RIP Paul Newman

Hollywood mourns star Paul Newman

Paul Newman's career spanned six decades and some 60 films
Hollywood has been mourning the death of Oscar-winning film legend Paul Newman, who died of cancer aged 83.

Tributes have been pouring in for the star of movies such as Butch Cassidy And The Sundance Kid and The Sting.

His co-star in both films, Robert Redford, said: "I have lost a real friend" while Oscar-winner Kevin Spacey said Newman was a "great humble giant".

Former actor, California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, called him "a generous but modest philanthropist".

Former US president Bill Clinton and his wife Hillary described him as "an American icon, philanthropist and champion for children," in a statement.

Newman died at his Connecticut home on Friday.

A statement from Newman's family said: "His death was as private and discreet as the way he had lived his life."

SELECT FILMOGRAPHY

The Silver Chalice, 1955
Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, 1958
The Hustler, 1961
Hud, 1963
Cool Hand Luke, 1967 (pictured)
Rachel Rachel (director), 1968
Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, 1969
The Sting, 1973
The Towering Inferno, 1974
Absence of Malice, 1981
The Verdict, 1982
The Color of Money, 1986
Nobody's Fool, 1994
Road to Perdition, 2002
Cars (voice), 2006

The star's five daughters praised their father's "selfless humility and generosity" in a statement released to the press.

"Paul Newman played many unforgettable roles," they said.

"But the ones for which he was proudest never had top billing on the marquee: Devoted husband, loving father, adoring grandfather, dedicated philanthropist."

In Los Angeles, flowers were placed on Newman's star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame as the Motion Picture Association of America hailed his "extraordinary career."

The actor starred in some 60 films in a career that spanned five decades.

He was nominated for an Academy Award 10 times - but it took him 33 years to win one, picking up the best actor trophy for The Color Of Money in 1987.

In May 2007, Newman said he was giving up acting because he could no longer perform to the best of his ability.

"I'm not able to work any more... at the level that I would want to," he told US broadcaster ABC.

"You start to lose your memory, you start to lose your confidence, you start to lose your invention.

Earlier this year, he pulled out of directing a stage production of John Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men in Connecticut because of unspecified health problems.

'Ego removed'

Eulogies for the star have poured in from friends and colleagues around the world.

Sam Mendes, who directed Newman in 2002's Road To Perdition, said the actor was "an extraordinary man in every respect".

The thing I remember the most about him is his total lack of ego and his lack of entourage and his lack of hangers-on."



Paul Newman's daughter, Lissy pays tribute to her father
Film star George Clooney said: "He set the bar too high for the rest of us. Not just actors, but all of us."

Kevin Spacey added: "He used his success to help others and did it without wanting a lot of credit.

"He should be an example to everyone in the acting profession because he seemed to have had his ego surgically removed."

Hit films

Although his handsome looks and piercing blue eyes made him an ideal romantic lead, Newman often played rebels, tough guys and losers.

"I was always a character actor," he once said. "I just looked like Little Red Riding Hood."

His movies included Cat On A Hot Tin Roof, The Hustler, The Sting and Hud.



More tributes to Paul Newman

Along the way, he worked with some of the biggest names in Hollywood - including Alfred Hitchcock, Robert Altman, Martin Scorsese, Elizabeth Taylor, Lauren Bacall and Tom Hanks.

He also appeared with his wife, Joanne Woodward, in several films including Long Hot Summer and Paris Blues. The star later directed his wife in movies such as Rachel, Rachel and The Glass Menagerie.

But his most famous screen partner was undoubtedly Robert Redford, his sidekick in both Butch Cassidy and The Sting.

In addition to his Academy Award for best actor, he was given an honorary Oscar in 1986 "in recognition of his many and memorable compelling screen performances and for his personal integrity and dedication to his craft".

YOUR MEMORIES
His humour, charm, cleverness and above all his humanity could never be copied

Felicity Wood, London, UK



In 1994, he picked up a third Oscar, the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award, for his charitable work.

His philanthropic efforts included the establishment of summer camps for children who suffered from life-threatening illnesses.

He also donated profits from his Newman's Own food range to a number of charitable organisations.

Newman's last film role was as the voice of Doc Hudson, one of the most famous racing cars in history, in the Pixar animation Cars.

It was perhaps a fitting epitaph for the actor, who had a lifelong fascination with the sport - and put his film career on hold in the 1970s to become a professional racing driver.

He is survived by his wife, five children, two grandsons and his older brother Arthur.