Legendary actor and philanthropist Paul Newman died of cancer at his home in Westport, Connecticut, yesterday. He was 83. The Method-trained actor studied his craft at Yale and the Actors' Studio before becoming one of Hollywood's most successful—and challenging—leading men in such edgy films as The Long Hot Summer, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, and Cool Hand Luke. Despite his iconic status, Newman didn't win an Oscar until his eighth nomination, for 1986's The Color of Money, in which he revived his role as The Hustler's Fast Eddie Felson after a 25-year hiatus. Professional accomplishments aside, Newman was also one half of one of Hollywood's greatest love stories. He married his Long Hot Summer co-star Joanne Woodward in 1958, and they stayed married for the rest of his life. Asked about adultery, he once remarked, "Why would I go out for hamburger when I have steak at home?" As a humanitarian, he stumped for Eugene McCarthy in 1968 and called it "the single highest honor I've ever received" when he landed on Nixon's Enemies List. In 1982, he founded the Newman's Own brand with writer and Hemingway biographer A.E. Hotchner, selling everything from salad dressing to a really fine limeaid, with all profits going to charity. To date, the company has given away more than $200 million. [CNN]
