Paul Newman

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Philanthropy of Paul Newman

in Paul Newman

Also known as: Paul Leonard Newman

Written by Michael Barson

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Last Updated: Apr 15, 2025 • Article History

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In full:: Paul Leonard Newman

Born:: January 26, 1925, Cleveland, Ohio, U.S.

Died:: September 26, 2008, Westport, Connecticut (aged 83)

Awards And Honors:: Kennedy Center Honors (1992); Academy Award (1987); Academy Award (1986); Academy Award (1987): Actor in a Leading Role; Honorary Award of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (1986); Cecil B. DeMille Award (1984); Emmy Award (2005): Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Miniseries or a Movie; Golden Globe Award (2006): Best Television Limited Series or Motion Picture Made for Television; Golden Globe Award (2006): Best Supporting Actor in a Series, Limited Series, or Motion Picture Made for Television; Golden Globe Award (1969): Best Director - Motion Picture; Golden Globe Award (1968): World Film Favorites; Golden Globe Award (1966): World Film Favorites; Golden Globe Award (1964): World Film Favorites; Golden Globe Award (1957): New Star of the Year - Actor; Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award (1994)

Notable Works:: “The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-Moon Marigolds”

Movies/Tv Shows (Acted In):: "Producers' Showcase" (1955); "Absence of Malice" (1981); "Empire Falls" (2005); "Harry & Son" (1984); "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid" (1969); "The Sting" (1973); "Goodyear Television Playhouse" (1954); "The Left Handed Gun" (1958); "The Man Behind the Badge" (1953–1954); "The Hudsucker Proxy" (1994); "Twilight" (1998); "Suspense" (1952); "The Prize" (1963); "The Drowning Pool" (1975); "The Aldrich Family" (1949); "Cars" (2006); "Paris Blues" (1961); "Danger" (1954); "Playwrights '56" (1955); "Harper" (1966); "Quintet" (1979); "The Secret War of Harry Frigg" (1968); "Winning" (1969); "The Rack" (1956); "Tales of Tomorrow" (1952); "The Verdict" (1982); "The Outrage" (1964); "The Towering Inferno" (1974); "Somebody Up There Likes Me" (1956); "Pocket Money" (1972); "The United States Steel Hour" (1954–1956); "Message in a Bottle" (1999); "Road to Perdition" (2002); "The Silver Chalice" (1954); "Lady L" (1965); "Fat Man and Little Boy" (1989); "From the Terrace" (1960); "Blaze" (1989); "Playhouse 90" (1958); "The Kaiser Aluminum Hour" (1956); "Exodus" (1960); "The Life and Times of Judge Roy Bean" (1972); "Torn Curtain" (1966); "What a Way to Go!" (1964); "The Helen Morgan Story" (1957); "Great Performances: Dance in America" (1976); "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof" (1958); "Sometimes a Great Notion" (1971); "Armstrong Circle Theatre" (1954); "The Web" (1952–1953); "Mr. & Mrs. Bridge" (1990); "Appointment with Adventure" (1955); "The Philco Television Playhouse" (1955); "The Color of Money" (1986); "Buffalo Bill and the Indians, or Sitting Bull's History Lesson" (1976); "Hemingway's Adventures of a Young Man" (1962); "The MacKintosh Man" (1973); "Sweet Bird of Youth" (1962); "Nobody's Fool" (1994); "Hombre" (1967); "Hud" (1963); "You Are There" (1953); "Silent Movie" (1976); "The Hustler" (1961); "Slap Shot" (1977); "Rally 'Round the Flag, Boys!" (1958); "Freedom: A History of US" (2003); "Cool Hand Luke" (1967); "Until They Sail" (1957); "American Playhouse" (1982); "The Young Philadelphians" (1959); "The Mask" (1954); "When Time Ran Out..." (1980); "The Simpsons" (2001); "WUSA" (1970); "Fort Apache the Bronx" (1981); "Where the Money Is" (2000); "The Long, Hot Summer" (1958); "A New Kind of Love" (1963); "The Meerkats" (2008)

A noted political liberal, Newman was outspoken in support of causes such as same-sex marriage and global disarmament, and he occasionally wrote articles for The Nation. He was also a businessman and a philanthropist. He launched the successful Newman’s Own line of food products in 1982, with its profits going to a number of charitable causes. Some 25 years after its founding, the food line comprised about 80 products and was sold worldwide, generating a reported $250 million of profits donated to charity. Newman joked, “The embarrassing thing is that the salad dressing is outgrossing my films.” In 2008 he turned over his ownership of the firm to the Newman’s Own Foundation. In Shameless Exploitation in Pursuit of the Common Good (2003), Newman and his business partner A.E. Hotchner discussed the founding of Newman’s Own.

Newman’s other philanthropic works included the Scott Newman Foundation (later Scott Newman Center), an organization he established in 1980 to educate the public about substance abuse; it was created in honour of his son (from his first marriage), who had died of an accidental overdose of drugs and alcohol in 1978. In 1988 he founded the Hole in the Wall Gang Camp in northeastern Connecticut for children with serious medical conditions. At the beginning of the 21st century, Hole in the Wall had expanded to 14 camps located around the world. Newman later helped establish (2006) a gourmet restaurant to support the Westport Country Playhouse, a theatre group in which he and Woodward were long active.

A passionate race-car driver since the early 1970s, Newman became co-owner of Newman/Haas Racing in 1982. He was the recipient of numerous honours, including the Cecil B. DeMille Award (1984) from the Golden Globes and the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award (1993) from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. In 2022 Newman and Woodward were the subject of the six-part docuseries The Last Movie Stars, which was directed by Ethan Hawke. Later that year the memoir The Extraordinary Life of an Ordinary Man was published. The extremely candid work was based on interviews with the actor and those close to him. Newman reportedly had required that all those involved be “painfully honest,” and he openly discussed his personal struggles, including lifelong insecurity, a difficult childhood, and the death of his only son.

Michael Barson The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica