Paul Newman
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This article is about the American actor. For others with the same name, see Paul Newman (disambiguation).
| Paul Newman | |
|---|---|
Newman in The Prize (1963)
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| Born | Paul Leonard Newman January 26, 1925 Shaker Heights, Ohio, US |
| Died | September 26, 2008 (aged 83) Westport, Connecticut, U.S. |
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Cause of death
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Lung cancer |
| Nationality | American |
| Education | Ohio University Kenyon College Yale University Actors Studio |
| Occupation | Actor, director, entrepreneur, professional racing driver |
| Years active | 1949–2008 |
| Spouse(s) | Jackie Witte (1949–1958; divorced) Joanne Woodward (1958–2008; his death) |
| Children | Allan Scott Newman (1950–1978) Stephanie Newman (b. 1951) Susan Kendall Newman (b. 1953) Elinor Teresa Newman (b. 1959) Melissa Steward Newman (b. 1961) Clair Olivia Newman (b. 1965) |
Newman was a co-founder of Newman's Own, a food company from which Newman donated all post-tax profits and royalties to charity.[3] As of 2013, these donations exceeded US$380 million.[3] He also founded the SeriousFun Children's Network, a global family of camps and programs for children with serious illness which has served 290,076 children since 1988.[4]
Contents
- 1 Early life
- 2 Career
- 3 Philanthropy
- 4 Marriages and family
- 5 Political activism
- 6 Auto racing
- 7 Illness and death
- 8 Filmography, awards, and nominations
- 9 Select Theatre Credits
- 10 Additional awards and honors
- 11 Published work
- 12 See also
- 13 Notes
- 14 References
- 15 Further reading
- 16 External links
Early life
Newman was born in Shaker Heights (a suburb of Cleveland). He was the son of Theresa (née Fetzer or Fetsko; Slovak: Terézia Fecková)[5][6] and Arthur Sigmund Newman, who ran a profitable sporting goods store.[7][8][9] His father was Jewish (Paul's paternal grandparents, Simon Newman and Hannah Cohn, were immigrants from Hungary and Poland).[8][10] His mother, who practiced Christian Science, was born to a Slovak Roman Catholic family at Homonna, Ptičie (formerly Pticsie) in the former Kingdom of Hungary, Austro-Hungarian Empire (now Humenné in Slovakia).[6][11] Newman had no religion as an adult, but described himself as a Jew, saying, "it's more of a challenge".[12] Newman's mother worked in his father's store, while raising Paul and his brother, Arthur, who later became a producer and production manager.[13]Newman showed an early interest in the theater, which his mother encouraged. At the age of seven, he made his acting debut, playing the court jester in a school production of Robin Hood. Graduating from Shaker Heights High School in 1943, he briefly attended Ohio University in Athens, Ohio, where he was initiated into the Phi Kappa Tau fraternity.[13]
Military service
Newman served in the United States Navy in World War II in the Pacific theater.[13] Newman enrolled in the Navy V-12 program at Yale University, hoping to be accepted for pilot training, but was dropped when it was discovered he was color blind.[13][14] He was sent instead to boot camp and then received further training as a radioman and gunner. Qualifying as a rear-seat radioman and gunner in torpedo bombers, in 1944, Aviation Radioman Third Class Newman was sent to Barber's Point, Hawaii. He was subsequently assigned to Pacific-based replacement torpedo squadrons (VT-98, VT-99, and VT-100). These torpedo squadrons were responsible primarily for training replacement pilots and combat air crewmen, placing particular importance on carrier landings.[14]He later flew from aircraft carriers as a turret gunner in an Avenger torpedo bomber. As a radioman-gunner, he served aboard USS Bunker Hill during the Battle of Okinawa in the spring of 1945. He was ordered to the ship with a draft of replacements shortly before the Okinawa campaign, but his life was spared because he was held back after his pilot developed an ear infection. The men who remained in his detail were killed in action.[15]
University and training
After the war, he completed his Bachelor of Arts degree in drama and economics at Kenyon College in Gambier, Ohio in 1949.[16] He became a member of the Phi Kappa Tau fraternity during his time there and lived in the house.[17] Shortly after earning his degree, Newman joined several summer stock companies, most notably the Woodstock Players in Illinois. He toured with them for three months and developed his talents as a part of Woodstock Players.[citation needed][13][18] Newman later attended the Yale School of Drama for one year before moving to New York City to study under Lee Strasberg at the Actors Studio.[13]Oscar Levant wrote that Newman initially was hesitant to leave New York for Hollywood: "Too close to the cake", he reported him saying, "Also, no place to study."[19]
Career
Early work and mainstream success
During this time Newman started acting in television. He had his first credited TV or film appearance with a small but notable part in a 1952 episode of the science fiction TV series Tales of Tomorrow entitled "Ice from Space".[21] In the mid-1950s, he appeared twice on CBS's Appointment with Adventure anthology series.
