Home> Facts and Trivia > Stars > Paul Newman
Paul Newman Facts
| Sign | Aquarius |
| Born |
Jan 26, 1925 Shaker Heights, OH |
| Died |
Sep 26, 2008 Westport, CT |
| Age | Died at 83 |
| Total Facts | 110 |
Otto Preminger, a Jew himself, cast him in Exodus (1960) because he wanted someone of Jewish heritage who didn't "look Jewish".
Michelle Pfeiffer wanted Newman to play her father, patriarch Larry Cook, in the 1997 movie A Thousand Acres (1997), which she produced. Newman turned down the part, which went to Jason Robards.
Lee Strasberg, who trained Newman at the Actor's Studio, said that he would have been as great an actor as Marlon Brando if he hadn't been so handsome. According to Strasberg, Newman had the talent, but he too often relied on his good looks to coast through a role.
Cars (2006), his last movie, was the highest-grossing film of his career.
The Eiger Sanction (1975) was originally intended as a vehicle for him.
A film poster of him in Hud (1963) appears in Midnight Cowboy (1969).
A son and two girls with first wife Jacqueline "Jackie" Witte. His only son, Scott Newman, died of a drug overdose in 1978. Daughter, Susan Kendall Newman, is well known for stage acting and her philanthropic activities. His other daughter from his first marriage is named Stephanie and was born in 1954.
According to Joe McGinnis' book about the advertising industry's participation in Richard Nixon's 1968 campaign, the first telethon for the Eugene McCarthy Campaign, which was emceed by Newman, raised $125,000 (about $800,000 in 2008 money, when factored for inflation, a good sum for the time). Nixon's advertising people attributed the success of the telethon to Newman's participation.
After being asked so many times what the secret was to being married so long to Joanne Woodward, he was asked yet again and simply responded, "I don't know what she puts in my food".
Although he played the lead male roles in the original productions of three Broadway classics near the beginning of his career - "The Desperate Hours", "Picnic" and "Sweet Bird of Youth" - Newman did not receive a Tony Award nomination until 2003, when at the age of 78 he was nominated as Best Actor for his performance in the 2002 revival of the "Our Town".
Announced in July 2007 that his Champ Car team is merging with NASCAR team Robert Yates Racing. It is now called Yates/Newman/Haas/Lanigan racing. Newman said the deal "in no way lessens our commitment to open-wheel racing. We want to broaden our horizons.".
Announced in May 2007 that he is retiring from acting. He had previously announced his retirement in 1995, but came back to make four more movies.
Appeared on Quigley Publications' annual poll of the Top Ten Money Making Stars 14 times from 1963 to 1986, which ranks him #7 for all-time in appearances in the top 10. He trails Bing Crosby, who made the list 15 times, Clark Gable (16 appearances on the list), Gary Cooper and Tom Cruise (18 times each), Clint Eastwood (21 times) and John Wayne (25 times).
As of 2007, he is one of six directors who has directed his wife to a Best Actress Oscar nomination (Joanne Woodward in Rachel, Rachel (1968)). The other five are Joel Coen directing Frances McDormand in Fargo (1996), John Cassavetes directing Gena Rowlands in A Woman Under the Influence (1974) & Gloria (1980), Blake Edwards directing Julie Andrews in Victor Victoria (1982), Paul Czinner directing Elisabeth Bergner in Escape Me Never (1935) and Richard Brooks directing Jean Simmons in The Happy Ending (1969). Jules Dassin also directed his future wif
Attended the inauguration of President Jimmy Carter on 20 January 1977.
Attended the main Democratic fund raiser for Senator John Kerry before the Democratic National Convention at Radio City Music Hall, along with Whoopi Goldberg, Jon Bon Jovi, Meryl Streep, Sarah Jessica Parker, Mary J. Blige, Chevy Chase and Jessica Lange. (13 August 2004).
Awarded an honorary Oscar in 1994 in recognition of his charity work.
Became a rear gunner of a TBF Avenger torpedo bomber when his color blindness disqualified him from being a pilot.
Before he became an actor, Newman ran the family sporting goods store in Cleveland, Ohio.
Brother of the Phi Kappa Tau Fraternity
Chosen by Empire magazine in 1995 as #12 in the 100 Sexiest Stars in film history.
Chosen by GQ magazine as one of the 50 Most Stylish Men in the Past 50 Years.
Chosen by People magazine in 1990 as one of the 50 Most Beautiful People in the world.
Did all of his own driving in films.
Directed 3 actors to Oscar nominations: Joanne Woodward (Best Actress, Rachel, Rachel (1968)), Estelle Parsons (Best Supporting Actress, Rachel, Rachel (1968)), and Richard Jaeckel (Best Supporting Actor, Sometimes a Great Notion (1970)).
