Legendary Actor Paul Newman Dies At 83

Academy Award-Winner Starred In "Hud," "Cool Hand Luke," "Butch Cassidy" And Other Classics

(CBS/AP)  Paul Newman, the Academy-Award winning superstar who personified cool as an activist, race car driver, popcorn impresario and the anti-hero of such films as "Hud," "Cool Hand Luke" and "The Color of Money," has died. He was 83.

Newman died Friday after a long battle with cancer at his farmhouse near Westport, publicist Jeff Sanderson said. He was surrounded by his family and close friends.

In May, Newman had dropped plans to direct a fall production of "Of Mice and Men," citing unspecified health issues.

He got his start in theater and on television during the 1950s, and went on to become one of the world's most enduring and popular film stars, a legend held in awe by his peers.

He was nominated for Oscars 10 times, winning one regular award and two honorary ones, and had major roles in more than 50 motion pictures, including "Exodus," "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid," "The Verdict," "The Sting" and "Absence of Malice."

But his career might have never gotten off the ground if people judged him by his first film, "The Silver Chalice." Newman thought his performance was so bad in that 1954 film that he took out a full-page ad in the trade papers to apologize for it, reports CBS News correspondent Bill Whitaker. It would be the only time. Nearly everything else that followed was a critical or commercial success.

Newman worked with some of the greatest directors of the past half century, from Alfred Hitchcock and John Huston to Robert Altman, Martin Scorsese and the Coen brothers. His co-stars included Elizabeth Taylor, Lauren Bacall, Tom Cruise, Tom Hanks and, most famously, Robert Redford, his sidekick in "Butch Cassidy" and "The Sting."

He sometimes teamed with his wife and fellow Oscar-winner, Joanne Woodward, with whom he had one of Hollywood's rare long-term marriages. "I have steak at home, why go out for hamburger?" Newman told Playboy magazine when asked if he was tempted to stray. They wed in 1958, around the same time they both appeared in "The Long Hot Summer," and Newman directed her in several films, including "Rachel, Rachel" and "The Glass Menagerie."

With his strong, classically handsome face and piercing blue eyes, Newman was a heartthrob just as likely to play against his looks, becoming a favorite with critics for his convincing portrayals of rebels, tough guys and losers. "I was always a character actor," he once said. "I just looked like Little Red Riding Hood."

Newman downplayed his remarkable range on 60 Minutes, saying his success was due less to his acting and more to his looks:

"I could puke. You know?" he said. "Mostly because, as I say, that it's not an accomplishment."

Newman had a soft spot for underdogs in real life, giving tens of millions to charities through his food company and setting up camps for severely ill children. Passionately opposed to the Vietnam War, and in favor of civil rights, he was so famously liberal that he ended up on President Nixon's "enemies list," one of the actor's proudest achievements, he liked to say.

A screen legend by his mid-40s, he waited a long time for his first competitive Oscar, winning in 1987 for "The Color of Money," a reprise of the role of pool shark "Fast" Eddie Felson, whom Newman portrayed in the 1961 film "The Hustler."

Newman delivered a magnetic performance in "The Hustler," playing a smooth-talking, whiskey-chugging pool shark who takes on Minnesota Fats - played by Jackie Gleason - and becomes entangled with a gambler played by George C. Scott. In the sequel - directed by Scorsese - "Fast Eddie" is no longer the high-stakes hustler he once was, but rather an aging liquor salesman who takes a young pool player (Cruise) under his wing before making a comeback.

He won an honorary Oscar in 1986 "in recognition of his many and memorable compelling screen performances and for his personal integrity and dedication to his craft." In 1994, he won a third Oscar, the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award, for his charitable work.

His most recent academy nod was a supporting actor nomination for the 2002 film "Road to Perdition." One of Newman's nominations was as a producer; the other nine were in acting categories. (Jack Nicholson holds the record among actors for Oscar nominations, with 12; actress Meryl Streep has had 14.)

As he passed his 80th birthday, he remained in demand, winning an Emmy and a Golden Globe for the 2005 HBO drama "Empire Falls" and providing the voice of a crusty 1951 car in the 2006 Disney-Pixar hit, "Cars."

But in May 2007, he told ABC's "Good Morning America" he had given up acting, though he intended to remain active in charity projects. "I'm not able to work anymore as an actor at the level I would want to," he said. "You start to lose your memory, your confidence, your invention. So that's pretty much a closed book for me."

