Paul Newman - Biography

Last Editor: csmith972				Paul Newman Biography -   Name : Paul Newman Date of birth : 26 January 1925 Place of birth : Shaker Heights, Ohio, USA Birth name : Paul Leonard Newman Height : 5' 9" Died : September 26, 2008 (aged 83) Place of death : Westport, Connecticut, USA Spouse(s) : Jackie Witte (1949-1958) and Joanne Woodward (1958-2008) Occupations : Actor, director, humanitarian, entrepreneur

Paul Newman Trivia -

Chosen by Empire magazine as one of the 100 Sexiest Stars in film history (#12). [1995] Said that he burned his tuxedo on his 75th birthday because he is through with formality. Says the sound he loves most is that of a V-8 engine. Owns The Hole In The Wall Gang Camp, a summer camp for children with cancer and other blood-related diesases (and their siblings) in Ashford, Connecticut, and also runs a fall "Discovery" program for inner city kids, also in Ashford. Ranked #19 in Empire (UK) magazine's "The Top 100 Movie Stars of All Time" list. [October 1997] Lives in Connecticut; has been known to race at The Lime Rock Road Circuit. Has his own line of food products, "Newman's Own". Owns half of the Champ Car (auto racing) team Newman-Haas. Awarded an honorary Oscar in 1994 in recognition of his charity work. Father, with Joanne Woodward, of actress Melissa Newman, Nell Potts, and Claire (Clea) Newman. A son and two girls with first wife Jackie Witte. His only son, Scott Newman, died of a drug overdose in 1978. Daughter, Susan Kendall Newman, is well known for stage acting and her philanthropic activities. Before he became an actor, Newman ran the family sporting goods store in Cleveland, Ohio. Chosen by People magazine as one of the 50 Most Beautiful People in the world. [1990] He was the visual inspiration for the original illustrations of superhero Green Lantern/Hal Jordan. Finished 2nd in the 1979 Le Mans 24hr race in a Porsche 935. Returned to live theater for first time in 35 years, in "Our Town" June 2002. Westport Country Playhouse, near Newman's home in Connecticut, staged the classic Thornton Wilder play; theater's artistic director is Newman's wife, Joanne Woodward. After the Watergate precedings wrapped up, was discovered as one of many famous names on Richard Nixon's "Enemies List". Was training to be a pilot while in the navy, but was unable to complete, due to color blindness. Robert Redford on Newman: "He has the attention span of a bolt of lightning." Nominated for a 2003 Tony Award for Best Actor in the Revival of a Play, for "Our Town". Was mentioned in Dolce vita, La (1960), in a discussion about salaries paid to film stars. Within a space of five months in the year 2003, he was nominated for an Oscar (for Road to Perdition (2002)), a Tony, and an Emmy (both for "Our Town"). Although he played the lead male roles in the first productions of three Broadway classics near the beginning of his career, Newman did not receive a Tony Award nomination until 2003, when, at the age of 78, he was nominated as Best Actor for his performance in the 2002 revival of the stage classic "Our Town". (The Broadway classics that he starred in previously were "The Desperate Hours", "Picnic" and "Sweet Bird of Youth".) Was so ashamed of his debut in the failed costume drama The Silver Chalice (1954), that he took out an ad in Variety apologizing for his performance. His father was German-Jewish and his mother was Irish-Catholic, although his childhood was more or less secular and his parents thought hard work was far more important than religion. He was voted the 13th Greatest Movie Star of all time by Entertainment Weekly. The 4th nomination on Empire Magazine's "Gods Among Us" series along with Al Pacino, Marlon Brando, and Jack Nicholson. Students at Princeton University have named 24 April Newman's Day. Students try to drink 24 beers over the 24 hours of the day. The tradition stems from a comment that Newman is alleged to have made; "24 hours in a day, 24 beers in a case. Coincidence? I think not." The event is not officially sponsored by the university, and Newman has commented that he would "like to bring an end to the tradition". He and Frank Sinatra are the only actors to win an Actor Academy Award, an Humanitarian Academy Award and a Special Honorary Academy Award. Sinatra won the Best Supporting Actor Award (1953), Humanitarian Award (1970) and a Special Award (1945, Best Short Subject The House I Live In (1945)). Newman won the Best Actor Award (1986), the Humanitarian Award (1993) and a Special Award (1985, Lifetime Achievement Award). Lee Strasberg, who trained Newman at the Actor's Studio, said that he would have been as great an actor as Brando if he hadn't been so handsome. According to Strasberg, Newman had the talent, but he too often relied on his good looks to coast through a role. Stumped the U.S. for Eugene McCarthy during his unsuccessful bid for the Democratic Party presidential nomination in 1968. Newman made the cover of LIFE Magazine with a McCarthy pin on his jacket on the May 10th, 1968 issue. Newman is tied with his The Color of Money (1986) co-star Tom Cruise, who made the annual Top Ten Money Making Stars list for the 17th time in 2004, for #4 all-time in appearances in the top 10. They trail only Gary Cooper, who made the list 18 times, Clint Eastwood (21 times) and John Wayne (25 times). Ironically, the last year Newman made the list, at #10 in 1986, was the first year Cruise topped the list at #1, at only his second time in the Top 10. Was named the #1 Box Office Star by Quigley Publications in its annual Top Ten Money Making Stars poll of movie exhibitors two years in a row, 1969 and 1970. Newman had been #2 in 1968 and #3 in '67 and would rank #3 in both 1971 and '74. Newman, who entered the list for the first time in 1963 at #9 and the last time in 1986 at #10, has made the list 17 times. Is half-Jewish, according to his wife Joanne Woodward in a joint cover-story in the July 21, 1975 issue of People magazine. Was nominated for Broadway's 2003 Tony Award as Best Actor (Play) for playing the Stage Manager in a revival of Thornton Wilder's "Our Town." Early in his acting career, he was often mistaken for Marlon Brando. He claims to have signed around 500 autographs reading, "Best wishes, Marlon Brando." He was voted the 6th Greatest Movie Star of all time by Premiere Magazine. He has announced his plans to star in one more major film and to then retire from acting. Otto Preminger, a Jew himself, cast Newman in Exodus (1960) because he wanted someone of Jewish heritage that didn't "look Jewish". He and his wife Joanne Woodward are the only couple to win acting Academy Awards while they were married.

