Paul Newman, whose stirring role in the 1960 film “Exodus” captured the hearts of many Jewish viewers, died on Sept. 26 at his Connecticut farmhouse following a long battle with cancer. He was 83.
The actor, director, race car driver, liberal activist and philanthropist acted in 59 movies, including “Exodus,” in which he starred as Haganah leader Ari Ben Canaan in the story of the struggle for Israeli independence.
Director Otto Preminger reportedly picked the classically handsome, piercingly blue-eyed Newman for the lead role because he wanted an actor of Jewish background, but one who didn’t “look” Jewish.
Paul Leonard Newman was born in Shaker Heights, a suburb of Cleveland, in 1925, the son of Arthur and Theresa Newman. His father, the owner of the prosperous sporting goods store Newman-Stern, was Jewish and his mother Catholic. Both were descendants of East European immigrants.
His mother later became a Christian Scientist, but Newman always identified himself as a Jew because, he said, “It is more of a challenge.”
In a career that spanned half a century, Newman received 10 Academy Award nominations, winning the best actor Oscar in 1987 for his role as a pool hustler in “The Color of Money” and two honorary Oscars.
Among his other most memorable films were “Hud,” “Cool Hand Luke,” “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid,” “The Verdict,” “The Sting” and “Absence of Malice.”
Newman gave millions to charities through his food company and set up camps for severely ill children. He was a passionate civil rights and anti-Vietnam war activist, and always expressed his pride that he had made President Nixon’s “enemies list.”
He is survived by his second wife, actress Joanne Woodward, five children and two grandsons. — jta