Paul Newman: A Biography

From the Publisher In 1954, by then a successful Broadway actor, Newman launched his film career - disastrously - as Basil the slave in "The Silver Chalice." Yet before long he would be considered not only a fine actor but one of the sexiest men in films. Eventually determined to control his own career, Newman broke away from the old studio system, which dictated what roles an actor could take, and with astute choices in scripts and directors, he ultimately established a screen presence that has remained both popular and respected. "From Cat on a Hot Tin Roof" and "The Hustler" to "The Sting" and "Slap Shot," and on to the "The Color of Money," "Mr. and Mrs. Bridge," and the recent "Nobody's Fool," Paul Newman has demonstrated again and again how versatile and compelling an actor he is. In films that Newman directed, such as "Rachel, Rachel" and "Harry and Son," which starred Joanne Woodward, his wife of nearly forty years, ordinary people attempt to make sense of their lives. In contrast, this most unordinary man has lived a life of remarkable achievement on the stage and in cinema, has won four national amateur race car titles, devoted himself to political activism, and started a nonprofit food business, Newman's Own, that so far has donated nearly $70 million to worthy causes. Drawing on interviews with Newman and others who have worked with him, Eric Lax has succeeded in bringing out the real man from behind the enduring screen image.