Paul Newman

Biography

Screen legend, superstar, and the man with the most famous blue eyes in movie history, Paul Leonard Newman was born in January 1925, in Cleveland, Ohio, the second son of Theresa (Fetsko) and Arthur Sigmund Newman. Paul's father was Jewish, the son of immigrants from Poland and Hungary; he owned a successful sporting goods store. Paul's mother, a practicing Christian Scientist of Slovak decent, and his uncle Joe, had an interest in creative arts, and it rubbed off on him. He acted in grade school and high school plays. The Newmans were a well-to-do family, and Paul grew up in a nice home in Shaker Heights. By 1950, the 25 year-old Newman had been kicked out of Ohio University for unruly behavior, served three years in the Navy during World War II as a radio operator, graduated from Ohio's Kenyon College, married his first wife, Jackie, and had his first child, Scott. 1950 was also the year that Paul's father died. When he became successful in later years, Newman said if he had any regrets it would be that his father wasn't around to see it. He brought Jackie back to Shaker Heights and he ran his father's store for a short period. Then, knowing that wasn't the career path he wanted to take, he moved Jackie and Scott to New Haven, Connecticut, where he attended Yale University's School of Drama. While doing a play there, Paul was spotted by two agents, who invited him to come to New York City to pursue a career as a professional actor. After moving to New York, Paul acted in guest spots for various television shows and in 1953 came a big break. He got the part of understudy of the lead role in the successful Broadway play Picnic. Through this play, he met actress Joanne Woodward, who was also an understudy in the play. While they got on very well and there was a strong…