Ailing Paul Newman Turns Over $120 Million To Charity

[CatWoman]

Movie star Paul Newman has quietly turned over the entire value of his ownership in Newman's Own -- the company that makes salad dressing and cookies -- to charity.

Completed over a two-year period in 2005 and 2006, the amount of his donations to Newman's Own Foundation Inc. comes to an astounding $120 million.

This is unprecedented for any movie star or anyone from what we call Hollywood. Of course Newman and actress wife Joanne Woodward have never been Hollywood types. They've lived their lives quietly in Westport, Conn., for the last 50 years. (They were married in January 1958. And people said it wouldn't last!)

This column learned about this extraordinary gift as news started coming out recently about Newman's battle with lung cancer. This is not news to my readers. I told you several months ago that Newman -- who has five grown daughters -- was seeing an oncologist, that he'd been in and out of Memorial Sloan Kettering hospital on many visits from Westport. Like everything else, the Newmans tried to keep Paul's illness a private matter.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/06/10/ailing-paul-newman-turns_n_106341.html

[DFW]

1. Dick Cheney WOULD have given that much, except..........

Moving expenses to Dubai are just horrendous, you understand.........

[Sal Minella]

20. And also, he had "other priorities."

[aquart]

2. What do you mean, "ailing Paul Newman"??????

Omg, lung cancer. Nooo.

[CountAllVotes]

5. yikes

that is a bad one.

I hope it is not too late for Paul Newman! :(

[grace0418]

24. I saw the photo of him on Martha Stewart's site. He doesn't look good.

I'm very sad about that.

[aquart]

47. I don't think anyone survives once they get that look.

I just haven't seen a picture of him in so long...I wasn't ready for it.

[Medusa]

63. I was shocked.

He has that "wasted" look. Not good.

[demnan]

3. I feel bad about that

Newman is such a great guy, and I really like his products, so I'm glad my purchase can do some good.

[spanone]

4. great actor and great man

[left is right]

28. great actor---greater man

nt

[BlooInBloo]

6. He'll always be Cool Hand Luke to me. :)

[XOKCowboy]

12. Butch Cassidy to me...

One of my favorite films is Nobody's Fool though. Now that was a great character.

[FatDave]

22. Sid Mussburger?

Sure sure!

[XOKCowboy]

37. I forgot about the Hudsucker Proxy!

Good catch.

[Sydnie]

53. I love that movie

and love Newman in that movie too.

[lpbk2713]

23. Ben Quick to me.

The Barn Burner. He was made for that role and vice versa.

[CatWoman]

14. what we have here

is a failure to communicate :)

:hi:

[BlooInBloo]

16. :) Hi sweetie!

I'm not running for President, so mebbe I can get away with that. (snicker)

[CatWoman]

17. LOL!!!!

:hi:

:loveya:

[Blue_Tires]

34. Fast Eddie Felson to me first

and Henry Gondorf...

[XOKCowboy]

39. and who could ever forget Henry Gondorf

"You can't play your friends like marks, kid".

[Tesha]

54. "Cuttin' the heads off parkin' meters.." (NT)

[Mist]

7. I'm sorry to hear that PN is ill---BUT lung cancer can be survived--my father

had it and had surgery and chemo and lived another 7 years, which he used well.

[panader0]

8. Paul Newman is my favorite actor.

Hud, Cool Hand Luke, and countless others, plus his lifelong charitable side, not to mention one of the only 50 years marriages of movie stars make him a great guy to me. I use nothing but Newman's Own Italian on my salads. I hope he lives many more years.

[XOKCowboy]

9. What a great man...

One of the best actors of our time and an incredible person. He and Joanne Woodward showed that the biggest of Hollywood stars can lead "normal" lives, stay married for life and do good things with what they've earned.

Thanks Paul and keep up the good fight.

[Tangerine LaBamba]

10. His publicist denied that he's sick

Claims that he doesn't have lung cancer. The recent photos I saw of him made him look like an eight-two- (or is he eighty-three?) year-old guy, that's all. Not necessarily sick.

We'll always have him in our heads as the younger, incredibly handsome man, but that was long ago.

[Ilsa]

11. Wow, they've been married over fifty years?

They both look so wonderful and happy together. Two very elegant, generous, and loving people.

BTW, her skin is gorgeous.

[CatWoman]

15. and they have five grown daughters

:hi:

[yardwork]

21. I think that Joanne has always taken good care of her skin.

Back in the early 1980s when I met her, she always wore scarves and hats to protect her skin from the sun. Looks like it worked!

[Blue_Tires]

36. the mold was broken after those two were made

how many other celeb marriages last even a tenth of that time?

[LSparkle]

13. OMG ... somehow he's always seemed young ... like Dick Clark until the stroke

Like he'd NEVER get old (even though I know in my head he's probably
in his 70s now). Prayers and good wishes to him and Joanne ... He's
one of the last GREAT movie stars and I hope he's around for MANY
more years.

