Paul Newman, 26 Jan 1925 - 26 Sept 2008

Posted: Saturday, September 27, 2008 by Travis Cody in
19

Paul Newman - actor, philanthropist, sportsman - has died of cancer. He was 83.



Sometimes the passing of a celebrity hits me in a really soft spot. This is one of those times. Mr Newman was not just a distinguished actor. He was a famous person who used his celebrity to help others. Donations to charity from his Newman's Own food company have exceeded $220m to date. He also co-founded the Hole in the Wall Gang Camp, which is a residential summer camp in Ashford CT for seriously ill children.

He has been a lifelong benefactor to his alma mater Kenyon College in Gambier Ohio, donating $10m to endow a scholarship fund.

Mr Newman served as a rear-seat radioman and gunner in torpedo bombers, and was stationed in Hawaii in 1944. He served aboard USS Bunker Hill in 1945 during the battle for Okinawa.

Mr Newman finally won an Oscar for reprising his role as Fast Eddie Felson in The Color of Money (1986). He was also nominated for 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).



Some other notable films are The Long Hot Summer (1957), The Left Handed Gun (1958), Exodus (1960), Hombre (1967), Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969), The Life and times of Judge Roy Bean (1972), The Sting (1983), The Towering Inferno (1974), Slap Shot (1977), and Fort Apache the Bronx (1981).

Mr Newman married actress Joanne Woodward in 1958. They celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary in February this year and proved that "Hollywood marriages" could be more than publicity stunts.

19 comments:

  1. this truly saddens me, i love this man!

    smiles, bee
    xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo

  1. Newman kicked serious @$$ & I'm going to miss him HUGELY. We always made a point to buy "Newman's Own" products, to support his wonderful charity. I was shocked to hear he was gone.

    BTW, there'll be spiders on my blog shortly, so don't look!

  1. I didn't know about his death... (by the way, the first photo in the post is so cool- love the shot)

  1. Jeni says:

    Gotta agree with your post here about Mr. Newman -he was truly a very great actor, and a great individual when not acting too! I've not seen every movie he made but I have seen more of his work than probably any other Hollywood star based simply because he was in a movie and never regretted seeing any of them either.
    Thanks for doing a very nice post to honor him.

  1. I admired Newman's work, both as an actor and his charity work. I can't truly say that I'm emotionally upset at his death on a personal level. Since I didn't know him personally. I'm glad he lived, though. And I respect him.

  1. Anndi says:

    May his family find comfort in knowing he lived a truly purposeful life.

    My heart breaks a little for his bride... such grand and deep love is rare.

  1. Akelamalu says:

    He was a great actor that's for sure. He'll be sadly missed.

  1. Anonymous says:

    The Hole in the Wall gang camps did so much for the kids. I hope that legacy cotinues...

    He'll be missed.

  1. the world lkost a truely great man. He will be missed.

  1. Bee: It saddens me also.

    Lana: Thanks for the warning!

    Terra: He always seemed like a cool guy to me.

    Jeni: I've seen so many of his films.

    Charles: He always seemed to me like a guy who would have done his charity work and been a stand up guy even if he hadn't been famous as an actor.

    Ann: They seem to have had a tremendous life together.

    Akelamalu: Agreed.

    Lois: I read that one of his daughters is going to take over the charity foundations.

    Mike: Indeed.

  1. He was a wonderful person as well as someone who earned their living by acting. He considered life his greatest role and it was one for which he should have raked in a ton of awards for "Best Performance".

  1. Kimmie says:

    A truly amazing man. He will be missed by many. RIP Mr. Newman.

    Hugs,
    Kimmie

  1. cathy says:

    Wasn't he great:)

  1. TopChamp says:

    He did all those things too? Sorry to hear of his death.

  1. Unknown says:

    The more I read about him, the more I realize what we have lost without him.

  1. Marilyn says:

    This news made me very sad too but I knew others could do better tribute posts than I. I never remember the names of movies I watched years ago.

    You did a great job with it. I didn't even know about the summer camp.

  1. Jamie: Celebrities who would be known for their good works would do well to follow his example.

    Kimmie: Agreed.

    Cathy: Yes he was.

    TC: He did indeed.

    Dana: At least his legacy will continue.

    Marilyn: I thought your tribute was poignant in its simplicity.

  1. j says:

    I heard that yesterday and it stopped me in my tracks. He was one of those "somethin' else" type people. The kind that you shake your head over and say in awe "He is really somethin' else." I looked him up on YouTube and wanted to post a video of him singing "Plastic Jesus" from Cool Hand Luke. You couldn't hear him on the video. I wound up not posting anything, just sitting there watching YouTube videos of him and mourning him privately. He was one of the greats.

  1. Anonymous says:

    it's hard not to admire Paul Newman for putting his money to work in such productive ways, such as his Newman's Own line--high quality stuff and the proceeds go to good causes... very smart.