In February 1954, Newman appeared in a screen test with James Dean, directed by Gjon Mili, for East of Eden (1955). Newman was testing for the role of Aron Trask, Dean for the role of Aron's fraternal twin brother Cal. Dean won his part, but Newman lost out to Richard Davalos. In the same year, Newman co-starred with Eva Marie Saint and Frank Sinatra in a live—and color—television broadcast of Our Town, a musical adaptation of Thornton Wilder's stage play. Newman was a last-minute replacement for James Dean.[22] The "James Dean" connection had resonance two other times, as Newman was cast in two leading roles originally earmarked for Dean, Billy the Kid in The Left Handed Gun and Rocky Graziano in Somebody Up There Likes Me, after Dean succumbed to his fateful automobile collision up the California coast.
Newman's first movie for Hollywood was The Silver Chalice (1954). The film was a box office failure and the actor would later acknowledge his disdain for it.[23] In 1956, Newman garnered much attention and acclaim for the boxer Graziano lead in Somebody Up There Likes Me By 1958, he was one of the hottest new stars in Hollywood. Later that year, he starred in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (1958), opposite Elizabeth Taylor. The film was a box office smash and Newman garnered his first Academy Award nomination. Also in 1958, Newman starred in The Long, Hot Summer with Joanne Woodward, with whom he reconnected on the set in 1957 (they had first met in 1953). He won best actor at the 1958 Cannes Film Festival for this film.
Major films
He 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), What a Way to Go! (1964), Winning (1969), WUSA (1970), The Drowning Pool (1975), Harry & Son (1984), and Mr. and Mrs. Bridge (1990). They both also starred in the HBO miniseries Empire Falls, but did not have any scenes together.
Twenty-five years after The Hustler, Newman reprised his role of "Fast" Eddie Felson in the Martin Scorsese–directed film The Color of Money (1986), for which he won the Academy Award for Best Actor. The Award has been looked upon as a "make-up" for his past body of work. He told a television interviewer that winning that Oscar at the age of 62 deprived him of his fantasy of formally being presented with it in extreme old age.[citation needed]
Last works
In 2003, Newman appeared in a Broadway revival of Wilder's Our Town, receiving 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[24] for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Miniseries or TV Movie.Newman's last screen appearance was as a conflicted mob boss in the 2002 film Road to Perdition opposite Tom Hanks, for which he was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor, although he continued to provide voice work for films. In 2006, in keeping with his strong interest in car racing, he provided the voice of Doc Hudson, a retired anthropomorphic race car in Disney/Pixar's Cars—this was his final role for a major feature film.
Newman announced his retirement from acting on May 25, 2007. He stated that he did not feel he could continue acting at the level he wanted 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."[25] He recorded narration tracks for two more films, however: the 2007 documentary Dale, about the life of the legendary NASCAR driver Dale Earnhardt, and the 2008 documentary The Meerkats (which was his final role before his death).
