90 Facts About Paul Newman

Paul Leonard Newman was an American actor, film director, race car driver, philanthropist, and entrepreneur.

Paul Newman was the recipient of numerous awards, including an Academy Award, a BAFTA Award, three Golden Globe Awards, a Screen Actors Guild Award, a Primetime Emmy Award, a Silver Bear, a Cannes Film Festival Award, and the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award.

Paul Newman received his Bachelor of Arts degree in drama and economics from Kenyon College in 1949.

Paul Newman's first starring Broadway role was in William Inge's Picnic, and he starred in smaller roles for a few more films before receiving widespread attention and acclaim for his performances in Somebody Up There Likes Me and Cat on a Hot Tin Roof.

Paul Newman was nominated for ten Academy Awards, and won Best Actor for The Color of Money.

Paul Newman won several national championships as a driver in Sports Car Club of America road racing, and his race teams won several championships in open-wheel IndyCar racing.

Paul Newman was a co-founder of Newman's Own, a food company from which he donated all post-tax profits and royalties to charity.

In 1988, Paul Newman founded the SeriousFun Children's Network, a global family of summer camps and programs for children with a serious illness which has served 1.3 million children and family members since its inception.

In 2006, Paul Newman co-founded Safe Water Network with John Whitehead, former chairman of Goldman Sachs, and Josh Weston, former chairman of ADP, to improve access to safe water to underserved communities around the world.

Paul Newman was the husband of the actress Joanne Woodward.

Paul Newman was born on January 26,1925, in Cleveland Heights, Ohio, and raised in nearby Shaker Heights, the second son of Theresa Garth and Arthur Sigmund Paul Newman, Sr.

Paul Newman's father was Jewish, the son of Simon Newman and Hannah Cohn, Hungarian Jewish and Polish Jewish emigrants, from Hungary and Congress Poland, respectively.

Paul Newman was born to a Roman Catholic family in Peticse, Zemplen county, in the Kingdom of Hungary, Austro-Hungarian Empire.

Paul Newman showed an early interest in the theater; his first role was at the age of seven, playing the court jester in a school production of Robin Hood.

At age 10, Paul Newman performed at the Cleveland Play House in a production of Saint George and the Dragon, and was a notable actor and alumnus of their Curtain Pullers children's theater program.

Paul Newman served in the United States Navy in World War II, in the Pacific theater.

Paul Newman later recounted that it was "a bit more complicated" than colorblindness.

Paul Newman performed poorly as a gunner, and a friend from the service recounted in Newman's posthumous memoir that his friends lied to Navy trainers so he could pass.

Qualifying in torpedo bombers in 1944, Aviation Radioman Third Class Paul Newman was sent to Barbers Point, Hawaii.

Paul Newman was assigned to Pacific-based replacement torpedo squadrons VT-98, VT-99, and VT-100, responsible primarily for training replacement combat pilots and aircrewmen, with special emphasis on carrier landings.

Paul Newman later flew as a turret gunner in an Avenger torpedo bomber.

Paul Newman said that Newman thought back to an incident in which his best friend was sliced to pieces on an aircraft carrier by a plane's propeller.

Paul Newman toured with them for three months, and developed his talents as a part of Woodstock Players.

Paul 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.

Paul Newman made his Broadway theatre debut in the original production of William Inge's Picnic with Kim Stanley in 1953.

Paul Newman appeared in the original Broadway production of The Desperate Hours in 1955.

Paul Newman's first credited role was in a 1952 episode of Tales of Tomorrow entitled "Ice from Space".

In February 1954, Paul Newman appeared in a screen test with James Dean, directed by Gjon Mili, for East of Eden.

Paul Newman was tested for the role of Aron Trask, Dean for the role of Aron's twin brother Cal.

Dean won his part, but Paul Newman lost out to Richard Davalos.

Paul Newman was cast as Billy the Kid in The Left Handed Gun which was a role originally earmarked for Dean.

Additionally, Dean was originally cast to play the role of Rocky Graziano in Somebody Up There Likes Me; however, with his death, Paul Newman got the role.

In 1956, Paul Newman garnered much attention and acclaim for the role of Rocky Graziano in Somebody Up There Likes Me, and the film reunited him with Pier Angeli; their last film together.

The film was a box-office smash, and Paul Newman garnered his first Academy Award nomination.

Also in 1958, Paul Newman starred in The Long, Hot Summer with his future wife Joanne Woodward, with whom he reconnected on the set in 1957.

Paul Newman won Best Actor at the 1958 Cannes Film Festival for this film.

Paul Newman starred in The Young Philadelphians film which co-starred Barbara Rush, Robert Vaughn and Alexis Smith, and was directed by Vincent Sherman.

Paul Newman teamed up with fellow actor Robert Redford and director George Roy Hill for Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid and The Sting.

In 1994, Newman played alongside Tim Robbins as the character Sidney J Mussburger in the Coen brothers' comedy The Hudsucker Proxy.

In mid-1987, Paul Newman sued Universal Pictures for allegedly failing to properly account for revenues from video distribution of four of his films made for Universal, and Universal owed him at least $1 million participation for the home video versions of The Sting, Slap Shot, Winning and Sometimes a Great Notion.

In 2003, Paul Newman appeared in a Broadway revival of Wilder's Our Town, receiving a Tony Award nomination for his performance.

PBS and the cable network Showtime aired a taping of the production, and Paul Newman was nominated for an Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Miniseries or TV Movie.

Hotchner, Paul Newman founded Paul Newman's Own, a line of food products, in 1982.

