Newman, Paul

Newman, Paul, 1925–, American actor, b. Cleveland, Ohio. After performing for several years in television dramas, Newman became a versatile film actor. His enduring characterization is of an insolent, self-reliant 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 an Academy Award for The Color of Money (1986) after eight nominations. Later films include Blaze (1988), Mr. and Mrs. Bridge (1990), and Twilight (1998). Newman has directed several movies, usually showcases for his wife and frequent costar, Joanne Woodward.

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Newman, Paul

(born Jan. 26, 1925, Cleveland, Ohio, U.S.) U.S. film actor. He studied drama at Yale University and the Actors Studio and first appeared on Broadway in Picnic (1953). In 1954 he made his screen debut in the disastrous biblical epic The Silver Chalice. He won favourable notice in Somebody up There Likes Me (1956) and The Long Hot Summer (1958). In many of his best-remembered roles, he captured the darker, less heroic aspects of a character's nature, as in such successful films as The Hustler (1961), Hud (1963), Cool Hand Luke (1967), Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969), The Color of Money (1986; Academy Award), and Nobody's Fool (1994). He directed and produced films such as Rachel, Rachel (1968) and The Glass Menagerie (1987), both of which starred his wife, Joanne Woodward. In 1982 he launched the successful “Newman's Own” line of food products, with its profits going to a number of charitable causes.

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Newman, Paul (1925–  ) film actor, director, producer; born in Cleveland (husband of Joanne Woodward). After World War II service in the navy, he discovered theater at Kenyon College, going on to Yale Drama School and the Actors Studio in New York. His first Broadway role in Picnic (1953) led to a Hollywood contract and he was soon launched on a long string of popular hits that exploited his peculiar blend of blue-eyed masculinity, ironic humor, obvious intelligence, and a dash of rebelliousness; despite several Oscar nominations, he won his first for The Color of Money (1986). In addition to directing and producing movies, he was also a serious motor racer and he lent his name to food products (the profits going to a camp for children with terminal illnesses). Outspoken in endorsing liberal political and social causes, in 1978 he even served as a U.S. delegate to a UN disarmament conference.