Philanthropy
One beneficiary of his philanthropy is the Hole in the Wall Gang Camp, a residential summer camp for seriously ill children, which is located in Ashford, Connecticut. Newman co-founded the camp in 1988; 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 camps serve 13,000 children every year, free of charge.[3]
In June 1999, Newman donated $250,000 to Catholic Relief Services to aid refugees in Kosovo.[27]
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.[28]
Newman was one of the founders of the Committee Encouraging Corporate Philanthropy (CECP), a membership organization of CEOs and corporate chairpersons committed to raising the level and quality of global corporate philanthropy. Founded in 1999 by Newman and a few leading CEOs, CECP has grown to include more than 175 members and, through annual executive convenings, extensive benchmarking research, and best practice publications, leads the business community in developing sustainable and strategic community partnerships through philanthropy.[29] Newman was named the Most Generous Celebrity of 2008 by Givingback.org. He contributed $20,857,000 for the year of 2008 to the Newman's Own Foundation, which distributes funds to a variety of charities.[30]
Upon Newman's death, the Italian newspaper (a "semi-official" paper of the Holy See) L'Osservatore Romano published a notice lauding Newman's philanthropy. It also commented that "Newman was a generous heart, an actor of a dignity and style rare in Hollywood quarters."[31]
Newman is recognized as responsible for preserving lands around Westport, Connecticut. He lobbied the state's governor for funds for the 2011 Aspetuck Land Trust in Easton.[32] In 2011 Paul Newman's estate gifted land to Westport to be managed by the Aspetuck Land Trust.[33]
Marriages and family
Newman was married to Jackie Witte[13] from 1949 to 1958. They had two daughters (Stephanie Kendall born in 1951 and Susan born in 1953)[13] and a son, Scott, born in 1950, who died in November 1978 from a drug overdose.[34] Scott appeared in films including Breakheart Pass, The Towering Inferno and the 1977 film Fraternity Row. Paul Newman started the Scott Newman Center for drug abuse prevention in memory of his son.[35] Susan is a documentary filmmaker and philanthropist and has Broadway and screen credits, including a starring role as one of four Beatles fans in I Wanna Hold Your Hand (1978), and also a small role opposite her father in Slap Shot. She also received an Emmy nomination as co-producer of his telefilm, The Shadow Box.Newman met actress Joanne Woodward in 1953. Shortly after filming The Long, Hot Summer, in 1957 he divorced Witte. He married Woodward early in 1958. They remained married for fifty years until his death in 2008.[36] They had three daughters: Elinor "Nell" Teresa (b. 1959), Melissa "Lissy" Stewart (b. 1961), and Claire "Clea" Olivia (b. 1965). Newman directed Nell (using the stage name Nell Potts) alongside her mother in the films Rachel, Rachel and The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-Moon Marigolds.
The Newmans lived away from the Hollywood environment, making their home in Westport, Connecticut. Newman was well known for his devotion to his wife and family. When asked once about infidelity, he famously quipped, "Why go out for a hamburger when you have steak at home?"[37]
Newman was also an ordained minister of the Universal Life Church Monastery, a one-day online certificate program to officiate weddings.[38]
Political activism
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 donated to Chris Dodd's presidential campaign.[40]
He attended the first Earth Day event in Manhattan on April 22, 1970.[41]
Newman was concerned about global warming and supported nuclear energy development as a solution.[42]
Auto racing
| 24 Hours of Le Mans career | |
|---|---|
| Participating years | 1979 |
| Teams | Dick Barbour Racing |
| Best finish | 2nd (1979) |
| Class wins | 1 (1979) |
Their "Newman Freeman Racing" team was very competitive in the North American Can-Am series in their Budweiser sponsored Chevrolet powered Spyder NFs. Paul and Bill began a long and successful partnership with the Newman Freeman Racing team in the Can-Am series which culminated in the Can-Am Team Championship trophy in 1979. Their drivers included Keke Rosberg (who later became World Champion on the Williams Saudia F1 Team), Elliott Forbes-Robinson, Randolph Townsend, Mike Brockman, Howdy Holmes, Teo Fabi, Patrick Depailler, Danny Sullivan, Bobby Rahal, Johnny Parson Jr., among others.
Paul was also associated with Bill Freeman's established Porsche racing team which allowed both Paul and Bill to compete in S.C.C.A. and I.M.S.A. racing events together, including the Sebring 12-hour endurance sports car race. This car was sponsored by Beverly Porsche/Audi. Bill Freeman was also Sports Car Club of America's Southern Pacific National Champion during the Newman Freeman Racing period.
Later Newman co-founded Newman/Haas Racing with Carl Haas, a Champ Car team, in 1983. The 1996 racing season was chronicled in the IMAX film Super Speedway, which Newman narrated. He was also a partner in the Atlantic Championship team Newman Wachs Racing.