He received his first Oscar nomination for playing a bitter, alcoholic former star athlete in the 1958 film "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof." Elizabeth Taylor played his unhappy wife and Burl Ives his wealthy, domineering father in Tennessee Williams' harrowing drama, which was given an upbeat ending for the screen.

In "Cool Hand Luke" (left), he was nominated for his gritty role as a rebellious inmate in a brutal Southern prison.

The movie was one of the biggest hits of 1967 and included a tagline, delivered one time by Newman and one time by prison warden Strother Martin, that helped define the generation gap, "What we've got here is (a) failure to communicate."

Newman's hair was graying, but he was as gorgeous as ever and on the verge of his greatest popular success.

In 1969, Newman teamed with Redford for "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid," a comic Western about two outlaws running out of time. Newman paired with Redford again in 1973 in "The Sting," a comedy about two Depression-era con men. Both were multiple Oscar winners and huge hits, irreverent, unforgettable pairings of two of the best-looking actors of their time.

Newman also turned to producing and directing. In 1968, he directed "Rachel, Rachel," a film about a lonely spinster's rebirth. The movie received four Oscar nominations, including Newman, for producer of a best motion picture, and Woodward, for best actress. The film earned Newman the best director award from the New York Film Critics.

In the 1970s, Newman, admittedly bored with acting, became fascinated with auto racing, a sport he studied when he starred in the 1972 film, "Winning."

(Paul Newman and his wife Joanne Woodward walk through the paddock area at Lime Rock Park race track in Lime Rock, Conn., Sept. 6, 1983.)

After turning professional in 1977, Newman and his driving team made strong showings in several major races, including fifth place in Daytona in 1977 and second place in the Le Mans in 1979.

"Racing is the best way I know to get away from all the rubbish of Hollywood," he told People magazine in 1979.

Despite his love of race cars, Newman continued to make movies and continued to pile up Oscar nominations, his looks remarkably intact, his acting becoming more subtle, nothing like the mannered method performances of his early years, when he was sometimes dismissed as a Brando imitator. "It takes a long time for an actor to develop the assurance that the trim, silver-haired Paul Newman has acquired," Pauline Kael wrote of him in the early 1980s.

In 1982, he got his Oscar fifth nomination for his portrayal of an honest businessman persecuted by an irresponsible reporter in "Absence of Malice." The following year, he got his sixth for playing a down-and-out alcoholic attorney in "The Verdict."

In 1995, he was nominated for his slyest, most understated work yet, the town curmudgeon and deadbeat in "Nobody's Fool." New York Times critic Caryn James found his acting "without cheap sentiment and self-pity," and observed, "It says everything about Mr. Newman's performance, the single best of this year and among the finest he has ever given, that you never stop to wonder how a guy as good-looking as Paul Newman ended up this way."

Newman, who shunned Hollywood life, was reluctant to give interviews and usually refused to sign autographs because he found the majesty of the act offensive, according to one friend.

He also claimed that he never read reviews of his movies.

"If they're good you get a fat head and if they're bad you're depressed for three weeks," he said.

Off the screen, Newman had a taste for beer and was known for his practical jokes. He once had a Porsche installed in Redford's hallway - crushed and covered with ribbons.

"I think that my sense of humor is the only thing that keeps me sane," he told Newsweek magazine in a 1994 interview.

In 1982, Newman and his Westport neighbor, writer A.E. Hotchner, started a company to market Newman's original oil-and-vinegar dressing. Newman's Own, which began as a joke, grew into a multimillion-dollar business selling popcorn, salad dressing, spaghetti sauce and other foods. All of the company's profits are donated to charities. By 2007, the company had donated more than $175 million, according to its Web site.

In 1988, Newman founded a camp in northeastern Connecticut for children with cancer and other life-threatening diseases. He went on to establish similar camps in several other states and in Europe.

[zorar-2009]

A great actor & man truly to be missed...see ya cool hand Luke & fast Eddy... :)

[zorar-2009]

Oscar for the greatest smile in the movies..

[blue6543]

One of the last great TRUE men!! He was representative of what is good in this country and he will be missed.

[soappaws]

Paul Newman was a first-class man and actor. I admired him on- and off-screen. As a tribute to his memory, I ENCOURAGE ALL READERS HERE to honor him by purchasing a Newman''s Own product today/this week. From salad dressings to salsa to organic cookies, they are all terrific - if you love Oreo''s, reach for the Newman O''s next time; you won''t be sorry.
Dianne/Winston-Salem, NC

[dssqca]

Definitely "Newman''s Own" - his own man. A rare talent and a true gentleman.

[tonic1111]

Thanks for the memories. Best wishes and thanks to his family who shared him.

