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the only men i trust: a thread
paul leonard newman —
born january 26th, 1925 in shaker heights, ohio (a suburb of cleveland), paul was the second son of arthur and theresa newman, a jewish-catholic couple. he had an older brother, arthur junior. he was raised catholic and jewish, though called himself jewish.
born january 26th, 1925 in shaker heights, ohio (a suburb of cleveland), paul was the second son of arthur and theresa newman, a jewish-catholic couple. he had an older brother, arthur junior. he was raised catholic and jewish, though called himself jewish.
he was completely color blind, only able to see in shades of gray, black, and white. he didn’t learn that until he enlisted in the us navy in world war two - he wanted to be a pilot. his brother, art, also served.
two jewish guys fighting hitler? yes fucking please. love them
two jewish guys fighting hitler? yes fucking please. love them
in school - Shaker Heights High School - he worked for his father’s shop, which was a small sporting goods store. he did school plays but wasn’t real fussed on acting yet. he wanted to be a football player. and he was quite fond of it the rest of his life!
out of many schools, paul was closest with kenyon, here in ohio, where he had a football scholarship. his scholarship was revoked when he got into trouble with some friends. “I got thrown in jail and kicked off the football team.... I majored in theatre the last two years.”
after graduating, paul moved to wisconsin to do some acting. he was -surprisingly! - quite good! he met his first wife there, jackie witte, and they got married soon after. they stayed in wisconsin till his father, art sr., died in 1950. they had three children.
two of his children, Scott and Susan, became actors in their own rights! Susan was even in a movie, “I Wanna Hold Your Hand,” a movie about the beatles!
paul and jackie moved for cleveland after his father died to take over the business. eventually, paul has his older brother, art jr., take over, and he and his small family moved to connecticut, where he began studying at the yale school of drama. it didn’t last long. they moved.
they moved to new york city, where paul began studying at the actors studio, boasting such stars as marlon brando, james dean, marilyn monroe, and others. paul flourished. in 1953, he made his broadway debut; in Picnic, he met Joanne Woodward, who was an understudy.
he loved being in Picnic. it ran for 14 months, and he greeted his first daughter, Susan, in that time. he began acting in television serials, and he began a close friendship with Joanne. while they admitted attraction, paul was dedicated to jackie at the time.
in 1954, though… oh, his first movie break happened. the silver chalice - a film paul came to despise and regard with contempt - was released. he recorded horrible reviews, and he even took out a full page ad in many papers telling people not to see it!
but that didn’t last long. he went back to broadway, jackie had their third child, Stephanie, and eventually… Somebody Up There Likes Me came out. he was a sensation. alongside Pier Angeli, Sal Mineo, and Steve McQueen, he told the story of boxer Rocky Graziano.
and from there, his career took off. cat on a hot tin roof saw him as a hot drunk husband to elizabeth taylor, mourning the loss of his (boyfriend?) and his broken leg.
i won’t go through every film, but soon… he had a film with joanne woodward. the long hot summer was filmed in georgia, where joanne was from, and their relationship started. he was still married, but get divorced soon. he married joanne in 1958.
he and joanne were deeply, horrendously in love. in 1958, joanne won her first oscar. paul was seen crying as he congratulated her. they would have three daughters together: Claire, Melissa, and Nell.
their life went on, with movies made, children running, and life changing. in 1964, paul participated in Martin Luther King Jr’s march on Washington. with his friend the incredible black, puerto rican, jewish Sammy Davis Jr accompanying him. paul would be very political.
in his later years, paul found a passion in race car driving. it was what inspired his future and final role, doc hudson in pixar’s cars 1 and 3. acting had become tedious, and the family got into it with him! he said it made him happiest - and you can tell!
with his racecar driving, he began numerous charities, like Newman’s Own products! from dog treats to ranch dressing to just about anything else, it was something paul created to donate 100% of their profits. he made a fool of himself - he just wanted to help others.
he created camps for children, named after Hole in the Wall from his favorite film, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid! he wanted to help others who weren’t as lucky as he was.
this thread is long enough, so i’ll end it. an academy award winning actor and director, a democrat who was outspoken of his views, a dedicated father and husband, and an all around good guy.
“Paul, what would you like to do for Christmas this year?”
“To celebrate Hanukkah.”
“Paul, what would you like to do for Christmas this year?”
“To celebrate Hanukkah.”
