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Motorsports Hall of Fame of America Unveils 2024 Induction Class

The Class of 2024 includes the all-time winningest NHRA Top Fuel Funny Car crew chief Austin Coil (Drag Racing), six-time INDYCAR SERIES champion Scott Dixon (Open Wheel), HANS Device inventors Jim Downing & Dr. Robert Hubbard (Technology), desert racing legend and Hollywood stuntman Bud Ekins (Motorcycles), seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Jimmie Johnson (Stock Cars), four-time SCCA national champion and eight-time IndyCar title-winning owner Paul Newman (At Large) and 1966 Can-Am champion and championship-winning constructor John Surtees (Sports Cars).

Two additional Historic Category inductees will be announced this summer.

The press conference featured Dixon and his longtime team owner and 2016 MSHFA inductee Chip Ganassi. Dixon competes this weekend in the 48th running of the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach in his No. 9 PNC Bank Chip Ganassi Racing Honda, a race Dixon and Ganassi combined to win in 2015.

“I’m extremely honored to be thought of in this way and mentioned among many of the greats across so many forms of motorsports,” Dixon said. “The first thing that comes to mind is how I was able to get here. A single person can never do it alone. I’m grateful to Chip, the team and everyone who has helped make this possible over the last 20 years, and then going back to the start of it all with my parents and the group that helped me along. But it comes down to racing for me and the pure love that I have for this sport across every different category. First and foremost, I am a racing fan and that’s where the desire comes from. I’m extremely lucky to be able to do what I do, and I am grateful for everybody that has helped give me the possibility, and this is in their honor.”

One of the most successful and longest running team-and-driver combinations in motorsports history, Dixon has never raced in the NTT INDYCAR SERIES for a team other than Ganassi’s after joining the organization in 2002.

“There is not a more deserving driver that’s currently in the series for the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America, and I know there’s even more work still to be done,” Ganassi said.

Both Johnson (above left) and Dixon (right) were inducted in their first year of eligibility.

“It’s hard to imagine a much more-accomplished group of racers,” said MSHFA president George Levy. “Our voters chose these seven from an incredible array of the sport’s greatest achievers. We can’t wait to welcome them into the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America next March.”

Each of the MSHFA’s inductees is elected by a straight vote of 200 motorsports experts — half of them inductees themselves. Regular voters include Mario Andretti (MSHFA Class of 1990), Don Garlits (MSHFA Class of 1989), Ganassi (MSHFA Class of 2016), Tom D’Eath (MSHFA Class of 2000), Scott Parker (MSHFA Class of 2009), Richard Petty (MSHFA Class of 1989), Don Prudhomme (MSHFA Class of 1991), Rusty Wallace (MSHFA Class of 2014) and other titans of the sport.

The nine Class of 2024 honorees will be formally brought into the Hall in the 36th Annual Induction Ceremony

Presented by Toyota Racing, the traditional black-tie gala that is the crowning event of the two-day, multi- function MSHFA Induction Celebration. The Induction Ceremony, which was sold out for the Class of 2023 celebration, will be preceded the night before by the traditional “Heroes of Horsepower” reception and strolling dinner at the MSHFA Museum on the grounds of Daytona International Speedway. Firestone sponsored this year’s Heroes of Horsepower reception that was another sellout event.

Daytime events include the annual Inductee Welcome Luncheon on Monday, Presented by General Motors this year, and the annual Inductee Brunch on Tuesday morning. 2024’s Historic inductees will be ushered into the MSHFA as a featured highlight of the brunch, which was sponsored by American Honda this year.

Through last month’s Class of 2023 induction, 288 Heroes of Horsepower are currently in the MSHFA, a number that will grow to 297 with the 36th Induction Class.

The Motorsports Hall of Fame of America Class of 2024:

Austin Coil (Drag Racing) (1945-) — The winningest Top Fuel Funny Car crew chief of all time, Coil directed 2008 inductee John Force to 15 NHRA Funny Car titles — 10 of them in a row — and 17 overall including two won back-to-back captaining Frank Hawley and the Chi-Town Hustler (1982-83). Coil, engineering mentor John Farkonas and driver Pat Minick made The Hustler one of the dominant match racers of the late ‘60s and 1970s. Coil joined a then-struggling Force to become of the most successful driver/crew chief pairings ever. In addition to 15 titles, they won 130+ tour victories. Coil was named Car Craft Magazine Funny Car Crew Chief of the Year 12 times and was inducted into the International Drag Racing Hall of Fame in 1997.

Scott Dixon (Open Wheel) (1980-) — Currently the second-most successful INDYCAR SERIES driver ever, the New Zealander has won six series championships (2003, 2008, 2013, 2015, 2018, 2020), 32 poles, and 53 races, including the 2008 Indianapolis 500. His six national titles put him second to 1989 inductee A.J. Foyt (7) on the all-time list. His 53 wins are second all-time to Foyt (67) and ahead of inductees Mario Andretti, Michael Andretti, Al Unser Sr., Bobby Unser, and Al Unser Jr. Dixon has started the Indy 500 from pole five times, second only to 1998 inductee Rick Mears (6), and finished in the Top 3 five times. He’s excelled in virtually every form of racing he’s tried, including three Rolex 24 at Daytona triumphs (2006, 2015, 2020).

Jim Downing & Dr. Bob Hubbard (Technology) — The HANS (Head and Neck Support) Device has saved more drivers than possibly any other advance in the past 50 years. Head and neck injuries, including basilar skull fractures, used to claim many lives, including Dale Earnhardt, Bill Vukovich, Neil Bonnett and Tony Bettenhausen. Five-time IMSA champ Downing teamed with brother-in-law Hubbard, a biomechanical engineering professor at Michigan State University, to create the U-shaped device which restrains the head from whipping back and forth in a crash. They built prototypes in the 1980s, but the racing establishment didn’t begin to embrace it until Ayrton Senna was killed in 1994. Widespread acceptance came after Earnhardt’s death in 2001. Today, the HANS Device is required by virtually every major sanctioning body.

Bud Ekins (Motorcycles) (1930-2007) — In the 1950s and ‘60s, Ekins was the man to beat in California scrambles and desert races, winning the Big Bear National Hare and Hound three times (1954, 1957, 1959), and the Catalina Grand Prix (1955). In 1962 Ekins was the first American to win gold at the International Six Days Trial (ISDT), repeating in 1963, 1966, and ‘67. He was Steve McQueen’s racing mentor and performed stunts in over 200 films, including the fence jump in 1963’s The Great Escape. In 1966, Ekins captained a foursome that rode the Baja length in record time, setting the stage for the Baja 1000. Later, Ekins switched to trucks, winning the inaugural Baja 500 (1969). Ekins was inducted into the Hollywood Stuntmen’s Hall of Fame, the Off-Road Motorsports Hall of Fame (1980), and AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame (1999).

Jimmie Johnson (Stock Cars) (1975-) — His seven NASCAR Cup Series championships (2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2013, 2016) tie him for most ever with inductees Richard Petty and Dale Earnhardt. His five in a row (2006-10) has never been equaled. His 83 wins, including two Daytona 500s (2006, 2013), put him sixth all-time. His streak of 16 seasons with at least one victory ranks fourth all-time. (Kyle Busch is #1 with 19.) The El Cajon, CA native began racing motorcycles at four. After high school, he became one of the top off-road racers, winning rookie of the year in the SCORE, MTEG, and SODA series and going on to accumulate six championships. Transitioning to stock cars in 1998, Johnson captured ASA Rookie of the Year and was noticed by inductee Jeff Gordon, who recommended him to inductee Rick Hendrick.

Paul Newman (At Large) (1925-2008) — He was so famous as a movie star that it’s easy to forget his many achievements in motorsports. After starring in 1969’s Winning, Newman began to drive in SCCA events. He won his first race and captured four national championships between 1979 and 1986. He also won two SCCA Trans-Am events and came 2nd in the 1979 24 Hours of Le Mans in a Porsche 935 with Dick Barbour and Rolf Stommelen. In 1977, he formed the Newman-Freeman Can-Am team with Bill Freeman, fielding winning cars for inductees Elliott Forbes-Robinson and Danny Sullivan. Later he formed Newman/Haas Racing with longtime friend Carl Haas, capturing more than 100 races and eight INDYCAR SERIES titles. At 70, Newman scored a class win at the Rolex 24 at Daytona with Mike Brockman and inductees Tommy Kendall and Mark Martin.

John Surtees (Sports Cars) (1934-2017) — By MSHFA rules, only a non-American’s achievements in North America should be considered for induction. “Big John’s” record was profound. The Briton captured the inaugural (1966) Can-Am title with three wins over an international field that included inductees Mark Donohue, Dan Gurney, Jim Hall, Phil Hill, Denny Hulme, Parnelli Jones, David Hobbs, Sam Posey, and Bruce McLaren. His other victories include the 1963 Sebring 12 Hours, 1965 Player’s 200 at Mosport, 1965 Player’s Mont-Tremblant, 1966 Mexican Grand Prix and 1967 Las Vegas Can-Am. As a constructor, his eponymous single-seaters won seven U.S. F5000 races with Hobbs and Posey and finished 2nd in the championship three times. Surtees remains the only person to have won world championships on two and four wheels.

The MSHFA is housed in Daytona International Speedway’s Ticket & Tours Building located in front of the famed 2.5-mile DIS tri-oval. Access to the MSFHA museum is included with every Daytona International Speedway tour, which run throughout each day, or as a museum-only ticket. The museum is open daily 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. nearly year-round except major holidays. It is visited by more than 100,000 guests each year from every state in America and countries all over the world.

For more information, visit the MSHFA at www.mshf.com or contact MSHFA President George Levy at (248)

895-1704 or glevy@mshf.com. For museum tickets call 1-800-PIT-SHOP.

The Motorsports Hall of Fame of America is on Facebook at www.facebook.com/MotorsportsHOF/ and Instagram and Twitter at @MotorsportsHOF.

Paul Newman’s daughters sue late actor’s charity foundation

The daughters, Susan Kendall Newman and Nell Newman, allege Newman’s Own Foundation has improperly cut its mandated contributions to their own charities from $400,000 apiece per year to $200,000 each annually.

They filed a lawsuit Tuesday in state court in Stamford, Connecticut, seeking $1.6 million in damages to be donated to their foundations for charitable giving.

The daughters say their father, who started Newman’s Own Foundation three years before he died in 2008, allowed the foundation to use his name and likeness — but only on several conditions including giving each of the two daughters’ foundations $400,000 a year.

Susan Kendall Newman, who lives in Oregon, and Nell Newman, of California, worry the foundation is setting the stage to completely remove them from having any say in how some of profits from Newman’s Own products are donated to charities. They also accused the foundation of “contradicting” their father’s wishes and intentions for years.