He will be missed with a smile.

[hamhock8]

I still remember when Tom Hanks won the Oscar over Paul Newman''s NOBODY''S FOOL nomination. At a later press conference Tom Hanks said something to the effect "I beat Paul Newman, come on!" Ton Hanks'' tone told you that Newman''s performance was unbeatable. A high compliment from a talent as great as Tom Hanks.

[mdcain]

This is is really sad news. He was a very personable man. Met him once at Riverside International Raceway. Always enjoyed his movies. Gods bless him and his family

[linfinster]

Well, he live a good life and brought so much pleasure to those who knew him and those who didn''t. I will be looking for his merchandise in the grocery store and make a point of trying them out. If I like them, I will stick with those products. I''d rather the profits go towards the goodwill of those in need than in the pockets of the greedy! What a sad time it must be for those that knew and loved him.

[hbevis]

They don''t come any better than Mr. Newman. He was an all round man any way you look at him..

God bless him and his family in this very sad time.

HE WILL BE MISSED VERY MUCH BY EVERYONE.

[pirmin3]

Superb actor and a true gentleman. You will be sorely missed sir. Rest in peace.

[hazelknows]

From Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, the best line, "We''ll just have to jump. I can''t swim. You dam fool, the fall will probably kill ya". still makes me laugh.

Such a great talent thru all the years and humanitarian.

[tuckerdogavl]

A great, great humanitarian and fine actor.

[sumerdaz53]

First classed actor and person. I loved his work on screen and in real life. The world is a darker place with his departure from it.

[angeldawn4]

Mr. Newman was the epitome of class in every sense of the word. True humanitarian, devoted husband, humble and of course it goes without saying an incredible actor. He will be sorely missed. My sympathy goes out to his beloved wife Joanne and all of his family and friends. Your adoring public will miss you Mr. Newman. God Bless Dawn

[element51]

I am sad to see Paul go but he leaves a footprint that will never be filled. While I loved his movies I was most impressed by his social conscience and the fact that he held the same liberal views that I hold. I feel like I have lost a valueable ally and I will never forget him. Rest in peace, Paul. You did good while you were here.

[stn_sage]

I never met Paul Newman, but somehow he''s someone you think you''ve come to know---even though you don''t!

What I like most about him is the way he carried himself through life! He was a well-known entertainer, yet he always tried to give back to the community and the country he lived in!

And though he worked in a community where often times personal relationships are transient, he remained in love with and married to his beloved wife Joanne Woodward!

I never got the chance to meet him in this life, I hope to in the next. He''s one man who WILL be missed by family, friends, and strangers alike!

My condolences to his wife and family, but be not too sad, you''ll all meet again one day and have a joyous reunion! May God bless!

[antepamfe200]

I am so sorry to hear of his passing. They don''t make them like him anymore. May he be with Jesus now and may God give his family and friends and his fans peace at this time that only God can give. Thank You.

[occams_taser]

May he rest in peace. He was a good man.

[ubrew12]

Its been an honor to have viewed his performances. I always buy ''Newmans Own''. Nothing like giving your profits to charity.

[shanev137]

Sad day in America.

[cdfoxtrot3]

What a great person. I hope he did not suffer. He''s a great loss to this world.

[sunnydayfl]

It is a dark day for all of us.........RIP Mr Newman....my heart goes out to his lovely wife, children, grandkids, and friends.

[roachcrusher]

What an actor. What a man. What a human being. He was a living inspiration.

He was in one of my all time favorite movies "Hud." That also was one of his many great roles.

He picked out a small niche in society and did his best to improve our lives. That''s all one can do.

[u-r-right]

It''s hard to find another man with the drive, energy and experiences that this one had. What a life and he not only enjoyed it to the fullest, he helped many others along the way. If only we all could aspire to live like him. Another true human legend gone and so few others left.

[edward1975-2009]

He was an actor from a time when talent was the benchmark, and he excelled. RIP and be proud of all you accomplished on and off the screen.

[piercetheval]

...Luke, you have your self a fine sweet time in the here after...ya'' hear?

[grizzster]

His family owned sporting-goods store stayed in business until the Nineties, I think. A very classy outfit. So was he.

My favorite Newman film? "The Long Hot Summer"...

Grizzster

[hissteps4u]

He was a great actor and a enjoyable to see over the years as he aged. His long term Marriage was a beacon to all those Hollywood brats out there who''s self interest and self indulgence brings the industry down. His Charitable interest are an inspiration and I also like Newmans Own and gladly purchase the products when possiable.

