American Idol, Paul Newman 1925-2008

I read an article in the most recent issue of People Magazine about the life and death of the famous actor Paul Newman. I knew he was a race car driver and an actor, and I had seen his picture on our salad dressing bottles. After reading the article, I learned a lot more about him as an actor, a family man, and a philanthropist. Paul Newman was born in 1925 and he lived to the age of 83. He died from cancer this past September 26, 2008. He was married to Joanne Woodward, another famous actress, for over 50 years and they had three daughters. Newman worked as an actor from about age 25 up to age 81, receiving nine Oscar nominations and winning for the lead male actor role in the film "The Color of Money" in 1986. Along side his acting career, he developed his skills as a professional race car driver for more than 30 years, thus becoming the oldest driver to ever win a major professional car race at age 70 in Daytona in 1995. In 1982 he co-founded "Newman's Own", a food empire dedicated to raising money for charities to help children all over the world. Starting with his famous salad dressings, he has managed to donate over $250 million to charities over the years. Even though Paul Newman is well known for his good looks, his steel blue eyes and his rugged and tough guy roles in films, he always remained a humble and down-to-earth person. He was born in the midwest, in Ohio and he chose to settle down in Westport, Connecticut where he raised his family and lived with Joanne for over 40 years. He preferred to stay away from the glamour of Hollywood and to live a quiet life in the countryside of Connecticut. It surprised me to learn that at age 25, Paul Newman first married a woman named Jacqueline Witte, with whom he had one son and two daughters. They were married for about 8 years before he met Joanne. Sadly, his only son from his first marriage, died at age 28 of an alcohol and drug overdose. Newman explained that he would never be able to escape the guilt and the devastating loss. He felt that he "wasn't there much" when his children were growing up. He later founded the "Scott Newman Foundation," which is a charity dedicated to educating young people about drug and alcohol abuse. I enjoyed learning more about Paul Newman as a person and seeing all the photographs taken of him over the years in this article. He is someone I admire and I think he truly is an "American Idol."

Stoynoff, Natasha and Tauber, Michelle. "American Idol, Paul Newman 1925-2008." People Magazine. 13 October 2008: 56-67