“No one should have to feel that the legacy of a departed loved one is being dishonored in the way that Newman’s Own Foundation has disregarded the daughters of Paul Newman,” Andy Lee, a New York City attorney for the daughters, said in a statement.

“This lawsuit does not seek personal compensation for Mr. Newman’s daughters, but simply seeks to hold (Newman’s Own Foundation) accountable to the charities they have shortchanged in recent years and would ensure they receive an increased level of support in the future, in line with Mr. Newman’s wishes,” he said.

Newman’s Own Foundation has not yet filed a response to the lawsuit in court but has released a statement.

“Best practices surrounding philanthropic organizations do not allow for the establishment of perpetual funding allotments for anyone, including Nell and Susan Newman,” the statement said. “A meritless lawsuit based on this faulty wish would only divert money away from those who benefit from Paul Newman’s generosity.”

The foundation added, “While we expect to continue to solicit Newman family recommendations for worthy organizations, our funding decisions are made each year and will continue to reflect the clear aim of Paul Newman and our responsibility to the best practices governing private foundations.”

Paul Newman, who lived in Westport with his wife, actor Joanne Woodward, created the Newman’s Own brand in 1982, with all profits going to charities. Today the product line includes frozen pizza, salsa, salad dressings and pasta sauces, as well as dog food and pet treats.

In his will, Paul Newman left his assets to his wife and Newman’s Own Foundation.

Newman’s Own, the products company, is a subsidiary of Newman’s Own Foundation, a nonprofit organization. The foundation says more than $570 million has been given to thousands of charities since 1982.

According to 2020 tax records, the foundation had more than $24 million in income and paid out $11.5 million in contributions, gifts and grants. Operating and administrative expenses totaled nearly $4.5 million.

According to his daughters’ lawsuit, Newman’s Own Foundation wrote to them only four days after their father’s death, saying it would reserve the right to stop allocating funds to charities identified by the daughters. The lawsuit says that contradicted Paul Newman’s explicit instructions to the foundation.

The Last Movie Stars | Official Trailer | HBO Max

Piper Laurie: ‘How I survived’ kissing Paul Newman, Rock Hudson

The “Carrie” actress, 90, has recalled working with — and smooching — Hollywood heartthrobs Paul Newman and Rock Hudson back in the day.

Laurie will be honored at the 13th annual TCM Classic Film Festival later this month and spoke to Fox News beforehand about acting (and more) with the two icons.

She dished about how she “survived” smooching the blond-haired, blue-eyed Newman, with whom she worked in 1961’s “The Hustler.”

“Well, it was a great gift to be part of a wonderful film and participate in moments like that. So, I enjoyed every moment of it,” she admitted with a laugh.

She further described what it was like to simply be near the “Sting” star. “We were sitting opposite each other at a rehearsal hall and I remembered he just took my breath away,” Laurie said.

“That’s when I was really confronted with that beauty, those spectacular eyes,” she added.

“He had this lovely, lovely intelligent face. We read through the scripts together, and it calmed me down a little bit. I realized then that he was just a human being like the rest of us,” she continued. “And he was such a hard worker. He had this great desire to be a good actor.”

While the two also appeared in 1957’s “Until They Sail,” they didn’t share scenes together.

The “Children of a Lesser God” actress starred with Hudson in the 1952 comedy “Has Anybody Seen My Gal?”

Laurie and Hudson had been pals and “acting mates” for a while by the time they appeared in the flick together. “We did our first screen test together at Universal, and we were both signed. We became fast friends,” Laurie gushed.

She recalled that the screen test they did was a “passionate love scene,” stating, “I was miscast in it, but I guess the studio was trying to figure out what they could do with me. The line for the scene was kind of ridiculous, but they hired us. And they kept putting us together in movies.”

Laurie also remembered that the “Giant” actor would hang out at her apartment and they would enjoy home-cooked meals together.

“My mother loved to cook, and Rock used to love eating her food,” she recalled. “We were such good pals, so it was a lovely experience.”

Newman was 83 when he passed away in 2008, while Hudson died in 1985 at age 59 from complications due to AIDS.

Laurie added that whenever she thinks about “Pillow Talk” star Hudson, his “laughter comes to mind.” While the pair would often chuckle together, however, Laurie said that Hudson was also “terribly insecure, but so gifted and magnetic to look at.”

The Michigan native recalled a particularly mesmerizing instance when she saw Hudson — who, she said, had “that smile behind his eyes, which was real” — waiting at the doorway of the commissary at Universal.

“He was just standing there, and that alone took your breath away. He was this big guy with a perfect body and perfect face,” Laurie said.

“He was quite a sight. He was born to be a movie star,” she added.

Ethan Hawke And Martin Scorsese Behind ‘The Last Movie Stars’: CNN+/HBO Max Film Will Celebrate Joanne Woodward And Paul Newman

Featuring transcribed readings of interviews read by the likes of George Clooney, Oscar Isaac, Laura Linney and Zoe Kazan, The Last Movie Stars will celebrate the enigmatic personas, incandescent talent and love story of the two actors, who occupy a unique space in the Hollywood pantheon.

The project emerged from Woodward and Newman’s daughter approaching Hawke during the early days of the pandemic, at which point they asked him to direct a doc about their parents from Nook House Productions.

Central to the film is a long-abandoned project that Newman, who died in 2008, commissioned from friend and screenwriter Stewart Stern. At Newman’s request, Stern interviewed the likes of Woodward, Elia Kazan, Sidney Lumet, Karl Malden, Sidney Pollack, Gore Vidal, Jacqueline Witte and others for a planned memoir. He also interviewed Newman, and they discussed his youth, first marriage, romance and life with Woodward, personal demons, and the loss of his son Scott.

Scorsese is exec producing and is also interviewed contemporarily alongside the likes of Sally Field and Melanie Griffith.

The film is a big play for CNN+, which is slated for early-2022 launch and retains broadcast and streaming rights to The Last Movie Stars. It will air on HBO Max at a later date.

“Exploring Woodward and Newman through their 50-year love affair has proven more rewarding than I could have imagined,” said Hawke. “Their work, philanthropy, and lives serve as a kind of North Star, illuminating what a substantive, meaningful life can look like.”

Amy Entelis, Executive Vice President for Talent and Content Development for CNN Worldwide, added: “Ethan’s brilliant vision illuminates what fascinates us about Joanne Woodward and Paul Newman in a film worthy of their talents and passions. We look forward to sharing this unique, multi-chapter story with CNN+ subscribers.”

Entelis is also exec producing alongside CNN Films SVP Courtney Sexton.

The film is produced by Mario Andretti, and Emily Wachtel and Lisa Long Adler of Nook House Productions, Ryan Hawke of Under the Influence Productions, and Adam Gibbs. Hamilton Leithauser is developing an original score for the film. The deal was negotiated by Stacey Wolf, Senior Vice president of Business Affairs, and Kelly MacLanahan, Assistant General Counsel, both for CNN Worldwide, on behalf of CNN Films and CNN+. Marc Simon of Fox Rothschild LLP handled negotiations for Nook House Productions. Cinetic Media advised the filmmakers on the transaction.

Paul Newman Previously Unpublished Memoir To Be Released Next Year

Newman started writing the book in the 1980s with screenwriter Stewart Stern, but the memoir remained unfinished and unpublished when the Cool Hand Luke actor died in 2008. The manuscript, according to Knopf, was recently discovered in the Connecticut home where Newman’s wife Joanne Woodward still lives.

The publisher said in a statement that the memoir addresses such topics as “acting, directing, boyhood, family, fame, Hollywood, Broadway, love, his first marriage, his 50-year marriage to Joanne Woodward, drinking, politics, racing, his ultimate ride to stardom, and aging gracefully.”

Said Knopf, “Through Newman’s voice, and the voices of others, the book captures the paradoxical and unstoppable rise of a star who wrestled with doubts, believing he was inferior to Marlon Brando and James Dean, and yet transcended his ‘hunk’ status to become an Oscar-winning actor, champion race car driver, social activist, and entrepreneur whose philanthropy has generated nearly a billion dollars for charitable causes.”

The book is as-yet untitled.

Among Newman’s many film credits are such Hollywood classics as Somebody Up There Likes Me (1956), Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (1958), The Hustler (1961), Hud (1963), Cool Hand Luke (1967), Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969), The Sting (1973), The Verdict (1982) and his Oscar-winning performance in The Color of Money (1986).

Ethan Hawke To Direct Documentary On Iconic Hollywood Couple Paul Newman And Joanne Woodward

The producers include Emily Wachtel and Lisa Long Adler of Nook House Productions and Adam Gibbs, and Ryan Hawke of Under the Influence Productions.

In a statement Hawke said he promises a “rare and exclusive look at the careers of both actors and a complex 50-year relationship that ultimately managed to beat incredible odds.”

Newman and Woodward’s love story is truly one that seems written for Hollywood. They first met as colleagues in the early 1950s while working in New York City on a Broadway production of the romantic drama Picnic. They would head to Hollywood right after that, and would eventually work together again on the film in The Long, Hot Summer. By the end of that shoot, their love story truly began as the two were secretly living together before finally getting married in Las Vegas in 1958.

For the next five decades, the two took the road less traveled by Hollywood couples deciding to raise their three daughters in Connecticut even as Newman’s career took off. Both celebrated for how they balanced their professional and personal lives while also staying very much involved in politics and charity work, including the world famous salad dressing, Newman’s Own, which has all of its contributions delivered to charity.

Newman passed in 2008, months after celebrating the couple’s 50th wedding anniversary.

For Hawke, this marks his second time directing a documentary feature having previously helmed the doc Seymour: An Introduction – which documents the career of Seymour Bernstein, a classical pianist who abandoned his rising career as a concert pianist at age 50 to retreat to a more modest, private life as a music educator and composer.

He is repped by CAA and MGMT Entertainment.

‘Slap Shot’ still iconic in hockey despite sport’s changes

An all-out brawl broke out during warmups and the North American Hockey League game was postponed, much to the dismay of ownership and presumably the fans at a sold-out War Memorial Arena. It just so happened that director George Roy Hill was in the arena that night, cameras rolling. The real-life minor league fight was simply further inspiration for his 1977 movie “Slap Shot,” ranked No. 5 in a vote by the sports staff of The Associated Press on the Top 25 sports movies of all time.

Bawdy, bloody and irreverent, the movie is a wild ride through the final season of the fictional Charlestown Chiefs, a loser of a team in a blue-collar town with thousands of factory workers facing layoffs. The team is on the chopping block and things are grim until aging captain Reggie Dunlop, played to perfection by Paul Newman, figures out the Chiefs can at least draw fans — and maybe land a buyer — if they abandon “old time hockey” and goon it up with the rough stuff from the bespectacled Hanson brothers and their mostly eager teammates.

