by Tim Harry

Created on: March 04, 2008   Last Updated: December 29, 2008

There are some Hollywood stars that make only a fleeting impression on the industry, and there are others that go onto become true legends of the Big Screen. One of the true Hollywood greats was Paul Newman, a man who appeared in cinemas around the world for over fifty years. Newman though was more than just an actor, he was someone who also took an interest and the time to give to those less fortunate than himself.

Paul Leonard Newman was born on the 26th January, 1925. Paul was the son of Arthur S. Newman Sr, a successful German Jewish sporting goods store owner, and Theresa Newman, nee Fetzer, a Catholic Slovak. Theresa helped out in the shop as she raised Paul and Arthur, his brother. The family was not short of money, and Paul grew up in Shaker Heights, a relatively affluent suburb of Cleveland.

From an early age, with the encouragement of his mother, Newman showed a keen interest in acting and the theatre. His debut is often quoted as being a jester in a school production of "Robin Hood" when Newman was just seven. Newman followed this debut with other roles in high school productions.

Newman graduated from Shaker Heights High School in 1943, and immediately enrolled at Ohio University at Athens, Ohio. Though initiated into the Phi Kappa Tau fraternity, Newman's stay at the university was short-lived, as he was supposedly expelled after a prank involving a keg of beer. By this time, the Second World War was well underway, and so at a loose-end Newman enlisted into the Navy. Failing a pilot's test due to colour blindness, meant that Newman spent the remainder of the war as a radio operator and rear gunner in an Avenger torpedo bomber.

Discharged from the navy in 1946, Newman enrolled at Kenyon College in Gambier, Ohio in order to complete his degree. Though he was initially on an athletic scholarship he was thrown off of the football team, following an incident in a bar. With free time on his hands, Newman again looked to acting and drama, appearing in a number of college productions as a result.

Newman moved to Chicago in 1949 following his graduation from Kenyon with a BA in English. In Chicago he took up an acting career joining up with the Woodstock players. At the same time Newman married his first wife, the actress Jackie Witte, and they soon had their first son, Scott. Within a year Newman's life though was at a crossroads. His father passed away leaving a half share in the family store. The decision needed to be made, the safety of the business or the

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