Newman was posthumously inducted into the SCCA Hall of Fame at the national convention in Las Vegas, Nevada on February 21, 2009.[50]
Comedian and car aficionado Adam Carolla owns and races 5 of Paul Newman's race cars. He is currently in the process of creating a documentary showcasing Newman's car racing career. [51]
Illness and death
Newman was scheduled to make his professional stage directing debut with the Westport Country Playhouse's 2008 production of John Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men, but he stepped down on May 23, 2008, citing health issues.[52] In June 2008, it was widely reported that Newman had been diagnosed with lung cancer and was receiving treatment at Sloan-Kettering hospital in New York City.[53] Writer A. E. Hotchner, who partnered with Newman to start the Newman's Own company in the 1980s, told the Associated Press that Newman told him about the disease about eighteen months prior to the interview.[54] Newman's spokesman told the press that the star was "doing nicely", but neither confirmed nor denied that he had cancer.[55] In August, after reportedly finishing chemotherapy, Newman told his family he wished to die at home.Newman died on September 26, 2008, aged 83, surrounded by his family and close friends.[56][57] His remains were cremated after a private funeral service near his home in Westport.[58] The 2008 documentary The Meerkats was dedicated to Newman.
Filmography, awards, and nominations
Further information: List of awards and nominations received by Paul Newman
As actor
As director or producer
| Year | Film | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 1968 | Rachel, Rachel | Golden Globe Award for Best Director - Motion Picture Nominated – Academy Award for Best Picture New York Film Critics Circle Award (best director)[60] |
| 1969 | Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid | Co-executive producer (uncredited) |
| Winning | Co-executive producer (uncredited) | |
| 1970 | WUSA | Co-producer |
| 1971 | Sometimes a Great Notion | Director and co-executive producer |
| They Might Be Giants | producer | |
| 1972 | The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-Moon Marigolds | Director and producer |
| The Life and Times of Judge Roy Bean | Co-executive producer (uncredited) | |
| 1980 | The Shadow Box | Nominated – Emmy Award for Best Director for a Miniseries, Movie or Dramatic Special |
| 1984 | Harry & Son | Director and producer |
| 1987 | The Glass Menagerie | |
| 2005 | Empire Falls | Producer, Nominated: Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Miniseries |
Select Theatre Credits
- Phaedra by Jean Racine and Robert Collington Ackart - Yale, 1951
- Beethoven by Dorothy B. Bland - Yale, 1952
- Picnic by William Inge - New York, 1953-54
- The Desperate Hours - New York, 1955
- Sweet Bird of Youth by Tennessee Williams - New York, 1959-60
- Baby Want a Kiss - New York, 1964
- Love Letters - Westport, 2000
- The Constant Wife - Westport, 2000
- Our Town by Thornton Wilder - Westport, New York, 2002-3
- Trumbo - New York, 2004
Additional awards and honors
In addition to the awards Newman won for specific roles, he received an honorary Academy Award in 1986 for his "many and memorable and compelling screen performances" and the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award for his charity work in 1994.He received the Kennedy Center Honors in 1992 along with his wife, Joanne Woodward.
In 1994, he and his wife received the Award for Greatest Public Service Benefiting the Disadvantaged, an award given out annually by Jefferson Awards.[61]
He received the Golden Globe New Star of the Year — Actor award for The Silver Chalice (1957), the Henrietta Award World Film Favorite — Male in 1964 and 1966 and the Cecil B. DeMille Award for Lifetime Achievement in 1984.
Newman won Best Actor at the Cannes Film Festival for The Long, Hot Summer and the Silver Bear at the Berlin Film Festival for Nobody's Fool.
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 Kenyon College, Bates College, Princeton University, and other American colleges since the 1970s. In 2004, Newman requested that Princeton University disassociate the event from his name, due to the fact that he did not endorse the behaviors, citing his creation of the Scott Newman Centre in 1980, which is "dedicated to the prevention of substance abuse through education".[62]
Posthumously, Newman was inducted into the Connecticut Hall of Fame, and was honored with a 37-acre (150,000 m2) nature preserve in Westport named in his honor. He was also honored by the United States House of Representatives following his death.
Published work
- Newman, Paul; Hotchner, A.E. Newman's Own Cookbook. Simon & Schuster, 1998. ISBN 0-684-84832-5.
- Newman, Paul; Hotchner, A.E. Shameless Exploitation in Pursuit of the Common Good. Doubleday Publishing, 2003. ISBN 0-385-50802-6.
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