Paul Newman

Paul Newman 1925-2008, American actor, b. Cleveland, Ohio. After performing in a Broadway play (1952-53) and in television dramas, Newman became a versatile film actor and a major Hollywood star. He made his movie debut in 1954 and achieved leading man status with his role in Somebody Up There Likes Me (1956). His enduring characterization is of a handsome, insolent, and self-reliant renegade antihero with a penchant for wry humor, as seen in The Hustler (1961), Hud (1963), Cool Hand Luke (1967), Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969), and The Sting (1973). He won a best-actor Academy Award for The Color of Money (1986) after eight nominations. Later examples of his more than 65 films include Blaze (1988), Mr. and Mrs. Bridge (1990), Nobody's Fool (1994), and Road to Perdition (2002), his last screen role. Newman also directed several movies, e.g., Rachel, Rachel (1968), usually showcases for his wife and frequent costar, Joanne Woodward. Newman was also was a successful racecar driver, a food-products entrepeneur, and a philanthropist.

Bibliography: See biographies by J. Epstein and E. Z. Morella (1988) and E. Lax (1996).

Newman, Paul (1925– ) US film actor, director, and producer. Newman made his big breakthrough in 1958 with The Left-Handed Gun, The Long Hot Summer, and Cat on a Hot Tin Roof. He was nominated for Academy Awards for The Hustler (1961), Hud (1963), and Cool Hand Luke (1967). In 1968 Newman made his directorial debut, Rachel, Rachel. He won a best actor Oscar for The Color of Money (1986). Other films include Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969), The Sting (1973), and The Hudsucker Proxy (1994).