“It’s one of those iconic movies that has so many spots in it where the words come up and you use it in dressing rooms and stuff all the time,” said longtime NHL coach Bruce Boudreau, who actually played for the Jets and has a non-speaking role in the film.

Long gone from hockey is the fighting and rampant cheap shots practiced by the Chiefs. That doesn’t mean the movie doesn’t resonate today, far from it. Like all the great ones of this ilk — from “ Caddyshack ” to “Bull Durham” and more — it is filled with lines that will never be forgotten.

Players still joke about putting on the foil for a fight. Someone is always the “chief punk” on the other team. Who can forget “the unfortunate Denny Pratt tragedy” or letting ’em know you’re there? Doesn’t every league have an Ogie Oglethorpe?

“Anybody who’s played the game can still relate to it in some capacity because as much as it’s changed, a lot of it is still the same,” said Christian Hanson, the son of Dave Hanson and a veteran of 42 NHL games with Toronto between 2008-2011. “A lot of guys playing midget hockey, junior hockey, minor league hockey have gone through a lot of the bus trips and the playing cards on the bus and being on the road with the guys.

So relatable that three-time Stanley Cup-winning goalie Marc-Andre Fleury remade Denny Lemieux’s famous opening scene about penalties. Edmonton star Connor McDavid called it “a movie that you can watch 100 times and still laugh at.”

The hockey classic stemmed from the screenplay of Nancy Dowd, who visited her brother, Ned, in Johnstown, Pennsylvania, when he was a player during the 1974-75 season. He used his tape recorder to capture locker-room life and she took it from there.

“I had to be true to the milieu (of minor league hockey players),” Dowd told The AP at the time. “That’s the way they talk.”

It was the way they lived, too. Dunlop’s apartment in the film? That was Boudreau’s actual pad, picked because it was the messiest of any player’s. The also film captures life in the minors off the ice — the long bus trips, the downtime in bars and motels. The characters are just characters, in every way, with no big plot twists to worry about.

Boudreau recalls spending as much as 10 hours a day in uniform waiting to shoot a scene, how brutally real some of the big hits were and the night he got to spend with Newman, Hill and Dave Hanson in the film room.

“Paul turns around to me at the one point and he said, ‘This is gonna be a great movie,’” Boudreau said. “He was right.”

Christian Hanson said his father and teammates didn’t realize that at the time. The acting gig was just a second job between North American Hockey League games.

“It was one of those things where they couldn’t find enough actors that could skate, so they figured that they would kind of give auditions to the guys that the characters were based off of,” he said. “They knocked it out of the park and so they cast them.”

Nick Nolte and Peter Strauss were among the actors who tried out and fell short because they couldn’t skate; Al Pacino didn’t even get a look. The child-like Hansons were based on the Carlsons, but only brothers Jeff and Steve were in the movie because Jack was called up to the World Hockey Association.

Jack Carlson was replaced by former teammate Dave Hanson, who still joins Jeff and Steve to make appearances as the Hanson brothers.

Christian Hanson didn’t see “Slap Shot” for the first time until he was 13 — it wasn’t a family ritual to watch it — but the retired forward thinks of it as part of the fabric of playing hockey.

“Somebody will throw out a line from ‘Slap Shot’ and everybody understands it,” he said. “It’s one of those things that transcends generations. The coach can be in the room giving a speech, and then all of a sudden one of the guys rattles off something that the Hanson brothers said when they were sitting in the locker room before the game and everybody gets a chuckle.

“I think it’s pretty neat that even to this day it’s something that still holds true in locker rooms.”

Paul Newman hung up on sports journo over ‘whiskey’ anecdote

Shah interviewed “The Hustler” star while he was directing a play at his alma mater in Ohio, shortly after his son Scott passed in 1978 of a drug overdose. Shah writes in her memoir “A Farewell to Arms, Legs, and Jockstraps,” that one of his students told her they tried to cheer Newman up by putting on silly costumes and ringing his doorbell, handing him a case of beer and a bottle of Jack Daniel’s.

“He grinned, took one swig of the whiskey, said, ‘It’s the first time I’ve touched hard stuff in eight years,’ and quietly said good night,” the student said. When Shah called Newman to give him a heads up she was including it in her story for Newsweek, she says the actor hung up on her. A few days after the story ran, the mag received a telegram stating: “I’m canceling my subscription to Newsweek and subscribing instead to Screw magazine. Paul Newman.”

‘Outlander’ Star Sam Heughan To Play Paul Newman In Patricia Neal/Roald Dahl Movie Biopic

Production wraps this week on the movie, which stars Keeley Hawes (Bodyguard) as American actress Neal and Hugh Bonneville (Downton Abbey) as her husband, the British children’s author Dahl.

Heughan has joined as screen icon Newman who co-starred with Neal in 1963 classic Hud, for which she won an Oscar and he was Oscar-nominated.

Formerly known as An Unquiet Life, the film charts the early 1960s period when Charlie And The Chocolate Factory author Dahl and Breakfast At Tiffany’s star Neal retreated to the English countryside to bring up their young family. The somewhat unlikely pair – an in-demand Hollywood actress and a burgeoning children’s author – find their relationship put to the test, and ultimately strengthened, by tragic events.

The Align and Goldcrest Features movie is being directed by John Hay (Lost Christmas) and produced by Atticus Films with finance from Align, LipSync and Goldcrest. Goldcrest is repping worldwide rights on the movie, which scored a handful of pre-sales.

Producer Donall McCusker (The Hurt Locker) said, “We are delighted that Sam has joined us, he is the perfect actor to play Paul Newman and a terrific addition to our already wonderful cast.”

Heughan’s most recent movie role was 2018 comedy The Spy Who Dumped Me. He will next be seen starring in the fifth season of hit Starz drama Outlander, which airs in February.

The actor was on Jimmy Fallon last night and played down rumors linking him to the soon-to-be vacant James Bond role. “I can reveal right now that I am not James Bond,” the actor said, before adding, “I’m waiting for the call.”

Align, recently launched by Adrian Politowski and Nadia Khamlichi, has staff in London, Brussels and Luxembourg. The firm has backed movies including Blithe Spirit and Love, Weddings And Other Disasters. LipSyn’s recent post-production investments include Minimata, Colette and Fisherman’s Friends.

Heughan is repped by United Agents, United Talent Agency, Hansen, Jacobson, Teller, Hoberman, Newman & Warren and Viewpoint.

Newman the original driver of SeriousFun weekend at Gateway

Paul Newman, the legendary actor and philanthropist, started us down the path, first becoming a co-owner of Newman-Haas Racing in 1983 and then serving as the driving force behind a non-profit organization providing life-changing opportunities for children with serious illnesses and their families.

Today, SeriousFun Children’s Network is comprised of 16 Full Member camps worldwide and 14 partner programs carried out in low-resource countries throughout Africa, Asia and the Caribbean in collaboration with trusted local, national and international partner organizations. And while the work of carrying out these camps and programs is certainly complex, it all grew from the philanthropy of Newman and a simple idea he had to just let "kids be kids."

Newman's youngest daughter -- Clea Newman-Soderlund (shown here with NTT IndyCar Series drivers Alexander Rossi and Ryan Hunter-Reay of Andretti Autosport) -- serves as the ambassador for SeriousFun Children’s Network. She said her father became interested in motorsports by sitting in a race car for the first time during the filming of the 1969 movie “Winning,” which he starred in with his wife, Joanne Woodward.

“That literally changed his whole trajectory,” said Clea, who will be at the track this weekend. “I mean, he found this extraordinary sport that not only did he feel graceful in but that he also loved the community. It was the first time that he … felt like these were his peeps, you know?

“He was an actor and he yet he was never all that comfortable in Hollywood. (Racing) was this extraordinary community that he felt so comfortable in, like it was his other family.”

Newman regularly attended Indy car races until his passing in 2008. Newman-Haas Racing won 107 races, the third-most in the sport’s history, and eight season titles.

NTT IndyCar Series driver Graham Rahal, who drove for Newman-Haas, said Newman showed his commitment to racing and philanthropy through his actions.

“I remember when I raced in Formula Atlantic (in 2005),” Rahal said. “Every time I’d win a race he was the first guy in victory lane – every time. Of course, when you’re a young kid you don’t really get what it’s all about, you just know Paul Newman as Paul Newman. Then you start to mature, you get older, you realize the power and the influence a man like that can have, and then I was fortunate in many ways – thanks to Paul – to get my first opportunity to drive for Newman/Haas in 2007.

“It was then that I started to realize what the concept of fundraising was about. (It’s) the idea of charity, of the camps that could affect and improve the lives of so many people and so many kids. And while it improves the lives of the kids, it obviously (impacts) the counselors as well from a spirit standpoint. It helps everybody involved.”

Rahal recalled being at a racetrack with Newman – on Newman’s birthday, in fact – and discussing the concept that became SeriousFun Children’s Network. Interestingly enough, it was Rahal’s mother, Debi, who picked up Newman from the airport to take him to see Flying Horse Farms, which is now the SeriousFun camp near the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course.

“No person has had an influence on my life like Paul Newman,” Rahal said. “So, it’s great to see (INDYCAR’s partnership) with SeriousFun Children’s Network.”

The easiest way to support SeriousFun Children's Network is through the INDYCAR website -- indycar.com/seriousfun. During this weekend's NTT IndyCar Series race at World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway, there will be "Leave Your Legacy" T-shirts available for sale at INDYCAR"s merchandise tent, benefitting SeriousFun. There also will be the option to "round up" to the nearest dollar at the register when purchasing all merchandise. All proceeds benefit SeriousFun Children's Network.

SeriousFun camps: Just what Newman envisioned for children

The beauty of Flying Horse Farms stretches beyond the 200-plus acres, and the love and care being shown to campers resonated with the special guests, including INDYCAR driver Charlie Kimball.

Kimball, who became a father late last year, didn't need long to witness how campers ranging from eight to 17 could have life-changing experiences on this property.

“(Campers) come away with more composure, more confidence, more empowerment and more independence, and that helps the family for the rest of the year,” he said.

Providing healing, transformative experiences for children with serious illnesses and their families is the camp's mission. Highly intentional programming with large doses of fun and laughter offer new experiences for campers as well as respite for their families. Camp is often the first place these campers stay away from home that isn't a hospital room.

What also helps the families is that the camp is free to attendees, which was always the intention of SeriousFun Children’s Network founder Paul Newman, thanks largely to corporate donations. Even basics such as bed linens are provided so campers from financially challenged homes do not have to incur any additional expenses.