[Old and In the Way]

18. What a guy.....a life, well lived.

[yardwork]

19. I met him and Joanne Woodward once. They are truly kind, straightforward people.

[Warpy]

25. He's always donated the profits from his food

to charity. In fact, he often wryly that had he known his food business would do so well, he'd have donated what he earned from acting, instead.

[mentalsolstice]

26. A gracious gentleman with an equally talented & wonderful wife

And his buddy, Robert Redford, is pretty admirable as well. I was brought up on BC and Sundance, and "The Sting", as well as their separate movies in the 60s and 70s.

[blm]

27. As a teen, Newman was a family friend who babysat for some in my family. He's as real

as they come.


I ladore him. Had a cat who resembled him and name her Pawl Newman. Yeah she was female, but a very HANDSOME female.

Paul has the Cleveland Philanthropist chemistry - always has and apparently always will.

[Octafish]

29. My wife didn't want to go to the Detroit Grand Prix until she heard Paul Newman might be there.

At the time, we were just engaged. A pal at work comped me a pair of VIP passes and off we were to Belle Isle. We were treated like royalty, complimentary t-shirts, goodie bags, the works. We had great seats, looking over a sharp left turn where we later on got covered in rubber soot from the tires. Still, my wife wasn't happy.

After a few minutes and a few glasses of wine, I escorted her to the lady's room. On the way, through the throng of people milling about, she saw a couple of guys riding in a golf cart, about a 100 yards away, and she grabs my arm and yells, "Look! There he is! It's Paul Newman! Look at those blue eyes!" Now she was happy.

That's been 13 or 14 years ago. She still talks about it.

And, in all seriousness, we both love Paul and Joanne. Our prayers will be with them.

[Commie Pinko Dirtbag]

30. Ah, Champ Car. Do you remember who won he race? -nt

[Octafish]

31. I misremembered Michael Andretti...CART.

Then I misrememberd Danny Sullivan.

And I said, "Heck. Who was it?" So, I looked it up and It was Robby Gordon.

Gawsh, I'm getting old. Good thing, in many ways, though: I remember Free Prix Day back in the late 80s. It was the Friday before qualifying and the Formula 1 drivers would test the circuit, the street course around downtown. It was awesome. Everybody'd pour out of their offices for lunch and watch Senna and Mansell and the rest of the greats slam through the corners. The sound of the F-1 engines is like no other. It was great.

[XOKCowboy]

40. Wow Mansell and Senna is old school F1

I bet it was great especially with the cars of the 80s. I'd love to go to an F1 race once just to see the ultra-high tech machinery, the skill of the drivers and to hear that sound.

[Commie Pinko Dirtbag]

66. That was the Age of the Titans.

While I was watching F1 in that period, I was sharply aware it couldn't get any more awesome, before or since.

[Commie Pinko Dirtbag]

65. 1995. Jacques Villeneuve's year. -nt

[A HERETIC I AM]

32. If it was 13 or 14 years ago, I was there too. I worked on the Indycar circuit for 7 years...

and saw Newman ...well....every race weekend.

I worked for the company that built the Chevrolet Indy racing engine from 89 through 95 and for Lola Cars in 1996. (Carl Haas, co-owner of Newman-Haas Racing was the sole importer of Lola Cars for years.) When we started supplying Newman-Haas with engines, Newman came around our trailer once in a while. I also got to know their Hospitality Coach driver pretty well and had the opportunity to chat with Paul on occasion at their motorcoach.

He was gracious enough to sign an autograph for me - something he was famous for NEVER DOING. It was a small, model Simpson racing helmet that was to be auctioned off for charity. I was given the task of collecting drivers and owners signatures. I was on my way somewhere for some errand or another riding a scooter when I came up behind Newman riding on a golf cart. I asked him if he would sign it for me and he said "Sure. Stop by the coach later and I'll be happy to".

He was always very cool and he loved Indycar racing. The CART/IRL split totally pissed him off.

Get better, Paul.

[XOKCowboy]

41. Great story..

Thanks for sharing.

[lovuian]

33. Love Newman

Lov ya Paul

[JI7]

35. sad about his health

i hope he can get through this but i know lung cancer is tough.

[Doctor_J]

38. Don't forget Absence Of Malice

Shoulda got an Oscar for that one.

[Blue_Tires]

64. The Verdict was a good one, too

[1]

42. i don't like the headline "ailing paul newman turns over $120 million to charity"

paul has always been a great guy. and it wasn't his decision alone. paul and joanne don't play that way.

how about "paul newman and joanne woodward graciously give $120 million to charity." maybe to encourage others to do the same? as that beautiful couple did?

and not make it sound like its a court order or something.

what a beautiful thing to do...

[CatWoman]

43. I used the original headline with the linked story

as I most often do.

[1]

45. don't get me wrong! i wasn't saying that about you....

it just seemed wrong to say that in that headline written by someone else about how such a generous act was being portrayed.


good people doing good things deserve better headlines...



eta: i hope that finally expresses my feelings. no disrespect, op...

