| Paul Leonard Newman (Born January 26, 1925, Cleveland, Ohio — Died on September 26, 2008, Westport, Connecticut) — was an American actor and director, who was referred to as one of the pillars of Hollywood and possessor of the most popular blue eyes in the history of cinema. He was nominated ten times for an" Oscar” award and eight out of them were “Best Actor” nominations.
Biography:
1925 — 1958:
Newman was born on January 26, 1925 in Cleveland. His father was a Jew and mother -Slovak from Bird's (presently, Area Gumenne, Slovakia). Newman served in the navy and after the war he inherited a little sports shop from his father. After selling the property in 1947 he attended Yale University at the Actor’s Studio. He played his first roles in television serials and on Broadway.
The first major role of Newman in the historical film “The Silver Chalice” (1954) , received a hostile reception by critics and the actor himself, subsequently, called this film as the worst film of all the films made in 1950s. His work was recognized in 1957, when he played the role of boxer Rocky Graziano in the film “Somebody Up There Likes Me”. Many compared the young actor with James Dunn, who passed away prematurely.
Shootings of the following picture with Newman “The Long, Hot Summer” saw the actor dating actress Joanne Woodward, who shortly before this won an “Oscar” as “Best Actress”. The two got married and since then acted together in many films. Meanwhile, Newman's role in “The Long, Hot Summer” had been selected for a prize at the Cannes Film Festival.
1958 — 1967:
In the 1958 film “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof”, the screen version of the play by Tennessee Williams was released in America. The actor and his partner, the irresistible Elizabeth Taylor were nominated for “Oscars” in this film. Even though he did not win the award, Newman managed to consolidate his success in public by playing in the films “From the Terrace” and “Exodus”. Many critics stated that Newman skillfully selected his roles. The following works “The Hustler” and Western “Hud” tasted tremendous success. Newman was once again nominated for an “Oscar” for his roles in the criminal drama “The Hustler” and “Hud”.
In the 1960s Newman used the star status to start an agitation for the program of the Democratic Party, directed towards the abatement of racial conflicts in America and as a result, got into the infamous list of 20 personal enemies of President Nixon. At this time, he appeared in films less often devoting his leisure time to racing. In 1966, he successfully acted in Alfred Hitchcock’s “Torn Curtain”. Then, he made a film for his wife “Rachel, Rachel”, which added a “Golden Globe Award" for Best Director to his kitty.
1967 — 2008:
Appearing in the action movie “Cool Hand Luke” (1967), Newman earned a fourth “Oscar” nomination. Two years later, he acted in a film together with Robert Redford in the most popular western film in the history of cinema “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid”. After four years, Newman and Redford once again came together, this time for the shooting of the film “The Sting”, which was selected for the “Academy Award for Best Picture” of the year at the “Oscars”. Then, the actor along with Barbara Streisand founded a special studio, which will defend the interests of actors but not the moneybags.
For the next two decades Newman continued to work tirelessly. The mid 1970s saw the collaboration of Newman with director John Huston. When his son died due to drugs, Newman started to participate actively in charity by spending more than 200 million dollars for this purpose. In 1986, with his sixth attempt, he won the “Academy Award for Best Actor” for Martin Scorsese's film “The Color of Money”. A year before, the American academy of motion picture arts already presented his with the honorable award for outstanding film achievements.
In June, 2008, Newman was diagnosed with lung cancer and on September 26, 2008, he died in his house in Westport, Connecticut at the age of 83 years.
Hobbies
Newman is also popular as a big admirer of car racing and was a racer and owner of a team. He got interested in racing for the first time while shooting the film “Winning” in 1968.
For the first time, Newman participated in a professional race in 1972. In 1979, he participated in the popular 24-hr race in Le Mans, finishing second as a part of the Porsche team mainly due to the skills of his partner.
In 1983, along with Carl Haas, he founded the team “Newman / Hass Racing”. In 1995, 70-year old Newman participated in the 24hr Daytona, thus becoming the oldest racer whose team won an official race.
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Very sad news this morning - Paul Newman, movie idol, auto racer, veteran, humanitarian and philanthropist whose cool, rebellious charm made him one of the finest actors ever to grace the screen, died yesterday at his Connecticut farmhouse, after a long battle with cancer. Paul Newman may have been best known for his acting roles, such as Cool Hand Luke and Butch Cassidy, but his heart was devoted to his wife, Joanne Woodward, through 50 years of marriage and by helping make the world a better place with the Newman’s Own Foundation, which has donated more than $250 million to charities worldwide. Many of us at Freaking News grew up watching Paul Newman movies and he will always stay part of our memories. His classic Hollywood smile will never fade from the big screen. We will miss you, Paul.