Flying Horse Farms also includes a number of special features including:

Each bed comes with a personalized quilt crafted by locals calling the effort "Snuggled in Hope." Campers take the quilts and the accompanying pillowcases home to continue their connection to the camp.

The “WellNest” is a full-service medical center, but the uniquely decorated patient rooms offer a retreat feel. Several rooms have bunk beds and Nerf basketball goals. There’s also a quiet room, referred to as the Meadow, with bean bags, where the staffer, a child life specialist who provides psychosocial support to campers, is known simply as “Cricket."

All daily pills, including those taken by camp workers, are distributed in the open, either right outside the dining hall or inside it. That normalizes the medication process and removes any stigmatism attached to it.

The outdoor pool is zero entry, allowing campers in wheelchairs to enjoy it. The same access is provided at the lake, where the ADA-compliant dock allows everyone to experience riding in a canoe.

All medical, psychological and social needs are considered. Campers living with sickle cell disease often struggle to manage body temperature fluctuations, so pool temperature and a nearby heated room provide a quick warmup to minimize a pain crisis.

Togetherness is built through group singing, campfires and shared activities. For adventurous campers, teepees are available to experience sleeping outdoors. Included are generator hookups for campers requiring oxygen to sleep through the night.

Last year, Flying Horse Farms provided more than 900 camper experiences on site -- six weeklong summer sessions and five family camp weekends in the fall. This facility is one of 16 such Full Member camps under the SeriousFun Children’s Network banner, including eight others in the U.S., five in Europe and one each in Israel and Japan.

SeriousFun Children’s Network also includes 14 partner programs, those which are carried out in low-resource countries throughout Africa, Asia and the Caribbean in collaboration with trusted local, national and international partner organizations. And while the work of carrying out these camps and programs is certainly complex, it all grew from the philanthropy of Newman, the actor and motorsports enthusiast who co-owned an Indy car team until his passing in 2008.

INDYCAR joined forces with SeriousFun Children’s Network in the spring of 2018, with Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing driver Graham Rahal, who drove for Newman-Haas Racing, and Team Penske's Josef Newgarden among the leading advocates. Kimball, who drives for Carlin, and Andretti Autosport's Zach Veach -- in the area for the Honda Indy 200 -- were joined at the camp Thursday by officials from INDYCAR and Firestone. Flying Horse Farms is located 15 miles southwest of the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course.

Today, Newman’s youngest daughter, Clea Newman-Soderlund, is SeriousFun’s official ambassador (pictured below), and she is wholly invested, visiting camps with regularity and working out of the Support Center in Westport, Conn. Leaders from all the camps and programs collaborate to grow the combined effort.

“The energy is really amazing,” Clea said.

After volunteering as a counselor at Newman's first camp, Clea was truly changed by the experience, although not necessarily expecting she would still be doing this work decades later.

“It completely changed me, but I couldn’t have imagined how life-changing it is for the campers and their families,” she said. “It’s incredible.”

These independently managed camps share a vision, but they also address different needs, varying through the season. Flying Horse Farms will focus on cancer patients and blood-related diseases one week, heart conditions another. Each week has its own nickname so campers feel less threatened by the grouping.

To campers, the emphasis is on Newman’s original intent.

“The reason we’re called ‘SeriousFun’ is because that’s how Dad described going to camp – it’s serious fun,” Clea said. “It’s just plain fun for the kids.”

Nichole Dunn, the CEO and President of Flying Horse Farms, believes the mission is being accomplished.

“At camp, kids live with a fearless and free attitude as they laugh, play and dance, and we have the people, the equipment and the dedication to make this feel like a home," she said. "Every part of being at camp is intentional.

"Most of the campers come here cautious (to engage) and leave here with the confidence to enjoy themselves. This allows us to stand by the believe that as you come and go through the gates of camp it is the only place in the world that whether you are coming or going, you are always home."

Clea has just one regret about Flying Horse Farms: Her father visited the property during its acquisition stage, convinced to embrace it while standing at the edge of the lake. It opened in 2010, nearly two years after his passing.

“Dad was really excited about this place and was so proud there was going to be a camp in his home state,” she daughter said. “I’m just sad he didn’t get to see kids here.”

INDYCAR will highlight the work being done by the SeriousFun Children’s Network during next month’s race weekend at World Wide Technology Raceway (Aug. 23-24), the oval track located just east of St. Louis. Stay tuned for details on how to support the cause.

‘Jurassic Park’, ‘HUD’, ‘Brokeback Mountain’ Make Cut For National Film Registry List

The Library’s total moving-image collection is at 1.3 million pieces. Select titles from 30 years of the registry are available online in the National Screening Room.

Also making the cut today (see the full list below) is the Paul Newman-starrer Hud, musicals My Fair Lady and On the Town, James L Brooks’ Broadcast News, Alfred Hitchcock’s Rebecca, Kasi Lemmons’ 1997 indie Eve’s Bayou starring Samuel L. Jackson and the documentary Monterey Pop chronicling the seminal 1967 music festival.

In all, the movies selected span the years 1898-2005. TCM is airing a selection of this year’s inductees beginning tonight at 8 PM ET.

Here’s the full list, with the NFR’s descriptions:

Bad Day at Black Rock (1955)

Though only 81 minutes in length, “Bad Day” packs a punch. Spencer Tracy stars as Macreedy, a one-armed man who arrives unexpectedly one day at the sleepy desert town of Black Rock. He is just as tight-lipped at first about the reason for his visit as the residents of Black Rock are about the details of their town. However, when Macreedy announces that he is looking for a former Japanese-American Black Rock resident named Komoko, town skeletons suddenly burst into the open. In addition to Tracy, the standout cast includes Robert Ryan, Anne Francis, Lee Marvin, Ernest Borgnine and Dean Jagger. Director John Sturges displays the western landscape to great advantage in this CinemaScope production.

Broadcast News (1987)

James L. Brooks wrote, produced and directed this comedy set in the fast-paced, tumultuous world of television news. Shot mostly in dozens of locations around the Washington, D.C. area, the film stars Holly Hunter, William Hurt and Albert Brooks. Brooks makes the most of his everyman persona serving as Holly Hunter’s romantic back-up plan while she pursues the handsome but vacuous Hurt. Against the backdrop of broadcast journalism (and various debates about journalist ethics), a grown-up romantic comedy plays out in a smart, savvy and fluff-free story whose humor is matched only by its honesty.

Brokeback Mountain (2005)

“Brokeback Mountain,” a contemporary Western drama that won the Academy Award for best screenplay (by Larry McMurtry and Diana Ossana) and Golden Globe awards for best drama, director (Ang Lee) and screenplay, depicts a secret and tragic love affair between two closeted gay ranch hands. They furtively pursue a 20-year relationship despite marriages and parenthood until one of them dies violently, reportedly by accident, but possibly, as the surviving lover fears, in a brutal attack. Annie Proulx, the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of the short story upon which the film was based, described it as “a story of destructive rural homophobia.” Haunting in its unsentimental depiction of longing, lonesomeness, pretense, sexual repression and ultimately love, “Brokeback Mountain” features Heath Ledger’s remarkable performance that conveys a lifetime of self-torment through a pained demeanor, near inarticulate speech and constricted, lugubrious movements. In his review, Newsweek’s David Ansen wrotes that the film was “a watershed in mainstream movies, the first gay love story with A-list Hollywood stars.” “Brokeback Mountain” has become an enduring classic.

Cinderella (1950)

It would take the enchanted magic of Walt Disney and his extraordinary team to revitalize a story as old as Cinderella. Yet, in 1950, Disney and his animators did just that with this version of the classic tale. Sparkling songs, high-production value and bright voice performances have made this film a classic from its premiere. Though often told and repeated across all types of media, Disney’s lovely take has become the definitive version of this classic story about a girl, a prince and a single glass slipper. Breathtaking animation fills every scene, including what was reportedly Walt Disney’s favorite of all Disney animation sequences: the fairy godmother transforming Cinderella’s “rags” into an exquisite gown and glass slippers.

Days of Wine and Roses (1962)

“Days of Wine and Roses” marked another in a series of Hollywood classics on the touchy subject of alcoholism. Previous examples on the theme include “The Lost Weekend” and “Come Back, Little Sheba.” Though his career prior to “Days” had been noted for a deft touch in light comedy, in this Academy Award-nominated performance, Jack Lemmon plays a hard-drinking San Francisco public-relations man who drags his wife Lee Remick into the horrific descent into alcoholism. Director Blake Edwards pulls no punches in this uncompromisingly bleak film. Henry Mancini composed the moving score, best remembered for the title song he and Johnny Mercer wrote, which won an Academy Award for best original song.

Dixon-Wanamaker Expedition to Crow Agency (1908)

The original nitrate footage that comprises the 1908 “Dixon-Wanamaker Expedition to Crow Agency” was discovered in a Montana antique store in 1982 and subsequently donated to the Human Studies Film Archives, Smithsonian Institution. It is the only known surviving film footage from the 1908 Rodman Wanamaker-sponsored expedition to record American Indian life in the west, filmed and produced both for an educational screening at Wanamaker’s department store in Philadelphia and to document what Wanamaker and photographer Joseph K. Dixon considered a “vanishing race.” Dixon and his son Roland shot motion picture film as well as thousands of photographs (most of the photographs are archived at Indiana University). This film captures life on Crow Agency, Crow Fair and a recreation of the Battle of Little Big Horn featuring four of Custer’s Crow scouts. Films from later Wanamaker expeditions are archived at the National Archives and the American Museum of Natural History. The original film was photochemically preserved at Cinema Arts in 1983.

Eve’s Bayou (1997)

Written and directed by Kasi Lemmons and co-produced by co-star Samuel L. Jackson, “Eve’s Bayou” proved one of the indie surprises of the 1990s. The film tells a Southern gothic tale about a 10-year-old African-American girl who, during one long, hot Louisiana summer in 1962, discovers some harsh truths beneath her genteel family’s fragile façade. The film’s standout cast includes Jackson, Lynn Whitfield, Debbi Morgan, Diahann Carroll, Lisa Nicole Carson, Branford Marsalis and the remarkable Jurnee Smollett, who plays the lead. The tag line of this film was very apropos: “The secrets that hold us together can also tear us apart.”

The Girl Without a Soul (1917)

George Eastman Museum founding film curator James Card was a passionate devotee of silent film director John H. Collins’ work. It is through his influence that the museum is the principal repository of the director’s few extant films. As the expert on Collins’ legacy, the museum said he is “one of the great ‘What if…?’ figures of American cinema—a brilliantly creative filmmaker who went from being a costume department assistant to a major director within four short years, before dying at the age of 31 in the 1918 influenza pandemic. Collins’ films show both a subtle understanding of human nature and often breathtakingly daring cinematography and editing. The ‘Girl Without a Soul’ stars Viola Dana (to whom Collins was married) in a dual role as twin sisters, one of whom is a gifted violinist, and the other, a deeply troubled girl jealous of her sister’s abilities and the love bestowed upon her by their violinmaker father. This jealousy and the violinist sister’s unworldliness lead both into turbulent moral conflict, which takes considerable fortitude from both to overcome.” “The Girl Without a Soul” has been preserved by George Eastman Museum.