His films were fun to watch and a Joy as I grew older so did he.

may he rest in peace and May his Family find comfort in the great Life he lead

[ruby0728]

What a sad day, he was truly a beautiful man. RIP.

[noirceur]

In memory to Paul Newman,but not in sadness,in celebration of the long and extraordinary life he had.

[gogam]

He was a TRUE star in the real sense of the word. He epitomized all that was great in the profession unlike many examples today. He was a gentleman, poised and never abused his position as a star (unlike many actors/actresses today who mettle in politics or religion out of their perverse sense of self-importance). He never touted his own horn about his many charitable works. His marriage is a testament to the values so admirable in any couple let alone a pair with a Hollywood background. RIP Mr. Newman.

[smurfcrusher]

A good man, who made a difference.

Who could ask for more than to be such a positive influence on so many?

[jng123-2009]

sad. we just watched ''the sting'' last week too! and, of course, im eating some of his dressing right now.
:(

[idlepugilist]

Obit stories often lead one to ponder mortality. Not here. Paul Newman was loved and cherished, and I feel a sense of loss for mankind. I hope others with similar stature take up similar interests for the good of all.

[fuzzmarks]

I just want to say.....what a class act!!! What a remarkable man....and JoAnn, I want to wish you my prayers and be brave.....

[kaptainess]

He lived as he wished.
He did as he wished.
He died as he wished.
RIP Paul Newman!

[sentry88]

Another of the LAST of the actors Gone but never will be forgotten,,,,,,Shalom Mr Newman RIP and the next beer I drink will be for you ,Cheers and thanks for the Great Films

[swwils]

Well their goes another great one.God breaks the mold with these type of characters.I''ll never forget "cool hand Luke" that was/is an exellent movie.Oh,George Kennedy he is gone also I think.(if my boy says ,he can eat 50 boiled eggs,he can eat 50) great charity giver,and from what I understand a good man.God bless him,and all his loved ones.

[providence_4]

Heb 9:27 And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment:

[providence_4]

Rom 6:23 For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

[providence_4]

Heb 11:6 But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.

[nextgenman]

Rom 6:23 For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Posted by Providence_4 at 02:54 PM : Sep 27, 2008
-------

Matt 7:1-6 Worry about your own sins and shortcomings and quit worrying about your brother''s lest God see you as self-righteous and sanctimonious and reward you with eternal damnation.

[williewomper]

Great Actor, Good Man. His type are not being replaced, either in his profession or his ethics.
The real acting glass is continuing to empty and being replaced by an empty void.
Thanks for being here Paul Newman.

[mick7744]

The nastiest thing I ever heard about Paul Newman was hat to indulge his passion for racing, he had a Porche cleverly hidden under a beat-up VW Beetle chassis and enjoyed blowing the doors off of unsuspecting speeders who thought they were quick on the Connecticut Turnpike.

Is that beautiful or what?

He did a lot of good and left behind a rich legacy of his craft.

Godspeed Paul...I hope I see you around sometime.

[moleman--2008]

In a class of his own. If you think about it his life and work overall represents one of the best faces ever put forth by the United States of America.

[jumkey]

"I''''m not going to bother reading through these comments looking for obnoxious comments about Newman"

I did, and there isn''t a single one.
That''s remarkable in itself.

It''s always nice (and rare) to see someone succeed in life while at the same time sharing his good fortune and expressing empathy for those who didn''t have as much.

Mr. Newman seemed to be one of those rare people.

[mick7744]

always buy ''''Newmans Own''''. Nothing like giving your profits to charity.
Posted by ubrew12

A noble sentiment, but charity shmarity...his products were always superior.

Feeling good about yourself for buying them isn''t too bad either, I guess, so disregard my previous statment (except for the superior products part)

[boston1954]

Goodbye Mr. Newman, Butch, Henry Gondorff, and all the others. You were one terrific actor.

[toolmangler-2009]

MOURNER''S KADDISH
An English Translation

Glorified and sanctified be God''s great name throughout the world which He has created according to His will. May He establish His kingdom in your lifetime and during your days, and within the life of the entire House of Israel, speedily and soon; and say, Amen.

May His great name be blessed forever and to all eternity.

Blessed and praised, glorified and exalted, extolled and honored, adored and lauded be the name of the Holy One, blessed be He, beyond all the blessings and hymns, praises and consolations that are ever spoken in the world; and say, Amen.

May there be abundant peace from heaven, and life, for us
and for all Israel; and say, Amen.

He who creates peace in His celestial heights, may He create peace for us and for all Israel; and say, Amen.