Paul Newman, the Academy Award- and Emmy Award-winning actor, died at home surrounded by family and friends in Connecticut Friday after a battle with cancer, publicist Jeff Sanderson told AP. He was 83.
Primarily a film star, Newman started out in theater and on television during the 1950s.
In his career, he was nominated for 10 Oscars, winning one regular award and two honorary trophies. He was nominated for four Emmy Awards. He won one Emmy later in life, in 2005 clinching both the Emmy and Golden Globe Award for his supporting actor performance in HBO miniseries Empire Falls. He also received an outstanding miniseries Emmy nomination for Empire Falls, which he executive-produced.
Newman was known for a cool, anti-hero persona, leading such films as Cool Hand Luke and The Hustler. He had major roles in more than 50 movies, including Exodus, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, The Verdict, The Sting and Absence of Malice.
He was also a race-car driver, an activist and a philanthropist. His Newman’s Own company generated more than $250 million in proceeds, which he and his Newman’s Own Foundation have given away to charity, according to the Newman’s Own Web site.
In May 2007, Newman told ABC's Good Morning America he had given up acting, though he intended to remain active in charity projects, according to AP. "I'm not able to work anymore as an actor at the level I would want to," he said. "You start to lose your memory, your confidence, your invention. So that's pretty much a closed book for me."
Newman is survived by his wife, Oscar-winning actress Joanne Woodward; five children; two grandsons; and his older brother, Arthur.