Hair Piece: A Film for Nappy-Headed People (1984)

“Hair Piece” is an insightful and funny short animated film examining the problems that African-American women have with their hair. Generally considered the first black woman animator, director Ayoka Chenzira was a key figure in the development of African-American filmmakers in the 1980s through her own films and work to expand opportunities for others. Writing in the New York Times, critic Janet Maslin lauded this eccentric yet jubilant film. She notes the narrator “tells of everything from the difficulty of keeping a wig on straight to the way in which Vaseline could make a woman’s hair ”sound like the man in ‘The Fly’ saying ‘Help me!’”

Hearts and Minds (1974)

Director Peter Davis describes his Academy Award-winning documentary “Hearts and Minds” (1974) as “an attempt to examine why we went to Vietnam, what we did there and what the experience did to us.” Compared by critics at the time to Marcel Ophuls’ acclaimed documentary “The Sorrow and the Pity” (1971), “Hearts and Minds,” similarly addressed the wartime effects of national myths and prejudices by juxtaposing interviews of government officials, soldiers, peasants and parents, cinéma vérité scenes shot on the home front and in South Vietnam, clips from ideological Cold War movies, and horrific archival footage. Author Frances FitzGerald praised the documentary as “the most moving film I’ve ever seen on Vietnam, because, for the first time, the camera lingers on the faces of Vietnamese and one hears their voices.” Author David Halberstam said it “brilliantly catches … the hidden, unconscious racism of the war.” Others from both ends of the political spectrum chided it as manipulative propaganda that oversimplified complexities.

Hud (1963)

Paul Newman received his third Oscar nomination for his portrayal of the title character, the handsome, surly and unscrupulous bad-boy son of a Texas rancher who locks horns with his father over business and family matters. Loosely based on Larry McMurtry’s debut novel, “Horseman, Pass By,” the film received seven Academy Award nominations, winning three: Patricia Neal (best actress), Melvyn Douglas (best supporting actor) and James Wong Howe (black-and-white cinematography). Motion Picture Academy President John Bailey in 2017 chronicled the production of the film and summed up some of his impressions of the film’s relevance 55 years after its release: “Naked and narcissistic self-interest have always been a dark undercurrent to the limpid surface stream of American optimism and justice, but it is not a reach to see the character of Hud as an avatar of the troubling cynicism of that other side of American Populism — the side that espouses a fake concern for one’s fellow man while lining one’s own pockets. Hud, a lothario at the wheel of his crashed convertible, raising a shroud of dust clouds in its trail, is nothing more than a flimflam 19th century snake-oil salesman and carnival barker. His type erupts over and over onto America’s psyche like a painful pustule.”

The Informer (1935)

This marks the 11th film directed by John Ford to be named to the National Film Registry, the most of any director. “The Informer” depicts with brutal realism the life of an informant during the Irish Rebellion of 1922, who turns in his best friend and then sees the walls closing in on him in return. Critic Andre Sennwald, writing in the New York Times, praised Ford’s direction: “In his hands ‘The Informer’ becomes at the same time a striking psychological study of a gutter Judas and a raw impressive picture of the Dublin underworld during the Black and Tan terror.” Ford and cinematographer Joseph August borrowed from German expressionism to convey the Dublin atmosphere. To this point, Ford had compiled a solid workmanlike career as he learned his craft. “The Informer” placed him in the top echelon of American film directors and over the next 20 years he crafted numerous other classics, from the 1939 “Stagecoach” through the 1962 “The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance.”

Jurassic Park (1993)

The concept of people somehow existing in the age of dinosaurs (or dinosaurs somehow existing in the age of people) has been explored in film and on television numerous times. No treatment, however, has ever been done with more skill, flair or popcorn-chomping excitement than this 1993 blockbuster. Set on a remote island where a man’s toying with evolution has run amok, this Steven Spielberg classic ranks as the epitome of the summer blockbuster. “Jurassic Park” was the top public vote-getter this year.

The Lady From Shanghai (1947)

The camera is the star in this stylish film noir. “Lady From Shanghai” is renowned for its stunning set pieces, the “Aquarium” scene, “Hall of Mirrors” climax, baroque cinematography and convoluted plot. Director Orson Welles had burst on the scene with “Citizen Kane” in 1941 and “The Magnificent Ambersons” in 1942, but had increasingly become seen as difficult to work with by the studios. As a result, Welles spent most of his career outside the studio sphere. “The Lady From Shanghai” marked one of his last films under a major studio (Columbia) with Welles and the executives frequently clashing over the budget, final editing of the film and the release date.

Leave Her to Heaven (1945)

Darkness and claustrophobia mark the visual style of many film noirs: the use of black-and-white or gloomy grays, low-key lighting, striking contrasts between light and dark, shadows, nighttime or interior settings and rain-soaked streets. “Leave Her to Heaven” proves the magnificent exception. Filmed in vibrant, three-strip Technicolor, many pivotal scenes occur in spectacular outdoor locations, shot by famed cinematographer Leon Shamroy in Arizona and California. A classic femme fatale, Gene Tierney stars as Ellen, whose charisma and stunning visage mask a possessive, sociopathic soul triggered by “loving too much.” Anyone who stands between her and those she obsessively loves tend to meet “accidental” deaths, most famously a teen boy who drowns in a chilling scene. Martin Scorsese has labeled “Heaven” as among his all-time favorite films and Tierney one of film’s most underrated actresses. “Leave Her to Heaven” makes a supremely compelling case for these sentiments.

Monterey Pop (1968)

This seminal music-festival film captures the culture of the time and performances from iconic musical talent. “Monterey Pop” also established the template for multi-camera documentary productions of this kind, predating both “Woodstock” and “Gimme Shelter.” In addition to director D. A. Pennebaker, Richard Leacock, Albert Maysles and others provided the superb camerawork. Performers include Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix, Otis Redding, Hugh Masekela, The Who, Jefferson Airplane, Simon and Garfunkel, and Ravi Shankar. As he recalled in a 2006 Washington Post article, Pennebaker decided to shoot and record the film using five portable 16mm cameras equipped with synchronized sound recording devices, while producers Lou Adler and John Phillips (Mamas and Papas) sagely had the whole concert filmed and recorded, and further enhanced the sound by hiring Wally Heider and his state-of-the-art mobile recording studio.

My Fair Lady (1964)

In the 1950s and 1960s, besieged by shifts in demographics and having much of its audience syphoned off by television, film studios knew they had to go big in their entertainment in order to lure people back to the theater. This film version of the musical “My Fair Lady” epitomized this approach with use of wide-screen technologies. Based on the sparkling stage musical (inspired by George Bernard Shaw’s play “Pygmalion”), “My Fair Lady” came to the big screen via the expert handling of director George Cukor. Cecil Beaton’s costume designs provided further panache, along with his, Gene Allen’s and George James Hopkins’ art and set direction. The film starred Rex Harrison, repeating his career-defining stage role as Professor Henry Higgins, and Audrey Hepburn (whose singing voice was dubbed by frequent “ghoster” Marni Nixon), as the Cockney girl, Eliza Doolittle. Though opulent in the extreme, all these elements blend perfectly to make “My Fair Lady” the enchanting entertainment that it remains today.

The Navigator (1924)

Buster Keaton burst onto the scene in 1920 with the dazzling two-reeler “One Week.” His feature “The Navigator” proved a huge commercial success and put Keaton in the company of Harold Lloyd and Charlie Chaplin in terms of audience popularity and films eagerly awaited by critics. Decades after release, Pauline Kael reviewed the film: “Arguably, Buster Keaton’s finest — but amongst the Keaton riches can one be sure?” Keaton plays an inept, foppish millionaire whose idea of a marriage proposal involves crossing the street in a chauffeured car, handing flowers to his girlfriend and popping the question. Later the two accidentally become stranded at sea on an abandoned boat and Keaton proves his worth by conceiving ingenious work-arounds to ensure they survive. The silent era rarely saw films rife with more creativity and imaginative gags.

On the Town (1949)

Three sailors with 24 hours of shore leave in New York doesn’t sound like much to build a film around, but when Gene Kelly, Frank Sinatra and Jules Munshin portray them under the sparkling direction of Stanley Donen (and Kelly), movie magic occurs. “On the Town” was based upon the Comden and Green Broadway musical of the same name. Shot on location all over New York City, the film carries over such splendid songs as “New York, New York,” the close-to-opening iconic scene with the sailor trio performing while still in their navy togs. Female song-and-dance pros Vera-Ellen, Betty Garrett and Ann Miller match the guys step for step in the numerous musical numbers. “On the Town” represents the upbeat, post war musicals of the era, which summed up the national optimism of the period.

One-Eyed Jacks (1961)

Based on the 1956 Charles Neider novel, “The Authentic Death of Hendry Jones” (a loose retelling of the story of Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid), this Western marks Marlon Brando’s sole directorial effort. “One-Eyed Jacks” displays his trademark introspection and offbeat quirkiness. Brando’s novel approach to updating the Western film genre marks it as a key work in the transition period from Classic Hollywood (1930s through 1950s) to the new era that began in the 1960s and continues to the present day. As director Martin Scorsese and others have said, this evolution from “Old Hollywood” to “New Hollywood” involved a change from filmmaking primarily being about profit-making to a period when many directors create motion pictures as personal artistic expression.

Pickup on South Street (1953)

Samuel Fuller’s films are sometimes compared to the pulp novels of Mickey Spillane, though Fuller’s dynamic style dwarfs Spillane. With films often crass but always provocative, Fuller described his mantra of filmmaking: “Film is like a battleground, with love, hate, action, violence, death … in one word, emotion.” Considered by some as the archetypal Sam Fuller film and a nice summary of the main themes in his work, “Pickup on South Street” is a taut, Cold War thriller. The fast-paced plot follows a professional pickpocket who accidently lifts some secret microfilm from his mark. Patriotism or profit? Soon, the thief is being pursued not only by the woman he stole from, but also by Communist spies and U.S. government agents. The film culminates in a landmark brutal subway-based fight scene. It is arguably the classic anti-Communist film of the 1950s and a dazzling display of the seedy New York underlife. In particular, Thelma Ritter’s excellent tough-yet-nuanced performance as Moe Williams stands out and earned her an Academy Award nomination for best supporting actress, which was highly unusual for what was considered at the time a lurid and violent B-movie.

