Biography: Great Entertainers - Paul Newman: Hollywood's Charming Rebel (DVD, 2005)

Of course, with Paul Newman now 83yo & dying of cancer (in September 2008), this biography done when the actor was 70yo is certainly incomplete. However, it is a very good presentation with interveiws that include Newman's own.

Released November 16th, 1995, Bill Mumy is the narrator of the biographical over-view of Oscar-winning actor & humanitarian, Paul Newman's private life, public life & career & stock car driving hobby in New England. Those included in the interviews are:

Paul Newman (70yo)
Joanne Woodward (his wife)
Eva Marie Saint
Tom Bosley
Robert Wise
Elena Oumano
Angela Lansbury
Robert Redford
Katharine Ross
William Goldman
Susan Blakely
William J. Creber
Richard D. Zanuck
Martin Scorsese
(and arachive footage of)
Susan Sarandon
Marlon Brando
James Garner
Richard Nixon

Newman's employment ambitions were to profess at Kenyon University. He sold Encyclopedia Britainica's to earn his education through Yale. His trek toward a stellar acting career were certainly uphill. Joanne Woodward & he met on the Broadway stage where both of them were playing in "Picnic." They didn't marry for quite a while, remaining unmarried through, "The Long Hot Summer," (1958). He was finally divorced from his 1st wife, Jackie Witte, on January 28th, 1958, with whom he had been married since December 1949 & had three children. Newman & Woodward were married the next day, on January 29th, 1958 & have 3 children.

As of 2007, Paul Newman is 1 of 6 directors who directed his wife to a Best Actress Oscar nomination (Joanne Woodward, in "Rachel, Rachel," 1968). Newman won the Best Actor Award (1986), the Humanitarian Award (1993) & a Lifetime Achievement Award (1985).

His acting roles often revealed his personal politics. While campaigning for the Democrats in the 1968 US Presidential election (which Republican Richard Nixon 'won') Newman was renting a Jaguar on weekends. When he learned that Richard Nixon, known as "Tricky Dick", was renting the same Jaguar during weekdays, Newman left a note inside of it that read: "This clutch is tricky, so you won't have any trouble with it."

What may be of special interest to eBayers is that 1 of the most sought after & highly valued collectible Rolex watches is the early "Daytona" (1960's) model. It is called the "Paul Newman Rolex." It has been auctioned for $100,000 & then some in prior auctions. The watch got its name because Newman wore the Rolex model in a film.

Seems he'll get both of these wishes. Newman said (in the 1960's) he didn't want his epitaph to read either of these lines:

1) "Here lies Paul Newman, who died a failure because his eyes turned brown."
2) "Here lies the old man who wasn't a part of his time."

Considering that his eyes are still crystal blue & Newman was indeed so in touch with his time that he was ahead of it by creating a line of naturalistic food worth between $150 million to $175 million that has ALL been donated to charities since the 1980's, Newman's been quite an influential humanitarian.
He's been so alive & socially involved that this May 2008, Newman attended the month long festivities at the Indiannapolis Motor Speedway to support the Indiannapolis 500.

All of the Newman films & biographies are well worth owning. He's got a marvelously keen sense of humor that make his spontaneous interviews quite lively, even though Newman is a humble guy who enjoys not being recognized when he's in public~