A celebrity—and more

By The Daily Progress

Published: September 29, 2008

Matinee idol or cinema tough guy?
Macho celebrity or kind-hearted do-gooder?

Paul Newman could be described as all these. The complexity of the man was one of the things about him we found fascinating.
But perhaps it all could be summed up simply: He was a genuinely good human being. And a damn fine actor.
There are women of a certain age who grieved when they learned that he had died this weekend at age 83 after a bout with cancer. Even in his later years, those piercing blue eyes gave him sex appeal.

Mr. Newman entered the film business after the “golden age” of Holly-wood. The studio system was gone, and with it much of Tinseltown’s mystique. A new era accommodated a different type of actor — less glamor, more grit.
Those looks might have been to swoon for, but Mr. Newman is also remembered for “playing against type” — taking on roles as tough guys, bitter and hard-bitten, or boozy and broken, or just downright amoral. Boxer, failed athlete, pool hustler, counterculture cowboy — these are just a few of his memorable roles.
His ability to play all sorts of characters with leading-man aplomb, and with increasing subtlety as he matured, was honored with 10 Oscar nominations and numerous film awards.

Was Paul Newman a tough guy in real life? There was reason to believe so.
Remember his foray into the world of auto racing? He was driving (and winning money) in tough races like Day-tona and Le Mans while still at the height of his movie career, prompting fans and producers alike to wonder why such a bankable star would so risk his life.
“Racing is the best way I know to get away from all the rubbish of Holly-wood,” he told People magazine in 1979.
That, too, was Paul Newman. He was one of those rare movie stars who didn’t act like a star, nor did he necessarily like being a star.

He married actress Joanne Wood-ward in 1958, and their relationship became a rarity for Hollywood celebrities — an enduring partnership be-tween equals. He lived in a farmhouse in Connecticut, far away from L.A.

In recent years, he’s been best known as an entrepreneur and philanthropist. His eponymous Newman’s Own brand of food items was started as a joke, but went on to earn millions of dollars for charities he himself founded. His charity work was his most consuming job and the legacy for which he himself said he wished to be remembered.
That legacy is ensured through a foundation recently established to maintain his series of global good works — hosting seriously ill children at camps, providing potable water in Third World villages.
Trophies may be the visible trappings of a Hollywood legacy. But this celebrity left us something different. He starred in a string of fascinating films, to be sure. But more importantly he gave his money, his attention to people who may never even know who he was but who are alive, or living more happily, be-cause he cared.

That was Paul Newman.