Rebecca (1940)

“Rebecca,” Daphne du Maurier’s most famous book (“Last night I dreamt I went to Manderley again…”), found its perfect cinematic interpreter in Alfred Hitchcock, here directing his first American motion picture. Powerhouse producer David O. Selznick had just imported the “master of suspense” from his native England. Laurence Olivier stars as Maxim de Winter and Joan Fontaine in her breakthrough role co-stars as Maxim’s new (and never given a first name) wife. However, it is two other women who dominate the film—the intimidating housekeeper Mrs. Danvers (played by Judith Anderson) and the film’s title woman, the deceased first Mrs. de Winter whose powerful shadow still hangs heavily over this great estate and all its inhabitants. Winner of the Oscar for best picture that year, “Rebecca” is stylish, suspenseful and a classic.

The Shining (1980)

Director Stanley Kubrick’s take on Stephen King’s terrifying novel has only grown in esteem through the years. The film is inventive in visual style, symbolism and narrative as only a Kubrick film can be. Long but multi-layered, “The Shining” contains stunning visuals — rivers of blood cascading down deserted hotel hallways, disturbing snowy mazes and a mysterious set of appearing and disappearing twins — with iconic performances by Jack Nicholson and Shelley Duvall.

Smoke Signals (1998)

Native American directors are a rarity in Hollywood. After the early silent film pioneers James Young Deer and Edwin Carewe, the portrayal of Native Americans in cinema turned dark and stereotypical. These social trends started changing with motion pictures like the groundbreaking “Smoke Signals,” generally considered to be the first feature film written, directed and produced by Native Americans. Director Chris Eyre uses the relaxed road-movie concept to create a funny and unpretentious look at Native Americans in the nation’s cinema and culture. The mostly Native American cast features Adam Beach and Evan Adams as the two road warriors who find themselves on a hilarious adventure. Beneath the highly entertaining façade, the film acquainted non-Native American audiences with real insights into the indigenous Americans’ culture. Sherman Alexie penned the witty, droll script based his book “The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven.” This Miramax release was a big hit on the independent film circuit and won numerous awards, including a Sundance award.

Something Good – Negro Kiss (1898)

According to scholars and archivists, this recently discovered 29-second film may represent the earliest example of African-American intimacy on-screen. American cinema was a few years old by 1898 and distributors struggled to entice audiences to this new medium. Among their gambits to find acceptable “risqué” fare, the era had a brief run of “kissing” films. Most famous is the 1896 Edison film “The Kiss,” which spawned a rash of mostly inferior imitators. However, in “Something Good,” the chemistry between vaudeville actors Saint Suttle and Gertie Brown was palpable. Also noteworthy is this film’s status as the earliest known surviving Selig Polyscope Company film. The Selig Company had a good run as a major American film producer from its founding in 1896 until its ending around 1918. “Something Good” exists in a 19th-century nitrate print from the University of Southern California Hugh Hefner Moving Image Archive. USC Archivist Dino Everett and Dr. Allyson Nadia Field of the University of Chicago discovered and brought this important film to the attention of scholars and the public. Field notes, “What makes this film so remarkable is the non-caricatured representation and naturalistic performance of the couple. As they playfully and repeatedly kiss, in a seemingly improvised performance, Suttle and Brown constitute a significant counter to the racist portrayal of African Americans otherwise seen in the cinema of its time. This film stands as a moving and powerful image of genuine affection, and is a landmark of early film history.”

Rahal's admiration for Newman makes SeriousFun a must to support

"I wanted, I think, to acknowledge Luck: the chance of it, the benevolence of it in my life, and the brutality of it in the lives of others; made especially savage for children because they may not be allowed the good fortune of a lifetime to correct it."

With the help of racers, Newman’s legacy of benevolence continues.

INDYCAR and SeriousFun Children’s Network, which operates the original Ashford, Connecticut, camp and 29 others around the world, have partnered to carry on the charitable cause of the late actor, racer and team owner. The partnership will help raise money and awareness for the network, including public-service announcements, fundraisers and track visits.

Paul Newman and Graham RahalGraham Rahal, who drove for Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing from 2007-2010, has taken the lead in helping the partnership. (Rahal is shown with Newman in the photo at right in 2008).

“There’s no man who ever had a larger effect on me as a person than Paul,” Rahal said. “Everything that we do relates to him. There’s no doubt about that.”

Named for the gang in the hit 1969 feature film “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid” starring Newman and Robert Redford, the camp launched in 1988 to give children with serious illnesses a place to have fun and, as Newman once said, “raise a little hell.” It eventually grew into SeriousFun’s network, which includes nine camps in the United States.

When he first heard about the partnership between SeriousFun and INDYCAR, 2017 Verizon IndyCar Series champion Josef Newgarden knew he had to be involved.

“It was an easy sell to get involved and be a part of it,” said Newgarden, who’s serving as a SeriousFun driver ambassador. “I grew up as a big fan of Paul Newman but unfortunately never got to spend much time with him. He was a true racer and a great guy. … He had a big passion for everything he did.”

SeriousFun recently delivered its one-millionth life-changing camp experience, all free of charge, for children and their families. It emerged from Newman’s goal to provide ill children with a fun experience. More camps emerged, funded by Newman’s Own, the food company that has raised $500 million for charitable causes since 1982.

While famous as a movie star, Newman found his passion in motorsports. After filming “Winning” in 1969, he became deeply involved in racing. Partnering motorsports with his charitable causes is a natural fit.

“He was never all that comfortable in Hollywood and all of that,” said daughter Clea Newman, an ambassador for SeriousFun. “(Racing) was an extraordinary community that he was so comfortable in. It was like his other family. He was also known very much for giving back, and certainly giving back to people that were less fortunate than him. He also felt so lucky in his life.”

The official partnership will include a text-to-give program that urges fans to donate by texting “KIDS” to 900900. A public-service announcement will run throughout the month of May at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, where the 102nd Indianapolis 500 presented by PennGrade Motor Oil runs on Sunday, May 27.

“This will be the very first time in INDYCAR’s history that we’ve had an official charity as part of our organization,” said C.J. O’Donnell, chief marketing officer for INDYCAR and Indianapolis Motor Speedway. “While we’ve been committed to charities and continue to be across the paddock and throughout the series, this is a strong first step for us in establishing a tie with a charity that we feel is very much a part of us and has been a part of us for a long time.”

Newman died in 2008, but his philanthropic gifts continue. Rahal, whose dad Bobby first drove for Newman in Can-Am in 1982, started a foundation of his own in 2009.

“Instantly there was a huge void left for everyone in this sport,” Graham Rahal said of Newman’s death. “I felt I wanted to get more involved because of the spirit Paul had given me. My foundation was born from Paul and the inspiration he gave me. No person has had an influence on my life like Paul Newman in the time I had with him. … Trust me, Paul Newman – the name, the influence and all the thoughts and the time I got with him over those couple of years – it runs through me every single day.”

Susan Sarandon: Paul Newman shared salary to bridge gender pay gap

Hollywood’s gender pay gap has been a hot topic since 2014, when leaked documents revealed Jennifer Lawrence and Amy Adams, the female stars of American Hustle, were paid less than their male counterparts.

Susan said that she faced the problem when filming the 1998 neo-noir thriller Twilight, but that Paul gave up a portion of his salary to help bridge the pay gap.

“Emma Stone once came forward and said she got equal pay because her male stars insisted upon it and gave up something of theirs,” she told BBC Radio 5 Live in an interview marking International Women’s Day. “That happened to me with Paul Newman at one point, when I did a film with him ages ago.”

She explained that Newman had, “stepped forward and said ‘Well, I’ll give you part of mine’. So yeah – he was a gem”.

Figures across the movie industry have vowed to stamp out mistreatment of women in the wake of the scandals surrounding movie mogul Harvey Weinstein, who is alleged to have sexually harassed or assaulted actresses starring in his films, and other filmmakers and stars.

But Susan, 71, believes the “casting couch” culture which involves actresses having to sleep with movie executives to win roles will never disappear entirely.

“I don’t think it will ever go away,” she explained. “I think what will go away is the unwanted exchange, but I think that giving yourself sexually, or being drawn to power and wanting to have sex with someone that’s in power is also a choice.

“What we don’t want to have is (people) being exploited and to have the Harvey Weinsteins of the world holding it over your head and holding it over your project – that is the most despicable.”

"The most iconic wristwatch of the 20th century": Paul Newman's Rolex Daytona sells for $17.7 million

It far surpasses the $11.1 million price achieved by a Patek Philippe ref. 1518 perpetual calendar chronograph in steel one year ago, previously the most expensive wristwatch ever sold; and the $5 million Rolex owned by the former emperor of Vietnam, Bao Dai, sold in May this year and thus for a short while the most expensive Rolex ever. All three records were achieved by Phillips in association with Bacs & Russo, a specialist vintage watch agency led by auctioneer Aurel Bacs.

The most expensive watch of any kind ever sold remains the Patek Philippe “Supercomplication” made in the 1930s for the industrialist Henry Graves, sold by Sotheby’s Geneva in 2014 for CHF 23,237,000 (around £17,735,000). In that instance, Bacs was also the winning bidder, on behalf of a private client.

“Without exaggeration, this is for many in the room the most iconic Rolex wristwatch in the world, possibly the most iconic wristwatch of the 20th century,” Bacs declared as he opened the bidding for the Ref 6239 Rolex Oyster Cosmograph Daytona (its proper full designation). The Cosmograph Daytona being Rolex’s automotive-inspired chronograph that launched in 1963, the “Paul Newman” nickname refers to certain versions made between 1963 and the mid-1970s, also known as “exotic dial” Daytonas. These have contrast-colour "panda" dials – either white with black sub-dials, or black with white sub-dials – with unusual square-tipped indexes on the sub-dials. Especially desirable models, including Paul Newman’s own version, have a red seconds indexes around the edge of the dial.

The exotic dial models sold poorly and Rolex ceased producing them in the 1970s. It was only in the late 1980s that watch collectors began seeking such models out due to their relative rarity; the association with Paul Newman, photographed several times wearing the watch, would spur their desirability. In particular, prices rocketed during the 2000s, though Newman’s version smashes the $3.7 million record for a Rolex Daytona – an ultra-rare Paul Newman version in yellow gold, sold by Bacs for Phillips in May this year.

Newman’s own version, a Ref. 6239 Cosmograph Daytona made in 1963, was given to him by his wife, the actress Joanne Woodward. Newman being a keen racing driver, Rolex’s chronograph designed for motor racing would have been a natural and obvious choice.

