Born:
January 26, 1925
in
Cleveland, Ohio
Best Known For:
Playing Butch Cassidy.
Early-life:
Paul Leonard Newman was born on January 26, 1925, in Cleveland, Ohio. He had an older brother. His father ran a sports shop and his mother helped out. Newman excelled in sports and took a keen interest in theatre, making his debut as a court jester in a school production of Robin Hood. After graduating from Shaker Heights High School in 1943, he attended Ohio University. During the Second World War he served in the Navy, and later studied at Kenyon College. He also studied acting at Yale University and at the Actors' Studio in New York City.
Career:
Newman began his career on stage, although he will always be best known for his movies. He won acclaim in the late 1950s for the films Somebody up There Likes Me, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof and The Young Philadelphians. The 1960s proved to be a hugely successful time for the actor, with movies such as The Hustler, Hud and Cool Hand Luke sealing his popularity. His partnership with Robert Redford in Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid also cemented his reputation as a Hollywood legend. Other box office hits include The Towering Inferno, The Sting, The Color of Money and Road to Perdition. He retired from acting in 2007 and died a year later at the age of 83. He was also the founder of food company Newman's Own, the after-tax profits of which go to charity.
Quote:
"I was always a character actor. I just looked like Little Red Riding Hood."
Trivia:
Newman had three children with his first wife, Jackie Witte, and three with his second, Joanne Woodward.