[libodem]

44. I wish there were a way to

have some of the money go to Meals on Wheels. That program is struggling with the high cost of food and gas. What a beautiful humanitarian thing for him to do. I really admire that kind of selfless contribution to mankind. What a guy.

[Breeze54]

46. Damn! I didn't know he was ill. What a wonderful thing he's done for others less fortunate.

This is so sad. :(

I'll always remember him in 'Cool Hand Luke'....


Cool Hand Luke (1967)
Directed by Stuart Rosenberg.
Starring Paul Newman, George Kennedy, JD Cannon.
A man refuses to conform to life in a rural prison.

He and Joanne are so sweet together.


He reminds me of my father in that pic. They have the same blue eyes.

[Hekate]

48. Ah, those intense blue eyes! They're a great couple -- I didn't know he was sick. nt

[earth mom]

49. I got to look into Paul's gorgeous blue eyes in real life and I tell ya they were incredible.

Paul is one of my favorite actors and I love how he has given back in such a huge and generous way.

I am so very sad to hear that he is ill. My dad died of lung cancer and it was hell.

My heart goes out to Paul and his family. Sending them Hugs and Positive Vibes.... :grouphug:

[conscious evolution]

50. Actually,he does not own the Newmans Own

salad dressing line anymore.
Kens Foods,makers of Kens Steakhouse dressing and the maker and bottler of Newmans dressings,exercised an option in the production contract and bought Newmans Own Salad Dressings several years ago.
The good news is that they still donate the proceeds to his and other charities.

The other NewmansOwn products,however,are still owned by the Newman family.

That said,I will miss him.He is one the best actors to ever grace the screen.

Thank you Paul for what you have done.

[Sheets of Easter]

51. Thank heaven for lousy salad dressing.

If not, Newman's Own never would have existed.

Best wishes to him and his family...

[Honeycombe8]

52. Lung cancer? Oh, no.....awful. Prognosis with that cancer isn't good, I've read.

I hate to hear that. Just hate it.

Great news about the charitable donation, though.

I hope he'll get over his illness. There's always a chance.

[underpants]

55. What a great man

truly a great man

I just read up on this this morning. Wow what a just fantastic person he is.

BTW- Newman was one of hte first in Hollywood (you should read Fox News's snide article on this) to take "points" on a motion picture-that is a % of the gross. What film? "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid" it was Redford's first BIG movie as a BIG TIME leading man and no one knew how it would do. Newman made like $20 (in 70's dollars) off that one film and it was the basis for his "Hole in the Wall" foundation. He also wrote a book about being successful in business without really knowing what you were doing (his food line).

[King Coal]

56. "The Verdict", "Nobody's Fool", my two favorite movies with him.

[NewJeffCT]

57. Good man, good liberal

Back in the 80s, there was talk of him challenging Lowell Weicker for his Senate seat - instead we got Lieberman challenging Weicker in '88. Imagine if we had him instead of Lieberman in there?

[Ikonoklast]

58. Money isn't everything.....and Paul Newman shames those that worship it

A few years ago I was at Mid-Ohio with a friend of mine that races SCCA stock production sports cars, working the pit for him and helping out. During a break in our practice, another friend and I took a stroll around the pits, looking at all the great equipment the high-end teams had.

There was a driver with his driving suit half-off, sitting on the guard rail watching his mechanics going over his car. I knew he was a Bob Sharp Datsun team driver, they had all the bells and whistles in the pits, real organized, nice set-up.

We sat down next to him, started talking racing, how the track was shaping up, how his lap times were, general racing lies. He was concerned that his car just wasn't quite handling right, and his guys were trying to sort out if it was a tire problem, or handling problem.

We talked racing and how all of us had been together either racing bikes or cars for years, and he said that he wished he could be better at racing as it was the one thing in life that he really wanted to be good at.

We had to get back in time for the track to open back up for practice, we wished the driver good luck, and we shook hands. He said, "Nice talking to you, my names Paul."

Then it dawned on me that we had been talking to Paul Newman.

What a great guy.

[Summer93]

59. Be well, Paul

My favorite actor! My favorite Hollywood couple! How did they do it when so many others cannot? We could all learn from them. He was successful in movies, in marriage and in business.

[mnhtnbb]

60. His health must really be declining. It was announced late May he wouldn't direct

"Of Mice and Men" at the Westport Country Playhouse scheduled for this year because of health issues.

Edited to provide link: http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2008/05/26/2255237.htm

[OneBlueSky]

61. Paul Newman has always been one of the good guys . . .

he founded and grew Newman's Own into a highly successful business for the exclusive purpose of supporting charitable causes . . . and he and Joanne worked tirelessly in support of local theater in Westport for many, many years . . . he has handled stardom the right way, and is an example to others who are fortunate enough to achieve his level of success in any field of endeavor . . . it's all about giving back . . .

[progressoid]

62. Imagine how much money other food companies make and DON'T donate to charity.

Hell, other companies in general.

Sad.