The owner of the most famous blue eyes in movie history, film icon and humanitarian Paul Newman has died at his home in Bridgeport, Connecticut after a long battle with cancer, with his wife Joanne and his family by his side. He was 83 years old.
He is remembered for an astonishing list of brilliant performances in major Hollywood films, as well as for his charitable humanitarian work, his love of auto racing, and his piercing blue eyes and boyish good looks.
Born on January 26, 1925, Newman acted in grade school and high school plays, and then served in the U.S. Navy as a radio operator (he was training to be a pilot, but was prevented from pursuing this interest when it was discovered that he was color blind) until 1946, when he was discharged and then enrolled at Kenyon College. After graduation he studied Drama for a year at Yale and then attended the New York Actors Studio.
Because of his good looks, sex appeal and charm, acting parts came easily to him. He acted in his first Broadway play, “Picnic,” in 1953, and soon afterward was offered a movie contract from Warner Brothers. 
Surprisingly, his first movie, The Silver Chalice (1954), was so disappointing to him that he took out a full-page ad in the paper apologizing for it to anyone who might have seen it, and continued to poke fun at the movie and his performance for much of the rest of his life. But, in an illustration of his determination to become a great actor, he gave a brilliant performance in his next film, Somebody Up There Likes Me (1954).
He was one of Hollywood’s biggest stars and most successful box office draws in the 1960s, starring in films like The Hustler, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, and one of the cinema’s most enduring classics, Cool Hand Luke. But unlike many stars whose rise to superstardom flew by with dizzying speed, Newman remained a highly respected and successful actor for decades beyond the 60s, starring in successful films like The Sting, Slapshot, Absence of Malice, The Verdict, The Hudsucker proxy, the intensely sad and romantic Message in a Bottle, and the 2002 film Road to Perdition, in which he starred along side Tom Hanks.
His professional acting career spanned six decades, beginning with a small role in the television program “Tales of Tomorrow” in 1952, and coming to a close in 2006, when he lent his voice to the character of Doc Hudson in the Pixar animated short film Mater and the Ghostlight. He also lent his name to the same character in the charming 2006 Pixar film Cars.
He was nominated nine times for a Best Actor Oscar during his career, and finally took home the award for his performance in Martin Scorsese’s brilliant 1986 film The Color of Money, in which he starred alongside Tom Cruise, Mary Elizabeth Mastrontonio, and John Turturro. On finally winning the Oscar after so many nominations and losses, Newman joked, “It’s like chasing a beautiful woman for 80 years. Finally, she relents and you say, ‘I’m terribly sorry. I’m tired.’”
He has always been known as a caring and generous man, He founded Newman’s Own food products, which has to date has grossed several hundred million dollars in sales and donations, all of which Newman donated to various children’s charities and other humanitarian organizations. In 1999 he joked that he was a little embarrassed that his salad dressing was making more money than his movies!
On a interesting side note, the students of none other than Princeton University named April 24th “Paul Newman’s Day,” which they celebrate by attempting to drink 24 beers, one per hour, over the 24 hours of the day. The tradition comes from a quote that Newman supposedly said, “There are 24 beers in a case and 24 hours in a day. Coincidence? I think not.” The university, unsurprisingly, does not sponsor the event, and Newman has said that he would like to end the tradition.
Long-time friend and Sundance co-star Robert Redford remembers Newman’s impact on the world and on his own life:
“There is a point where feelings go beyond words,” he said. “I have lost a real friend. My life — and this country — is better for his being in it.”
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Paul Newman lost his only son, Scott Newman, to an accidental drug overdose in 1978, and he is survived by his wife, Joanne Woodward, his five daughters and several grandchildren.
