An American actor, film director, producer, businessman, public figure, race car driver, one of the pillars of Hollywood, an honest, open, kind, talented, insanely attractive and versatile person - all this can be said about the American film industry star Paul Newman.
Paul Newman biography
Childhood and early career
Paul Leonard Newman was born on January 26, 1925 in Cleveland, Ohio, USA. He grew up in a family where his father Arthur Samuel Newman (Neumann) is a Jew, and his mother Terezia Fetskova is a Slovak from the village of Ptichye. My father owned a small sporting goods store. After finishing school, he decided to serve in the navy. After a successful service, Paul inherited a small business from his father and sold it to go to university. Entered the Yale School of Acting in 1947. After completing his studies, the young man went to New York and continued his education at the acting school of this city. The school is known for teaching the Stanislavsky system. Since 1952, the aspiring actor has already starred in television series.
Career
Newman had a chance to play the main role in the film "The Silver Bowl" in 1954. The film received devastating reviews from critics. Paul considered this role the worst, he even thought that because of this failure, the path to cinema would be closed for him.
Four years later, the actor starred in the movie Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, where Paul played alongside Elizabeth Taylor. Newman's hero is a former athlete, a football player who, after leaving the sport, lost interest in life, began to drink. Communication with his father gave him back his desire to live. This role turned out to be the real breakthrough of the actor to fame. After the release of the picture on the screens, Newman was nominated for the first time in his life for an Oscar.
Good reviews from critics and the success of the film distribution provided the film about the formation of Israel as a state. It came out in 1960. Its name is "Exodus".
The following works by Newman enjoyed great success - in the crime drama "Rogue" and the western "Hud", for which he was again nominated for an Oscar.
In the 1960s, Newman used his star status to campaign for a Democratic racial softening program in America, and as a result was included in President Nixon's infamous list of twenty personal enemies. At this time, he filmed a little less often, devoting his free time to passion for auto racing.
In 1962, he again starred in the film adaptation of the play by Tennessee Williams ("The Sweetheart Bird of Youth"), and in 1966 he successfully played with Alfred Hitchcock in "The Curtain Torn". At the same time he directed the film "Rachel, Rachel" for his wife, which brought him Golden Globe awards for directing. Having played in the action movie "Cold-blooded Luke" (1967), Newman earned his fourth Oscar nomination. Two years later, he co-starred with Robert Redford in the highest-grossing western in film history, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. Four years later, he and Redford teamed up again, this time on the set of the movie "Scam", which was named the best film of the year at the Oscars. At the same time, the actor founded, together with Barbra Streisand, a special studio, which was designed to defend the interests of actors against the arbitrariness of producers and film studios.
Auto racing
Newman is also known as a big motorsport fan - racer and team owner. He first became interested in the sport during the filming of the movie Winners in 1969.
Newman took part in the professional race for the first time in 1972. In 1979 he raced in the famous 24 Hours of Le Mans, finishing second in a Porsche 935 / 77A.
In 1983 he founded the Newman / Haas Racing team with Karl Haas.
In 1995, 70-year-old Newman took part in the 24-hour race in Dayton, while becoming the oldest driver whose team won an official race.
Filmography
- 1956 - Someone Up There Loves Me
- 1958 - Long hot summer
- 1958 - Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
- 1961 - Swindler
- 1962 - Sweet-voiced bird of youth
- 1963 - A New Kind of Love
- 1969 - Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid
- 1973 - Scam
- 1974 - Hell in the skies
- 1980 - When time is running out
- 1981 - Without malice
- 1990 - Mr. and Mrs. Bridge
Personal life and son's tragedy
For the sex symbol of Hollywood, Paul had a unique quality - he was monogamous. Of course, Paul was not the perfect man, he had two marriages. Newman first married a classmate during his university years. The first wife gave him three children. However, on the set while working, Paul meets the love of his life - an actress named Joan Woodward.
It was love at first sight for Paul, but Joan did not let him near her - a married and too handsome man frightened her a little. She was already a big-name Oscar-winning actress, but Paul was more famous than Joan. Therefore, she did not take his courtship seriously. The romance spun almost against their will.
For several years, the couple lived in the hope that once the feelings that had flared up would subside over time. But 6 years later, on the set of a new film, they meet again as performers of the main roles and do not part anymore. Paul files for divorce, and a year later he marries Joan.
Their marriage lasted almost half a century and ended only with the death of Paul. The couple had children together - three children. The family was very strong. The incredibly attractive Paul was regularly molested by fans and movie partners, but he never cheated on his beloved wife. It so happened that in their entire life together, the couple was never surrounded by rumors about an affair, an affair or any scandal. Together they lived in joy and in sorrow. Paul was not embarrassed that his wife was initially more successful than he was. When the children were born, Joan deliberately left her beloved business and started raising babies. Paul, meanwhile, starred in grossing films, but chose those that were filmed near home. This allowed him to be at home more often, raise his daughters and be close to his beloved wife. When the matured woman was about to return to the movie screens, she was unclaimed. In this situation, Paul made a heroic act - he decided: since his wife is not removed by any director, then he himself will learn how to make a movie and take her to the main role. Together, the couple have created several successful films, which have strengthened their romantic relationship, taking their professional collaboration to the next level. Newman enjoyed making movies and Joan was happy to be back on set. Joan did not leave her husband during the most difficult period of his life. Paul's son Stewart died from an overdose from his first marriage, he suffered this loss for a long time and painfully, blamed himself for overlooking his son, distracted by a new marriage. He blamed himself, blamed Joan. She took the test with courage, supporting her husband and giving him time to grieve. Over the years, Paul acknowledged that her support and tacit participation were invaluable. Together they created a charity center to help teenagers who want to quit drugs, in honor of the deceased son of Newman. The story of the relationship of Paul and Joan, who managed to build one of the strongest marriages in Hollywood, is considered a great love story. The couple have always argued that a happy union is the result of joint painstaking daily work. They stayed together, despite all the obstacles - both in youth and old age.
DEATH
Diagnosed with lung cancer, the legendary film actor was admitted to the hospital in June 2008. There he underwent chemotherapy. In the fall of the same year, Paul died. It happened in his own home, next to his children and wife. Newman was eighty-three years old.
