WARNING: This Article May Contain Spoilers
Born: 26th January 1925
Died: 26th September 2008 (aged 83)
Paul Leonard Newman was born to Theresa Garth and Arthur Newman Snr. in Cleveland Heights, Ohio. From an early age he showed an interest in acting but did not get pursue his interest because of the onset of World War II. He enrolled in the Navy V-12 pilot training program but was diagnosed with colour blindness and was dropped. He then trained as a radioman and a tail gunner. He qualified Aviation Radioman Third Class and, in Hawaii, trained replacement combat pilots and aircrewmen. He did fly as a turret gunner and was assigned to a crew due to fly to aircraft carrier Bunker Hill but he was grounded due to his pilot getting an earache. Days after the rest of his unit landed on Bunker Hill a kamikaze attack killed several hundred crewmen and airmen including some of Newman’s unit. After the war Newman went to Kenyon College to study for a Bachelor of Arts in drama and economics, he graduated in 1949. He also studied under Lee Strasborg at the Actors Studio. He made his Broadway debut in 1953 in William Inge’s Picnic. His screen debut came three years later in Somebody Up There Likes Me.
No surprise that the The Sting is number one on this list. It is probably one of the best films of its time – it has everything drama, comedy as well as the obvious crime element it keeps you guessing at every turn I have seen this film several times and I still have moments when I’m trying to work out who knows what! Paul Newman plays Henry Gondorff one of the best conmen in his time – he has some of the best lines and scenes. Our first introduction to him is him with his face pressed against the skirting board after having rolled out of bed drunk – not a flattering pose but very effective for us to get know a little about his character and Newman has no qualms about playing such a flawed character. The chemistry between Newman and Redford, two of the best looking men in Hollywood at the time, is undeniable there are times its like they have a telepathic connection and are sharing an in joke together with little smiles and side glances – I could watch this film many times over and still not get bored. His second box office hit is The Towering Inferno where he plays Doug Roberts, who not only is the architect for the skyscraper, but is probably the hero of the film (in my opinion anyway). For a man that was nearly 50 when he made it he was still very fit and agile to have pulled off some of the scenes that he does. Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, takes third spot. I love this film, Mr Newman plays Butch Cassidy an outlaw that’s a ‘soft touch’ and even though he is played as a gentle character you can see there is a hard edge to him – he is the leader of the Hole in the Wall Gang after all!. I think it was brave that in 1958 they made the film Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, let alone Newman to play a role in it considering the undertones of homosexuality – the play, and the short story it is based on, were both written by Tennesee Williams in the early 1950s. Newman plays Brick, a washed up ex sportsman and alcoholic, and at first you’d think that Newman is playing it unemotionally that is until you meet his family and then you realise that this isn’t his way of playing Brick it is the way Brick has become. As the story unfolds you realise how stoic Brick actually is and Newman plays him perfectly and then, when the flood gates do open, he pours his heart and soul into his portrayal. I had no idea that the opening events in Exodus ever actually happened, but I know a little about what the events led to – even though the event has been mudded over the years. I have to admit though that I found this film hard going for the first 2 hours, at first I thought Paul Newman was struggling to understand the story behind the role not being Jewish but then I found out that he took the role of Ari Ben Canaan in honour of his Jewish father – so I was wrong Paul Newman was Jewish or at least partly so obviously he had an understanding of the events, so my theory was incorrect and it was the script that let him and the whole film down. The last hour of the film was a lot more watchable and I found that Newman started finding his feet although his character was lost a little within the story as a lot seemed to be going on and he was not the main focus.
It is very hard to say which Paul Newman character is my favourite it has to be between Henry Gondorff and Butch Cassidy but I would have to go for Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. It is a western (not one of my favourite genres although I am not as adverse to them as I used to be) but it is also, in a sense, a ‘buddy’ movie and Paul and Robert Redford (Sundance) make it easy to see how close the two characters are; the majority of the film is just the two of them. They have a wonderful script to work with but even with that it wouldn’t be such a good film if they didn’t play off each other so brilliantly – they snipe and bitch at each other like a married couple. One of the opening shots becomes a sepia still bit you can see Newman’s piercing blue eyes although, obviously, they’re not blue but they are so beautifully piercing that you are mesmerised. There are scenes in films that you remember fondly and this has one of those – I can’t hear ‘Raindrops Keep Fallin’ on My Head’ without thinking of the bicycle scene. With the chemistry that Newman and Redford had it is no surprise that they were picked to star alongside each other four years later in The Sting, they work so well together in both that it was a shame that they never got the chance to work together again.
Paul Newman was not only an actor but also a racing fan, a passion that was ignited during the filming of Winning (1969). His first professional race was in 1972 and he continued to race for the Sports Car Club of America winning four national Championships. In 1979 he came second in the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Newman’s racing career continued into his 80s, his last race was at the age of 82, after having won over 100 victories as a driver and almost the same as a co-owner of Newman/Haas Racing. As an actor Newman was nominated for Academy Awards in five different decades; winning only once for The Color of Money in 1987 and an Honorary Award (1986) as well as the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award (for his charity work in 1994). His charity work was extensive – he founded the Scott Newman Centre for drug abuse prevention after his son’s death in 1978; in 1982 he and writer A. E. Hotchner started a food products company and Newman established a policy that all proceeds, after tax, went to charity – one beneficiary of which was The Hole in the Wall Gang Camp, a summer camp for seriously ill children. In 1988, Newman founded the SeriousFun Children’s Network, a global family of summer camps and programs for children with serious illnesses. Eighteen years later he co-founded the Safe Water Network to improve access to safe water to underserved communities around the world.
Newman was married twice; first to Jackie Witte, who he met whilst studying at Kenyon College and then to Joanne Woodward who he met on the set of Picnic and they married five years later after his divorce from Jackie. He had three children from each marriage – three of which followed their father into acting. It was reported in June 2008 that Paul Newman had been diagnosed with lung cancer (even though this was never substantiated by any of his peers or family) and he died three months later at the age of 83.
