With persona as wide-ranging as puddle shark “ Fast ” Eddie Felson in 1961’sThe Hustler(and 1986’sThe Color of Money ) and alcohol-dependent lawyer Frank Galvin in 1982’sThe Verdict , Paul Newman never conformed to typewrite . The various doer — who was born on January 26 , 1925 , and die out in 2008 at the age of 83 — spend decades as a movie star , machine automobile driver , and part - fourth dimension salad bandaging hawker . Take a flavor at some lesser - known details of the performer ’s life and career .
Paul Newman originally wanted to be a football player.
Born in Cleveland and raise in Shaker Heights , Ohio , Paul Newman was the offspring of Arthur , a sporting trade good computer memory proprietor , and Teresa , whose love of theater finally proved contagious . But Newman originally had his sights set on a sports career . Heplayedfootball in gamy school and college before enlist in the U.S. Navy Air Corps , where he served as a radio hustler ( as he was ineligible to be a pilot due to being colorblind ) .
When Newman returned home in 1946 , he attend Kenyon College in Gambier , Ohio , on a football game scholarship . But he gotarrestedfor fighting and was kick off the team , at which compass point he decided to shift his major to house . Newman eventually wound up in summer strain and then the Yale School of Drama before head off to be a full - clip actor in New York .
Newman thought his first film was the worst movie ever made.
After stints onstageand intelevision , including roles inPlayhouse 90 , Newman wasofferedthe starring part in 1954’sThe Silver Chalice , about a Greek striver who crafts the cup used during the Last Supper . While the $ 1000 hebdomadary salary was welcome , the film was not . Newman by and by involve friends to pose through it while bat it as the unsound moving picture ever made . He had just luck two year later when he played boxer Rocky Graziano inSomebody Up There care Me(1956 ) . In 1958 , Newman earned his first of 10 Academy Award nomination forCat on a Hot Tin Roof .
He was often mistaken for Marlon Brando.
Early in their respective careers , Newman was regularlyapproachedby people who thought he wasMarlon Brando . Rather than correct them , he would bind their request for an autograph by contract , “ Best Wishes , Marlon Brando . ”
Newman enjoyed faking his own death.
Newman , who was described by most who screw him as an affable human beings , had a mischievous stripe that often manifest inpractical jokeson his conductor . A frequent target was George Roy Hill , who directed Newman in 1969’sButch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid , 1973’sThe Sting , and 1977’sSlap Shot . Newman cut Hill ’s desk and car in half during cinematography of the first two moving-picture show . While makingSlap Shot , he crawled behind the wheel of a wrecked car and pretended he had been in an stroke , much to Hill ’s horror .
While making 1960’sExodus , Newman prank director Otto Preminger by flip a dummy off a building have intercourse Preminger would think it was him , causing Preminger collapsed in shock . He repeated the antic during charge of 1973’sThe MacKintosh Man , tossing another dummy off a 60 - invertebrate foot building in front of director John Huston .
A movie introduced Newman to racing.
It was starring in the 1969 racing filmWinningthat led Newman down a course of competitory racing in his secret life . In 1972 , Newmanstarteddriving on an recreational level beforewinninghis first professional raceway in 1982 . At eld 70 , he was part of the gain team in the 1995 Daytona 24 - Hours sports car survival slipstream and continued to drive through 2005 . The by-line was one of the few thing that could get Newman , who was notoriously pressure - unsure , to open up to media . “ I ’ll always sing about racing because the people are interesting and fun , the sportsman is a lot more exciting than anything else I do , and nobody handle that I ’m an player , ” Newman said . “ I wish well I could spend all my time at the racecourse . ”
Richard Nixon considered Newman an enemy.
PresidentRichard Nixon , who was no alien to controversy , like to keep tabs on masses he considered volatile and in oppositeness to his political sympathies . While that ordinarily admit political figures , his “ enemies list ” alsoincludedNewman . The actor earned the honour by supporting 1968 presidential candidateHubert Humphreyand being an blunt critic of the Vietnam War . Oddly , Newman and Nixon had some personal history : Both human shared utilisation of a Jaguar on loanword from an car monger . When Newman acquire that Nixon was driving the machine during part of the week , he leave a note saying Nixon should find no problem operating a motorcar with a “ tricky clutch pedal , ” a nod to Nixon ’s “ Tricky Dick ” soubriquet . When Nixon gathered his list of rivals in 1971 , Newman ’s name was on it . The actor subsequently catch a copy and had it framed .
Martha Stewart helped put his salad dressing on the map.
Today it ’s not uncommon for major thespian to add their images to intellectual nourishment and alcoholic beverages . In the early 1980s , it was strange , though Newman was n’t looking to make history — only salad dressing . The actorenjoyedmixing an oil and vinegar blend and founder it out to friend and family around the holidays . Newman and his friend A.E. Hotchner bottle a batch and shell out it over the 1980 Christmas season . Martha Stewart , who was then a caterer , was living in Newman ’s neighborhood at the sentence and report a unsighted taste test was in favor of the dressing . Newman agreed to put his face on the bottle and call itNewman ’s Own . The stuffing and the food to come — including spaghetti sauce — sire profits that Newman donate whole to charity . The company has deliver more than$600 millionto charitable cause .
He wasn’t at the ceremony when he finally won an Oscar.
Newman had been nominated for his work insix filmsand washonoredwith a calling achievement Oscar in 1985 , but he did n’t bring home the bacon until 1986’sThe Color of Money , when he took home a statuette for Best Actor . He was n’t at the ceremony , though . Hetoldthe Associated Press , “ I ’ve been there six times and lose . Maybe if I stay off , I ’ll win . ”
Newman once offered part of his salary to a co-star.
While making the 1998 filmTwilightwithGene Hackmanand Susan Sarandon , Newman was surprised to discover that both he and Hackman weremakingconsiderably more than Sarandon , despite all three have equal charge . Sarandon told the BBC in 2018 that Newman then declare oneself to give up a constituent of his salary to make thing just .
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A interpretation of this news report ran in 2020 ; it has been updated for 2025 .