Paul Newman established a policy that all proceeds, after taxes, would be donated to charity.

Paul Newman co-wrote a memoir about the subject with Hotchner, Shameless Exploitation in Pursuit of the Common Good.

One beneficiary of his philanthropy is the Hole in the Wall Gang Camp, a residential summer camp for seriously ill children located in Ashford, Connecticut, which Paul Newman co-founded in 1988.

In 1983, Paul Newman became a major donor for The Mirror Theater Ltd, alongside Dustin Hoffman and Al Pacino, matching a grant from Laurence Rockefeller.

Paul Newman was inspired to invest by his connection with Lee Strasberg, as Lee's then daughter-in-law Sabra Jones was the founder and producing artistic director of The Mirror.

Paul Newman remained a friend of the company until his death and discussed at numerous times possible productions in which he could star with his wife, Joanne Woodward.

In June 1999, Paul Newman donated $250,000 to Catholic Relief Services to aid refugees in Kosovo.

Paul Newman was one of the founders of the Committee Encouraging Corporate Philanthropy.

Paul Newman was named the Most Generous Celebrity of 2008 by Givingback.

Paul Newman contributed $20,857,000 for the year of 2008 to the Newman's Own Foundation, which distributes funds to a variety of charities.

Paul Newman lobbied the state's governor for funds for the 2011 Aspetuck Land Trust in Easton.

Paul Newman was described as a "vocal supporter" of gay rights and same-sex marriage.

Paul Newman linked with the so-called Malibu Mafia to promote progressive issues in politics.

Paul Newman supported their 1980s effort to establish a bilateral Nuclear Freeze to stop the proliferation of nuclear weapons in the US and the Soviet Union.

Paul Newman said he would stand up for Walter Mondale in the 1984 presidential election as long as there was cold Budweiser and Nuclear Freeze involved.

Consistent with his work for liberal causes, Paul 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.

Paul Newman earlier donated money to Bill Richardson's campaign for president in 2008.

Paul Newman attended the March on Washington on August 28,1963, and was present at the first Earth Day event in Manhattan on April 22,1970.

Paul Newman was concerned about global warming and supported nuclear energy development as a solution.

Paul Newman was an auto racing enthusiast, and first became interested in motorsports while training at the Watkins Glen Racing School for the filming of Winning, a 1969 film.

Paul Newman was a frequent competitor in Sports Car Club of America events for the rest of the decade, eventually winning four national championships.

Paul Newman reunited with Barbour in 2000 to compete in the Petit Le Mans.

Paul Newman became closely associated with the brand during the 1980s, even appearing in commercials for them in Japan and having a special edition of the Nissan Skyline named after him.

At the age of 70 years and eight days, Paul Newman became the oldest driver to date to be part of a winning team in a major sanctioned race, winning in his class at the 1995 24 Hours of Daytona.

Paul Newman was associated with Freeman's established Porsche racing team which allowed both Paul Newman and Freeman to compete in SCCA and IMSA racing events together, including the Sebring 12-hour endurance sports car race.

Paul Newman was a partner in the Atlantic Championship team Newman Wachs Racing.

Paul Newman was posthumously inducted into the SCCA Hall of Fame at the national convention in Las Vegas, Nevada on February 21,2009.

Paul Newman started the Scott Paul Newman Center for drug abuse prevention in memory of his son.

Paul Newman received an Emmy nomination as co-producer of his telefilm, The Shadow Box.

Paul Newman met actress Joanne Woodward in 1953, on the production of Picnic on Broadway.

Paul Newman was well known for his devotion to his wife and family.

Paul Newman directed Nell alongside her mother in the films Rachel, Rachel and The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-Moon Marigolds.

Levy criticised the tabloid newspaper, The New York Post, which had a long-standing feud with Paul Newman, for focusing on and emphasizing this aspect of his biography.

The docuseries was based upon tapes compiled by his friend, the Stewart Stern, for a memoir that Paul Newman abandoned but which was published in 2022 as The Extraordinary Life of An Ordinary Man.

Paul Newman recounted in his posthumous memoirs having a "strong sense of otherness" as a youth because he was half-Jewish.

Paul Newman's heritage "got in the way of my sitting at the 'A' table, which was important to me," but he received no instruction on his Jewish heritage.

Paul 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 his health concerns.

Paul Newman's spokesman told the press that the star was "doing nicely", but neither confirmed nor denied that he had cancer.

Paul Newman died at his home in Westport, Connecticut on the morning of September 26,2008.

Paul Newman was nominated for an Academy Award in five different decades.

Paul Newman won Best Actor at the Cannes Film Festival for The Long, Hot Summer and the Silver Bear at the Berlin International Film Festival for Nobody's Fool.

In 1968, Paul Newman was named Man of the Year by Harvard University's performance group, the Hasty Pudding Theatricals.

In 2015, the US Postal Service issued a 'forever stamp' honoring Paul Newman, which went on sale September 18,2015.

Since the 1970s, Paul Newman Day is an event celebrated at Kenyon College, Bates College, Princeton University, and some other American colleges.

In 2004, Paul Newman requested that Princeton University disassociate the event from his name, due to the fact that he did not endorse the behavior.

Paul Newman cited his creation in 1980 of the Scott Newman Center, "dedicated to the prevention of substance abuse through education".

Princeton disavowed any responsibility for the event, responding that Paul Newman Day is not sponsored, endorsed, or encouraged by the university itself and is solely an unofficial event among students.