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NEW YORK—Paul Newman, actor, philanthropist and businessman, died Friday of cancer at age 83, media reports said.
The Academy Award-winner died at his home in Westport, Conn., the Associated Press reported Saturday. Last year Newman said he would retire from acting, and earlier this year stepped down from a directorial position for a fall production of “Of Mice and Men,” citing health issues.
Newman had major roles in more than 50 films, the AP reported, and he won an Oscar for his role in “The Color of Money” as well as two honorary Oscars and numerous other plaudits. He also sometimes worked with Joanne Woodward, his wife and Oscar winner.
In addition to his show-business career, Newman was a racecar enthusiast and philanthropist.
In 1982, Newman founded premium food company, Newman’s Own Inc., with friend A.E. Hotchner. Newman would sometimes refer to the venture as the “joke that got out of control” and would express astonishment at its success, according to the company’s Web site.
The company offers more than 150 varieties of food and beverages including popcorn, spaghetti sauce, lemonade and salad dressing. All profits and royalties after taxes for the company are donated for educational and charitable purposes. This has added up to more than $250 million to thousands of charities worldwide, the Web site said.
“Paul had an abiding belief in the role that luck plays in one’s life, and its randomness. He was quick to acknowledge the good fortune he had in his own life, beginning with being born in America, and was acutely aware of how unlucky so many others were,” Robert Forrester, vice chairman of the Newman’s Own Foundation said in a statement.
In 1988, Newman co-founded the Hole in the Wall Camps, now a global family of camps for children with life-threatening illnesses.
Newman is survived by his wife, five children, two grandsons and his older brother Arthur, the AP said.
