January 26th is the 100th anniversary of the birth of Paul Newman (1925-2008), American actor, director, racing car driver, entrepreneur and philanthropist.
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.
Less well known is his philanthropy which was wide ranging. He created an organization to educate the public about substance abuse in honour of his only son who had died of an accidental overdose of drugs and alcohol. He founded summer camps all over the world for children with serious medical conditions. He and his wife, Joanne Woodward, started a restaurant to support their favourite live theatre, the Westport Country Playhouse near their home in Connecticut.
As an entrepreneur, he established Newman’s Own line of food products, with all its profits going to a number of charitable causes. Eventually, it grew to comprise about 80 products, generating a reported $250 million of profits donated to charity. Newman joked, “The embarrassing thing is that my salad dressing is outgrossing my films.”
He loved his motor racing and entered his first first professional event as a racing driver as ‘P. L. Newman’, by which name he continued to be known in the racing community.
The recipient of numerous awards for his movies including an Oscar (he was nominated 5 times) and a Golden Globe. He was also honoured for his humanitarian work.
Here is a great little reminder, a video trailer for the Academy Museum of Los Angeles’ tribute to his most famous performances on the big screen. Featuring Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, Cool Hand Luke, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, and more—because some stars only get better with time. A hundred years later, Paul Newman is still showing us how it’s done. From hustling pool tables to breaking out of prison, Paul Newman redefined cool for a century.
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