Historical Figure
Paul Newman
1925–2008
American actor (1925–2008)
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Biography
Paul Leonard Newman was an American actor, who has been described as "one of the last of the great 20th-century movie stars". He was the recipient of numerous awards, including an Academy Award, a BAFTA Award, seven Golden Globe Awards, an Actor Award, a Primetime Emmy Award, a Silver Bear for Best Actor, a Cannes Film Festival Award for Best Actor, and nominations for two Grammy Awards and a Tony Award. Along with his Best Actor Academy Award win, Newman also received the Academy Honorary Award and the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award.
In Their Own Words (5)
I was terrorized by the emotional requirements of being an actor. Acting is like letting your pants down; you're exposed.
Quoted in John Skow, "Verdict on a Superstar," Time (6 December 1982) , 1982
Acting is a question of absorbing other people's personalities and adding some of your own experiences.
Quoted in Leslie Halliwell, Halliwell’s Filmgoers’ Companion (1984) , 1984
I had no natural gift to be anything — not an athlete, not an actor, not a writer, not a director, a painter of garden porches — not anything. So I've worked really hard, because nothing ever came easily to me.
Quoted in The Daily News (10 June 1991) , 1991
Study your craft and know who you are and what's special about you. Find out what everyone does on a film set, ask questions and listen. Make sure you live life, which means don't do things where you court celebrity, and give something positive back to our society.
Quoted in Craig Modderno, "Newman remains animated at 81," Reuters (12 June 2006) , 2006
Men experience many passions in a lifetime. One passion drives away the one before it.
Quoted in Paul Newman: A Life in Pictures (2006), edited by Yann-Brice Dherbier and Pierre-Henri Verlhac, p. 93 , 2006
Timeline
The story of Paul Newman, told in moments.
Debuts on Broadway in Picnic and gets a Warner Bros. contract. His first film, The Silver Chalice (1954), is so bad he takes out a newspaper ad apologizing for his performance.
Stars in Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid opposite Robert Redford. The film grosses $102 million against a $6 million budget. It's the highest-grossing film of the year.
Founds Newman's Own with writer A.E. Hotchner. First product: salad dressing, made from his personal recipe. The company donates 100% of after-tax profits to charity. Over his lifetime, it'll give away more than $600 million.
Wins the Academy Award for Best Actor for The Color of Money, reprising his role as Fast Eddie Felson from The Hustler 25 years earlier. He doesn't attend the ceremony. He's at home in Connecticut.
Dies at his home in Westport, Connecticut. Lung cancer. He's 83. He was an actor, a racing driver (24 Hours of Le Mans at 70), a philanthropist, and a political activist who made Nixon's enemies list. He called that his greatest accomplishment.
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