Tribute to Paul Newman

September 29, 2008
i-genius
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Tribute to Paul Newman

Tribute to Paul Newman

one of the true greats

Few people lived life as fully as Paul Newman who died aged 83. The Hollywood star, who was nominated for eight Oscar nominations and awarded the best actor statuette for The Colour of Money in 1986, was truely one of the greatest actors of a past fifty years or more. A racing car enthausiast and political activist, his support for civil rights and opposition to the Vietnam War put him on President Richard Nixon’s top 20 “most hated” list. A honour in itself no doubt.

But we at i-genius would like to pay special tribute to his philanthropic and social entrepreneur activities that did much to distinguish him as a great role model.

Paul Newman created several companies which enabled him to produce some of his own films and in 1982, he founded Newman’s Own, a company which produced products such as pasta sauses based on his own recipes and donated the entire profits to good causes – some $250m so far. One of his favourite projects which he took a special interest was Hole in the Wall Gang summer camps devoted to helping underprivilaged kids. By 1999 when most people his age would be retiring happily, he returned to the theatre to perform in Love Letters where he and his wife raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for land conservation in Connecticut. In 2007 his charitable foundation donated $10m to his old school, Kenyon College in Gambier, Ohio, the largest endownment in its history.

It is said, he distributed more of his own money than any other American in the 20th Century. At this time when there is much talk of greed in Wall Street (and even amongst sports stars) it is fitting to pay tribute to Paul Newman, one of the true greats.

by Tommy Hutchinson, founder of i-genius

 
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