Paul Newman came to be known as one of the finest actors of his time with films like 'Cool Hand Luke' and 'The Hustler.' He also started the Newman's Own food company, which donates all profits to charity.
Paul Newman turned to acting after getting kicked off the football team in college. He made his Broadway debut in 1953 and began doing television and films, eventually becoming known as one of the finest actors of his time. He created a food company, Newman's Own, that donates all proceeds to charity. Newman died of cancer on September 26, 2008.
Paul Leonard Newman was born on January 26, 1925, in Cleveland, Ohio. Newman grew up in Shaker Heights, Ohio, with his older brother Arthur and his parents, Arthur and Teresa. His father owned a sporting-goods store and his mother was a homemaker who loved the theatre. Newman got his first taste of acting while doing school plays, but it was not his first love at the time. In high school, he played football and hoped to be a professional athlete.
Graduating high school in 1943, Newman briefly attended college before enlisting in the U.S. Navy Air Corps. He wanted to be a pilot, but he was told that he could never fly a plane as he was colorblind. He ended up serving as a radio operator and spent part of World War II serving in the Pacific.
After leaving the military in 1946, Newman attended Kenyon College in his home state of Ohio. He was on an athletic scholarship and played on the school’s football team. But after getting into some trouble, Newman changed course. “I got thrown in jail and kicked off the football team. Since I was determined not to study very much, I majored in theater the last two years,” he told Interview magazine in 1998.
After finishing college in 1949, Newman did summer stock theater in Wisconsin where he met his first wife, actress Jacqueline Witte. The couple soon married, and Newman continued to act until his father’s death in 1950. He and his wife moved to Ohio to run the family business for a time. Their first child, a son named Scott, was born there. After asking his brother to take over the business, Newman and his family relocated to Connecticut, where he studied at the Yale School of Drama. Continue reading from Biography
Paul Newman (Turner Classic Movies)
Paul’s Philanthropic Legacy (Newman's Own Foundation)
8 Surprising Facts About Paul Newman (Mental Floss)
Paul Newman Filmography (IMDB)
Paul Newman, a Magnetic Titan of Hollywood, Is Dead at 83 (NY Times)
Paul Newman: Obituary (The Guardian)
Newman-Poses Preserve (Aspetuck Land Trust)
Paul Newman Lives — At The Farmers’ Market (Dan Woog's 06880)
Remembering Paul Newman: 'His Real Heart Was About Philanthropy' (People)
