Paul Newman has a career as an actor, film director, and race car driver. He is also a philanthropist and entrepreneur. His career has spanned more than half a century, from his debut as an actor in the 1950s to his death in 2006. Read on to learn more about this amazing man.
Career as an actor
The career of Paul Newman as an actor spans a wide range of roles. His early career saw him perform on the stage and on television, as well as in numerous films. In the 1970s, however, his acting work took a turn for the worse. During this time, Newman appeared in fewer films, but was still able to demonstrate his abilities to critics.
Newman started his acting career on Broadway in the mid-1950s. He performed in the original production of William Inge’s Picnic and in the revival of Our Town. During this period, Newman also worked with director Arthur Penn for the episode of Playwrights ’56, “The Death of Billy the Kid.”
In the 1960s, Newman found success in antiheroic films such as The Long Hot Summer and The Hustler. Both films also featured Joanne Woodward, who would become his wife. During this period, Newman also directed several films with Woodward.
Throughout his career, Paul Newman has received many awards and nominations. Among these were an Academy Award, a BAFTA Award, a Screen Actors Guild Award, a Golden Globe Award, a Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award and a Cecil B. deMille Award.
Paul Newman was born in Cleveland Heights, Ohio. His parents were Arthur and Teresa Newman. They owned a sporting goods store in the family. Newman attended Kenyon College in Gamier, Ohio, where he was awarded a bachelor’s degree in drama. During the World War II, Newman served as a radio operator in the Navy.
After his father died in 1950, Newman decided to move back to his hometown in Ohio. There, he continued to act, and began to make a name for himself. During this period, he was also an entrepreneur. Eventually, he opened a beer business and ran a laundry business.
When his first marriage failed, Newman married actress Joanne Woodward. They married in 1958. As a couple, they had three children. Despite the split, they continued to work together in several films.
Newman is still active as an actor, although his recent film work has been less impressive. He starred in several television productions, including Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid and Road to Perdition. However, he has been more vocal in his support for liberal causes. For example, he is on the board of the gun control group Cease Fire.
Career as a director
Paul Newman’s career as an actor and director began early in his life. The screen legend, born in 1925, made his stage debut in William Inge’s Picnic in 1953. He studied with Lee Strasberg at the famed Actors Studio and went on to study at Yale School of Drama. After graduating in 1949, Newman was awarded a bachelor’s degree.
Despite his celebrity, Newman was a very private person. He was often criticized for his product aversion and his unorthodox political views. However, he was also a philanthropist. During his lifetime, Newman donated nearly $1 billion to numerous charitable organizations.
While he starred in films, Newman was an avid race car driver. He enjoyed donating his company profits to various charities around the world. As well, Newman devoted hundreds of thousands of dollars to land conservation in Connecticut. Among other causes, he was active in supporting Eugene McCarthy’s 1968 presidential campaign.
Newman met Joanne Woodward when she was an understudy in a movie. They later married in 1958. Their marriage lasted for over 50 years, and they were parents to two sons. Although Newman has been divorced twice, he has not remarried.
A passionate civil rights activist, Paul Newman worked to oppose the Vietnam War and the Nixon Administration. Newman donated the profits from his company, Newman’s Own, to charities around the world.
He directed 12 movies. His most notable titles were The Great Gatsby (1951), The Hustler (1961), and The Sting (1973). Often, his films focused on naturalism and a strong focus on the characters.
His most complex role came in his first film, The Hustler. In this 1961 film, he played a fading alcoholic lawyer. It was a role that earned him an Oscar nomination.
Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, which he starred in with Robert Redford, was a big hit in 1969. Newman won the Oscar for Best Actor for this role. This was the first of three times he was nominated for the award.
After the success of The Sting, Newman became involved with Martin Scorsese. They teamed up for the film Cool Hand Luke in 1967. Later, Newman was paired with actor Tim Robbins in the comedy The Hudsucker Proxy.
Career as a husband
Despite his success as a megastar in Hollywood, Paul Newman was a remarkably private individual. He was a humanitarian, political activist, and a major donor. After his death at age 83, he left a large portion of his estate to charities.
Among other accomplishments, Paul Newman won the Academy Award for Best Actor for his role in The Color of Money. He also received an Emmy for his role as a lay-about father in Empire Falls.
Paul Newman was born in Ohio. His parents owned a sporting goods store, and he spent his childhood in Shaker Heights. While attending high school, he played football. Later, he attended Kenyon College in Gamier, Ohio. From there, he went on to study at Yale School of Drama, where he met his future wife, Jacqueline Witte. They married in 1954. However, they divorced in 1956. During their marriage, they had a son.
When he graduated from high school, Newman enlisted in the Navy and served in World War II. After the war, he studied at the famous Actors Studio. But he wanted to become a pilot.
In his spare time, Newman began working as a door-to-door encyclopedia salesman. Eventually, he would find success in race car driving. And, despite the fact that he had a long list of acting credits, he never felt like he was good at it.
Although Paul Newman was a major star, he had a tough time coping with his fame. He fought against the public’s tendency to treat him as just another handsome face. Nevertheless, he was a philanthropist, donating over $1 billion to many causes. Among his donations were funds for The Mirror Theater Ltd. and his own food company, Newman’s Own.
He also donated his voice to a number of animated movies. One of his better known roles was as a middleweight boxing champion in Somebody Up There Likes Me.
Even though he had a storied career, Paul Newman was also a dedicated family man. Newman and his wife had six children. They moved to Ohio to run their family business. During their time there, they welcomed a second child.
Personal life
Paul Newman was an actor, director, and entrepreneur. He was nominated for nine Oscars, including Best Actor for The Color of Money and Best Supporting Actor for Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. His other awards include an Honorary Oscar and a Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award. Despite his success as an actor, Newman had a very personal life.
When he was a teenager, Paul Leonard Newman began acting in school plays. He then went on to study drama at Yale University. During World War II, he served as a radio operator. After the war, he studied at the Actors Studio with Lee Strasberg.
In the mid-1950s, Newman was part of the Appointment with Adventure anthology series. He also appeared in the Philco Playhouse television show. He also starred in a play written by Gore Vidal called “The Death of Billy the Kid”.
As a teenager, he had a few minor roles in television productions. He later appeared on the Broadway stage. However, he was not a natural in the theater.
Newman landed some film roles in the late 1950s, beginning with the comedy-drama Cat on a Hot Tin Roof. He later starred in the thriller Road To Perdition. Somebody Up There Likes Me was a more successful role for him.
The Long, Hot Summer was his first big-screen pairing with Joanne Woodward. They remained married for 50 years. It was the first of a series of films they would make together.
In addition to acting, Newman was involved in a number of charitable endeavors. He co-founded the SeriousFun Children’s Network, which aims to help children suffering from serious illnesses. Since its inception, the organization has helped over seven hundred thousand children.
Newman directed eight films, including the drama The Color of Money and the comedy-drama The Hustler. Other notable works included The Shadow Box, which was based on a Pulitzer Prize-winning play by Margaret Laurence.
Newman and his wife Barbara had three children. Their oldest daughter was named Nancy. Sadly, the family lost its second child to drug abuse. A third child was born during the run of the play.
