helping make the world a better place for all,' Robert Forrester, vice-chairman of the Newman's Own Foundation, said in a statemen.