Paul Newman

Paul Leonard Newman was an American actor, film director, entrepreneur, and auto racing enthusiast. He starred in films like The Color of Money, The Hustler, Hud, and co-starred with Tom Hanks in the 2002 film Road to Perdition. He won several awards, including an Academy Award for his performance in the 1986 Martin Scorsese film The Color of Money and eight other nominations, three Golden Globe Awards, a BAFTA Award, a Cannes Film Festival Award, an Emmy award, a Screen Actors Guild Award and many honorary awards. Apart from his individual achievements, Paul Newman was also a philanthropist dedicating in channeling most of his earnings to charity.

At an early age, Paul displayed an early interest in the theater. At the age of seven, he made his acting debut, playing the court jester in a school production of Robin Hood. After serving in the Navy during World War II, he completed his degree at Kenyon College in Gambier, Ohio; graduating in 1949. Later he studied Drama at Yale University, graduating in 1954.

Within the years of his acting career, Paul became interested in his activities outside acting. He joined car races and was socially active in issues such as gay rights. In 1982, Newman co-founded Newman’s Own, a line of food products. The brand initially sold salad dressing but has expanded to encompass a wide range of food including lemonade, pasta sauce, popcorn, wine, and salsa. Newman also created a rule that all proceeds from the sale of Newman’s Own products, after taxes, would be donated to charity.

One of his beneficiaries is the “Hole in the Wall Gang Camp,” a residential summer camp for seriously ill children, which is situated in Ashford, Connecticut. Newman co-founded the camp in 1988. Newman’s college fraternity, Phi Kappa Tau, adopted “Hole in the Wall” as their “national philanthropy” in 1995. One camp has expanded to become several “Hole in the Wall” camps in the U.S., Ireland, France and Israel. The camp serves 13,000 children every year, free of charge. In June 1999, Paul Newman gave away $250,000 to Catholic Relief Services to help refugees in Kosovo. As of early 2006, the franchise has resulted in excess of $250 million in donations.

On September 27, 2008, Paul Newman died after battling lung cancer. He lived life as a celebrity without scandal.