It is thought that the watch was purchased either during or following filming of the 1969 film Winning, in which Newman played the racing driver Frank Capa and Woodward played his wife. In 1984 Newman gifted the watch to James Cox, the boyfriend of his daughter Nell Newman, who happened to lack a watch of his own at the time. Cox and Nell Newman remained close friends, and a portion of the sale proceeds are going to benefit the Newman’s Own charitable foundation.

Drew Barrymore still hangs with Will Kopelman

The watch, currently on display, is expected to fetch up to $10 million at a Thursday auction. Barrymore even tried it on.

The 1968 timepiece was a gift to race-car-driving Newman from his wife Joanne Woodward, who famously inscribed it, “Drive Carefully — Me.”

Why I Care: Rahal follows charitable examples set by parents, Newman

After getting a primer on charitable work from his parents at home, Rahal found himself watching one of racing's most successful philanthropists, late actor Paul Newman, when he broke into Indy car racing in 2007.

“When I talked to Paul about all the things he had done, it was crazy. He raised a ridiculous amount of money for charity – it was absolutely phenomenal,” said Rahal, driver of the No. 15 Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing and son of three-time Indy car champion Bobby Rahal.

“Paul wasn't a (Microsoft founder) Bill Gates where he made billions and just donated it. He went out and fought for it and got it. I tell everybody, ‘When you go to the grocery store, buy Newman's Own products because that money goes to help kids in need and there's nothing better to support than that.’”

The late Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing co-owner and film star's Newman's Own brand has donated more than $460 million to charity since 1982. Newman used funds from his food product lines to establish the “Hole in the Wall Gang Camp” in 1988, which offered children fighting serious illnesses an opportunity to forget about their medical battles for a while and, as Newman put it, “raise a little hell.”

Named after the hideout used by Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid – the pair made famous in the film of the same name starring Newman and Robert Redford – the first camp transformed into a network with a global reach. Now known as the Serious Fun Children's Network, there are 30 camps around the world that have welcomed about 500,000 kids in the past two decades.

After seeing the Hollywood star’s charity lose momentum in motorsports after Newman passed away in 2008, the Rahal felt compelled to act.

“Everything in his life was about laughing and smiling. When he was here, Hole in the Wall Camps was always involved in Indy car and always a part of it, and when he passed, it kind of disappeared in 2009 and that really ticked me off. I took it personally and that's why I started my foundation,” Rahal said.

“I choose the causes based on Paul Newman because of the opportunities in life that he gave me, among others. Typically, it's all focused on kids and helping those in need.”

Rahal also got a good dose of civic responsibility from parents who have been hugely involved in helping good causes over the years. His 1986 Indianapolis 500-winning father works tirelessly to raise money for the Nationwide Children's Hospital in Columbus, Ohio, through the Bobby Rahal Foundation.

One of the world's leading children's hospitals, it features the Bobby and Debi Rahal Bone Marrow Transplant Wing in recognition of his parents’ fundraising efforts and donations.

“I grew up with four healthy kids in my family, with great parents, financial stability and a nice home and all those sorts of things, but not everybody gets that,” Graham said. “I have always felt that it's my job, as it was my parents' to give back and help improve the lives of others who haven't been so fortunate. It's a big part of my life.

“The foundation is just myself and one or two other people who help run it in their spare time. We have raised a couple million dollars, but I'd like to see it grow and get my wife (NHRA drag racer Courtney Force) further involved. Courtney is about the most passionate person I have seen with kids and I think together we could do a lot.”

In addition to the Serious Fun Network, money raised by the Graham Rahal Foundation (www.grahamrahal.com/foundation) goes to Alex's Lemonade Stand Foundation for Childhood Cancer. Alex's Lemonade Stand started in 2000 when 4-year-old cancer patient Alexandra Scott sold drinks on her front lawn to help raise money to help find a cure for the disease. It quickly grew into a national charity and, before she died in 2004, the lemonade stands had raised more than $1 million.

Rahal has also been front and center when tragedy struck the INDYCAR paddock. Following the deaths of Dan Wheldon in 2011 and Justin Wilson last year, Rahal moved quickly in support of the fallen drivers' families.

Soon after Wheldon lost his life in an accident during the 2011 season finale, Rahal organized an online auction of sports memorabilia that raised $630,000 to help Dan’s wife Susie and his sons Sebastian and Oliver. A similar effort following Wilson's death in 2015 saw almost $640,000 go to Justin’s wife Julia and daughters Jessica and Jane.

“They were two great guys and better people than they were competitors, which says a lot,” Rahal said. “It was my job to help them and take care of them.”

“Justin had more of an effect on my life than any other driver. He was my teammate when I was a kid (2008 at Newman/Haas/Lanigan), and I never learned so much than I did from that guy. He was totally selfless and just wanted to help mold me, I felt, and who could just make me a better driver and tougher competitor.”

Graham is also helping military veterans with every race lap he turns in 2016. United Rentals, one of Rahal Letterman Lanigan’s sponsors, announced last week that it would donate $50 for every lap he completes this season to Turns for Troops (www.turnsfortroops.com), a program with the non-profit organization SoldierStrong dedicated to helping veterans who sustained major injuries while serving their country.

With Rahal totaling 951 laps completed at the midpoint of the season, the initiative has already raised $47,550.

“Being an American and as passionate as I am about supporting the military in general, without a doubt, it feels good,” Rahal said. “Anything that we can do to help veterans is key.”

Wealth of racing and other memorabilia added to online auction benefiting Wilson Children’s Fund

Items available for bid include donations from Formula One, NASCAR, sports car and Global Rallycross drivers and teams, the USA Soccer men’s national team, National Football League players and the entertainment world, as well as additional items submitted by Verizon IndyCar Series drivers and teams.

To view the current list of items for bid, go to http://stores.ebay.com/Celebrity-Charity-Auctions/Justin-Wilson-Memorial.

All proceeds from the auction go to the fund for the family of Verizon IndyCar Series driver Justin Wilson, who died Aug. 24 after suffering a head injury in a race the day before. The first group of auction items consisted of signed racing helmets donated by 19 Verizon IndyCar Series drivers and racing legend Mario Andretti. The helmet worn by 2015 series champion Scott Dixon went for more than $18,000 when its auction concluded Sept. 22. The remaining helmets are available for bidding through 9 p.m. ET Sept. 24.

The new group of auction items, 78 items in all, is available for bidding through the evening of Sept. 28. Among the highlight items, by category, are:

Formula One: Fernando Alonzo’s race-worn firesuit, shoes and gloves from the 2015 Austrian Grand Prix, Jenson Button’s race-worn helmet and Daniel Ricciardo’s race-worn firesuit;
NASCAR: autographed firesuits, hats, gloves, visors and more from the likes of Jeff Gordon, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Jimmie Johnson, Brad Keselowski, Michael Waltrip and many others;
Sports cars: the firesuit worn by race winner Jordan Taylor at this year’s 24 Hours of Le Mans;
USA Soccer: jerseys signed by recently retired Landon Donovan, goalkeeper Brad Guzan and one signed by the entire men’s national team;
NFL: footballs signed by Hall of Famer Walter Payton and Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Alex Smith, and a jersey signed by Dallas Cowboys tight end Jason Witten;
Entertainment: a Roger Daltrey-autographed microphone used at The Who’s concert this year at the Glastonbury Festival; a framed 1982 Hall & Oates “Private Eyes” Australian gold record, signed by John Oates; and a 14-by-11 “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid” movie reprint photo signed by the late Paul Newman;
Verizon IndyCar Series: the racing helmet used by Stefan Wilson when he drove as a teammate to brother Justin at Baltimore in 2013; helmets worn by Will Power, Pippa Mann, Tristan Vautier, Sarah Fisher, Stefano Coletti and Carlos Huertas; a Marco Andretti race-worn firesuit; one-of-a-kind, signed San Francisco Giants baseball jerseys with the last names and car numbers of 2015 championship contenders Scott Dixon, Juan Pablo Montoya, Graham Rahal, Helio Castroneves and Josef Newgarden embroidered on the back; and a Giants baseball jersey with “Wilson” and “25” on the back to represent Justin’s car number, signed by all the drivers who competed in the season-ending GoPro Grand Prix of Sonoma.

“We’ve had a great response for the first batch of items,” said Rahal, who has spearheaded the auction effort through eBay, Auction Cause and the Graham Rahal Foundation. “The helmets all went through the roof and, Monday night, we had a great bunch of new items go up. … There’s a lot of ball caps and items from The Who, UFC, footballs, hockey stuff. People need to take another look and see what they can find.

“It’s going good. I’m proud of the effort that everybody has put in and can’t thank everyone enough for getting us this far down the road.”

Fans can sell their own Wilson-related items on eBay and designate the Graham Rahal Foundation as their chosen charity, with proceeds also donated to the Wilson Children’s Fund.

Additionally, a limited edition reproduction of 50 signed and numbered prints of noted artist Bill Patterson’s original work depicting Wilson’s final Indy car victory at Texas Motor Speedway in 2012 – painted live Aug. 31 at the Verizon IndyCar Series Championship Celebration – are available at http://billpatterson.com/justin-wilson-memorial-print, with $100 of each print sold contributed to the fund.

Tribute T-shirts are available at http://shop.ims.com/indycar/drivers/justin-wilson/, with proceeds also directed to the fund.

Contributions can be made directly to the fund at http://justinwilson.co.uk/donate or by mail to: Wilson Children’s Fund, c/o Forum Credit Union, PO Box 50738, Indianapolis, IN 46250-0738.

The Indianapolis Motor Speedway will host "Celebrating the Life of Justin Wilson," to honor Wilson’s memory, from 4-6 p.m. ET Sept. 29. The event is open only to members of the racing community and invited media, but fans can watch via live streaming on IndyCar.com.

Paul Newman’s family at odds with Newman’s Own honcho

“I will not be muzzled any longer,” she declares in Vanity Fair’s August issue about Robert Forrester, Newman’s longtime friend and adviser who took charge of Newman’s Own after the star’s death, in 2008.

“Some family members may be angry at me for speaking out, but I feel like the Newman family has been taken hostage by Bob Forrester,” she further told Mark Seal.

The bitter battle stems in part from a dispute over Newman’s will, which was amended a dozen times. Susan, who has four sisters, claims, “I was told each daughter would inherit a million dollars .?.?. and my father would set up foundations for each of us .?.?. funded with up to $30 million or more per daughter.”

She also claims the sisters were to serve on Newman’s Own board. But, “We had the rug pulled out from under us.”

Forrester counters: “Paul never thought of Newman’s Own as a family enterprise .?.?. At one time, he was giving some thought to having one daughter on each board serving a time-limited term, but ultimately decided against doing so.” And, “Everything we are doing today is in line with Paul’s way of doing things.”