Paul Newman Detailed Biography -

Paul Newman was born on January 26th 1925 in Cleveland, Ohio. Newman grew up in a suburb to Cleveland called Shaker Heights where he showed great interest in acting already at high school, where he participated in the local high school productions. He graduated in 1943 and immediately enlisted in the Navy. He spent the remainder of the war in the South Pacific as a radio operator. He was hoping to become a pilot, but was denied because he is color blind. In 1946 he enrolled at Kenyon College and this time his goal was to pursue an acting career. In 1949 he met and married actress Jacqueline Witte with he had a child, Scott. Soon after that his father died which postponed his acting career, because he moved back to Shaker Heights to manage his parents' sporting goods store. However, he grew tired of the business pretty soon and sold his share to his brother and moved with Jacqueline and Scott to New Haven where he enrolled at Yale University's graduate drama program. He only spent one year at Yale, then moved to New York to attend the New York Actors Studio. It was at the Actors Studio that Newman learned about method acting, a modern type of acting used by Marlon Brando. Newman won his first television part in 1951, it was the CBS production of "The Aldrich Family". Two years later he made his first appearance on Brodway, in "Picnic". The performance caught the attention of some Warner Bros. executives who signed him up immediately. His first film was THE SILVER CHALICE, an epic costumer that became a huge flop which halted Newman's career before it had begun. He came back two years later, this time to stay, with SOMEBODY UP THERE LIKES ME, where he played boxer Rocky Graziano. Newman became known as the new Brando. His next appearence worth mentioning was in THE LONG HOT SUMMER, along with veteran Orson Welles and up-and-coming actress Joanne Woodward, who soon was to become Newman's second wife. The following years Newman would appear in films of outstanding quality, beginning with Richard Brooks' CAT ON A HOT TIN ROOF, based on Tennessee Williams' play, where he played opposite Elizabeth Taylor. Newman's performance as "Fast" Eddie Felson in THE HUSTLER could very well be his finest hour, it brought him his second Academy Award nomination, his first was for CAT ON A HOT TIN ROOF. During this period Newman's charachters were often cynical opportunists with strong sex appeal and seeming contempt for women. He was nominated for the third time for his performance as an amoral Texas rancher in HUD. His fourth nomination was for his charachterization of a prison inmate in the superb chain-gang drama COOL HAND LUKE. Yes, it's the film with the famous egg eating bet. 1969 saw Newman team up with Robert Redford in the revisionist western classic BUTCH CASSIDY AND THE SUNDANCE KID, which became the highest grossing western of all time. In 1969 Newman formed the First Actors production company along with Steve McQueen, Sidney Poitier and Barbra Streisand. The idea was to create opportunities for performers to produce their own projects, the same idea that United Artists was based on. The project did result in some interesting experiments, but that's all. Newman returned for a solid smash hit when he re-teamed with Robert Redford in George Roy Hill's delightful comedy THE STING. It won seven Academy Awards, but still nothing for Newman. Then he shared first billing with Steve McQueen in the star studded disaster movie THE TOWERING INFERNO. His most notable performance of the late 70's was as a hockey player/coach in the cult comedy SLAP SHOT. In the beginning of the 80's Newman left the matinee idol persona for good and accepted more mature roles starting with ABSENCE OF MALICE opposite Sally Field. Then came his sixth Academy Award nomination for his brilliant charachterization of an old, hard drinking lawyer attempting a comeback in THE VERDICT. Newman did win his Oscar on his seventh attempt, when he reprised his role as "Fast" Eddie Felson in THE COLOR OF MONEY opposite young Tom Cruise. During the 80's Newman launched "Newman's Own", a successful series of food products such as spaghetti sauce and salad dressing, the earnings goes to charity. He also founded a drug rehabilitation center named after his son Scott, who died in 1978 of an overdose of tranquilizers and alcohol. Newman remains outspoken in important political issues that he labours for. Nowadays he just works in movies when he finds a script that inspires him, such as in 1994 when he appeared in the Coen-brothers' THE HUDSUCKER PROXY, and in 1995 when he scored his eighth Academy Award nomination for NOBODY'S FOOL. Newman and Woodward reside in Westport, Connectict where they just celebrated their 45th wedding anniversary. They have three daughters together.