Donated $1 million to "The Nation" magazine in order to keep it going.
During the 1950s and 1960s he was a close friend of fellow Democrat and civil rights activist Charlton Heston. Later, in 1983, after Heston's political beliefs had moved to the Right, both actors took opposing sides in a television debate on President Ronald Reagan's Star Wars defense missile program. Heston, much better briefed and prepared than Newman, was judged to have won the debate easily. Some years later, when Newman learned that Heston was supposed to introduce him at an awards ceremony, Newman insisted that his one-time friend be replaced by the liberal Donald Sutherland.
Early in his acting career, he was often mistaken for Marlon Brando. He claims to have signed around 500 autographs reading, "Best wishes, Marlon Brando."
Father-in-law to Gary Irving (husband of Elinor "Nell" Newman), Raphael "Raphe" Elkind (husband of Melissa "Lissy" Newman) and Kurt Soderlund (husband of Claire "Clea" Newman).
Father, with Joanne Woodward, of actress Melissa Newman, Nell Potts, and Claire Newman.
Finished second in the 1979 Le Mans 24-hour race in a Porsche 935.
For a Mother's Day gift, he gave wife Joanne Woodward 2 hours of uninterrupted driving around the roads of Westport, Connecticut that they had never seen before.
Godfather of Jake Gyllenhaal.
Got two roles which were first offered to Elvis Presley but which were turned down by Presley's manager: Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (1958) and Sweet Bird of Youth (1962).
Grandfather of Peter (born in May 1996) and Henry Elkind, the sons of his daughter Melissa "Lissy" Newman and her husband Raphael "Raphe" Elkind.
Great admirer of Jim Carrey.
Has donated between $150 million-$175 million to charity since the 1980s.
Has his own line of food products, "Newman's Own", featuring mainly spaghetti sauces and salad dressings. The company has made more than $100 million in profits over the years, all of which he has donated to various charities.
Has said he did not want his epitaph to say two things: "Here lies Paul Newman, who died a failure because his eyes turned brown" and "Here lies the old man who wasn't a part of his time." -1960's.
He and Frank Sinatra are the only actors to win an Actor Academy Award, an Humanitarian Academy Award and a Special Honorary Academy Award. Sinatra won the Best Supporting Actor Award (1953), Humanitarian Award (1970) and a Special Award (1945, Best Short Subject The House I Live In (1945)). Newman won the Best Actor Award (1986), the Humanitarian Award (1993) and a Special Award (1985, Lifetime Achievement Award).
He and Frank Sinatra are the only people who were awarded a competitive Oscar, an Honorary Award and a Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award by the AMPAS.
He and his daughter Nell Potts were supposed to be in Paper Moon (1973) in the leading roles, but this changed when original director John Huston bowed out and was replaced by Peter Bogdanovich.
He has one brother, Arthur S. Newman Jr., who was named after their father, Arthur S. Newman, a successful sporting goods store owner.
He is a vocal supporter of gay marriage.
He is only one of five performers to be nominated for an Oscar twice for playing the same role in two separate films. He played as Fast Eddie Felson in The Hustler (1961) and The Color of Money (1986), Peter O'Toole as Henry II in Becket (1964) and The Lion in Winter (1968), Al Pacino as Michael Corleone for The Godfather (1972) and The Godfather: Part II (1974), Bing Crosby as Father O'Malley in Going My Way (1944) and The Bells of St. Mary's (1945) and Cate Blanchett as Elizabeth I in Elizabeth (1998) and Elizabeth: The Golden Age (2007).
He is the only performer, to date, to receive an Oscar for a repeated role. He won as "Fast Eddie Felson" in "The Color of Money", having been previously nominated as the same character in "The Hustler".
He was among the celebrities on the famous "Enemies List" kept by President Richard Nixon during the Watergate scandal.
He was director William Friedkin's first choice for the lead role of Popeye Doyle in The French Connection (1971), but he was deemed too expensive. The role went to Newman's good friend Gene Hackman.
He was nominated for nine acting Academy Awards in five different decades - the 1950s (Best Lead Actor for Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (1958)), 1960s (Best Lead Actor for The Hustler (1961), Hud (1963) and Cool Hand Luke (1967)), the 1980s (Best Lead Actor for Absence of Malice (1981), The Verdict (1982) and The Color of Money (1986) winning for this last film), the 1990s (Best Lead Actor for Nobody's Fool (1994)) and finally in 2002's Road to Perdition (2002) for Best Supporting Actor.
He was the visual inspiration for the original illustrations of superhero Green Lantern/Hal Jordan.