Newman’s widow, Joanne Woodward, did not comment for the story.

Renée Zellweger, Annette Bening, More Celeb Supporters Step Out at Charity Gala Honoring Paul Newman

The actress, 46, was all smiles – in a copper-toned mid-length dress with long sheer sleeves, her hair up in a bun – as she introduced Natalie Cole, who went on to play a three-song set as part of a fun and freewheeling evening.

Zellweger is not seen at many Hollywood functions these days, but she makes exceptions for charity work. The Oscar winner also attended the ALS Association Golden West Chapter's One Starry Night benefit last month, where she happily chatted about her boyfriend of more than two years, musician Doyle Bramhall II.

Among the other stars at Thursday's gala were Jamie Foxx, Jay Leno, Michael Keaton, Annette Bening, Danny DeVito, Rhea Pearlman, Carole King, Anjelica Huston and Burt Bacharach.

Many of them spoke lovingly of Newman, who died in 2008 at age 83, and who was a tireless advocate for sick children. The mood was celebratory, just as it was at SeriousFun's New York City gala in March, where George Clooney and others recalled Newman's charm and generosity.

"Tonight is really about Paul Newman. And Paul Newman, what a giant," Bening, 56, said on the red carpet. "I met him at one of the first events I went to for these camps. It was a small dinner, and I got to sit next to him. And he was so charming. He was so handsome, but he was also modest and had true humility."

"First of all, best blue eyes in the world," added Huston, 63, with a laugh. Of his charitable work, she observed: "It's a very quiet but very meaningful legacy. What he did was without fanfare."

The evening also featured many special kids from SeriousFun, along with performances by King and Bacharach and a big sing-along to Katy Perry's "Roar" led by DeVito, Bening, Zellweger and Huston.

Paul Newman Racing Doc 'Winning' Lands TrueCar As Sponsor

Winning –which takes its name from Newman’s 1969 sports film– follows the Oscar-winning actor’s obsession with auto-racing as seen through on-and-off-the track footage and interviews with Newman, his wife Joanne Woodward as well as Tom Cruise, Robert Redford, Robert Wagner and Patrick Dempsey. Famed racers Mario Andretti, Michael Andretti, Sebastien Bourdais and Graham Rahal are also featured. Jay Leno, who appears in the film, exclaimed “This is the best racing documentary I’ve ever seen.”

Winning made its world premiere last month at Hollywood’s El Capitan Theater, prior to the Long Beach Grand Prix Weekend. Special screenings kick off in 10 cities on May 8 ahead of the film’s May 22 premiere at the Imax Theater Indiana State Museum in Indianapolis, IN, an event which is part of the Indy 500 festivities. The doc can also be downloaded at iTunes. Winning will be playing at the following theaters from May 8-14: Atlanta, GA (Plaza Theater); Boise, ID (The Flicks Boise); Cleveland, OH (Tower City Cinemas); Denver, CO (The Kress Cinema); Detroit, MI (Cinema Detroit); Los Angeles, CA (Laemmle’s NoHo 7); Millerton, NY (The Moviehouse); Philadelphia, PA (The Roxy Theater); Seattle, WA (Dragonfly Cinema) and Tampa, FL (Cinema 6).

Along with TrueCar, Nissan Motor Co. and sports apparel maker Spyder are also presenting sponsors for Winning. True Car’s involvement also includes a contribution to Newman’s Racing for Cancer initiative.

Star gazing at the premiere of Newman racing documentary

Sebastien Bourdais, who won a history-making four consecutive Indy car championships for the Oscar-winning actor's team and appeared in the documentary, attended, as did Graham Rahal, who was also in the film. Rahal was 19 when he became the youngest winner in Indy car history while racing for Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing in 2008.

Others in the VIP audience included Michael Andretti, who won an Indy car championship for Newman’s team in 1991; Justin Wilson, who brought Newman his final victory in 2008; Oriel Servia, another of his race winners; James Hinchcliffe, who drove for Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing in 2011; and Simon Pagenaud.

Although the premiere included the usual glamour that comes with Hollywood events – a red carpet entrance, lots of picture-taking and the opportunity to rub shoulders with celebrities ("Bachelor" couple Chris Soules and Whitney Bischoff were there, as was Jimmy Kimmel, whose theater is next door to the El Capitan.) – it was clear that the audience was focused on the documentary, which was produced by Newman fan and car lover Adam Carolla, who also attended. Actor and racer Patrick Dempsey, who appears in the documentary, was there, too, as was Ronn Moss, who played Ridge Forrester on the soap opera “The Bold and the Beautiful.”

Another collection of stars is expected for a second premiere in Indianapolis on May 22, two days before the 99th Running of the Indianapolis 500. It also opens in selected theaters nationwide that day and in video-on-demand format.

Rahal looking forward to documentary on his 'hero'

“He’s my hero. I really think Paul Newman is the standard for what a human being should be,” Rahal said.

Newman, who died in September 2008, was a mentor and friend to the teenage Rahal, who broke into Indy car racing in 2007 with Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing.

“I don’t think enough people give him credit for everything he did accomplish, all that he’s done for charity and his passion for Indy car racing in particular,” Rahal continued. “He and Carl (Haas) and Mike Lanigan gave me my first shot professionally and were loyal to me.”

On April 16, Rahal will attend the charity premiere of “Winning: The Racing Life of Paul Newman” -- a documentary showcasing Newman’s 35 years as both a prolific driver and owner -- at the El Capitan Theater in Los Angeles. It was directed by radio personality Adam Carolla and Nate Adams. Featured in the film are Newman’s wife, Joanne Woodward, Robert Redford, Robert Wagner, Patrick Dempsey, Jay Leno, Mario Andretti, Michael Andretti, Sebastien Bourdais, Tom Cruise and Rahal.

Celebrities featured on the red carpet (6 p.m. local) include Jimmy Kimmel, Peter Fonda, James Marsden, Sean Patrick Flanery, Neal McDonough, Maya Stojan, Harland Williams, Chris McDonald, Trevor Donova, Dempsey and Verizon IndyCar Series drivers.

“He was an incredible man and somebody we all look up to,” Rahal said. “I’m looking forward to seeing the documentary; I’m sure Adam Carolla has done a great job.”

Newman became interested in auto racing while training at Watkins Glen Racing School for the 1969 feature film “Winning.” His first professional event as a racer was in 1972 at Thompson International Speedway, and he was a frequent competitor in Sports Car Club of American events. He won four national championships.

Founded in 1983 with Carl Haas, Newman/Haas Racing scored 107 Indy car wins, 109 poles and secured eight driver championships with drivers Mario Andretti (1984), Michael Andretti (1991), Nigel Mansell (1993), Cristiano da Matta (2002) and Sebastien Bourdais (2004, 2005, 2006 and ‘07).

In 2008 at St. Petersburg, Rahal became the youngest winner of an Indy car race (19 years, 93 days) in a Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing entry. Lanigan became a co-owner in 2007.

Rahal also was impacted by Newman’s philanthropy. The Graham Rahal Foundation was founded in 2009 to support Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation and SeriousFun Children’s Network, which Newman founded.

“Everything that I carried on and everything that we do with my foundation is simply to carry on Paul’s tradition,” he said. “I love giving back and love to pay it forward. Paul Newman is the one who inspired me to do so.”

Another charity screening of the film is scheduled for May 22 in Indianapolis in conjunction with the Indianapolis 500. All proceeds from ticket sales will benefit Racing For Cancer and The Indy Family Foundation.

New book gives inside scoop on old Hollywood

Kramer recalls how Paul Newman was constantly pranking her over years of working together.

“I’ve often called the Newmans at their homes,” Kramer recalls, and, “Unlike so many big stars, they usually answered their own phone .?.?. The first voice I’d hear would be Paul’s.”

In 1983, Kramer dialed Newman’s wife, Joanne Woodward, but “before I’d caught on to his deviousness, [Paul] said, ‘Joanne’s not here. She’s in Calcutta — playing in summer stock.’”

Kramer said she thought Woodward didn’t like to fly.

“She will if I’m with her,” the “Cool Hand Luke” star explained, “So I took her on my plane and I’ll pick her up in about three weeks and bring her home.”

He said Woodward didn’t mind the Calcutta heat in July because she grew up in Georgia.

Another time, Newman answered and told Kramer “through clenched teeth,” “I told you never to call me at this number. She’s home. Meet me on Route 6, motel room number five. The key’ll be under the mat.”

She then heard Woodward laughing in the background.

For a 1987 film on James Stewart, Heeley asked the “It’s a Wonderful Life” star, who was a brigadier general in the Air Force Reserve, “Can you describe for me a typical day when you were the lead pilot in a [WWII] bombing mission ?”

Stewart “looked directly at me without smiling and said, ‘No.’ That was it. No explanation. Just one word: ‘No.’?”

Another producer later warned Heeley, “Yes, he’s wonderful to work with, and yes, most of the time he’s quiet and gentle. But don’t f–k with him.”

The Beaufort Books tome is out April 16.

'A Walk In The Woods' Gala Evokes Paul Newman & "Generosity" - Sundance

Noting that Newman had once told him how similar he and Redford were, the actor added, “I miss Paul; I still do.” A castmate of Redford’s in Butch Cassidy And The Sundance Kid and The Sting, Newman died in September 2008.

The mentioning of Newman tonight was rather fitting as he originally was intended for the role Nolte plays in the film. Soon after optioning Bill Bryson’s 1998 book of the same name over a decade ago, Redford wanted to team up a third time with Newman on the big-screen adaptation. However, years of hurdles getting the film made and the actor’s declining health eventually made Redford and Newman reunion in A Walk In The Woods a non-starter.

“There’s nothing I think stronger than generosity when an actor works with another actor,” the Sundance founder told the audience, picking up on Nolte’s remarks about Newman. While a presence at every Sundance since the start, A Walk In The Woods is the first film Redford has had in the festival since 2004’s The Clearing.

Directed by Ken Kwapis and shot mainly in Atlanta, A Walk In The Woods follows two old and estranged friends tackling the Appalachian Trail and some hard truths about growing old. While the film officially had its first screening earlier in the day in Park City, the SLC gala was the first attended by the cast and crew, as Sundance is steadily making Utah’s largest city part of its annual fest. Kwaois, Bryson, co-star Nick Offerman and the film’s producers joined Redford and Nolte onstage for a brief Q&A after the screening. Fellow co-stars Emma Thompson and Mary Steenburgen were not in attendance.

RCR wins #TBT with Paul Newman, Childress photo

I was minding my own business, researching Ryan Newman stats and drinking my morning coffee when I stumbled upon something super interesting.

Legendary film star and humanitarian Paul Newman was heavily involved in NASCAR and auto racing in general and used to drive race cars competitively -- doing so as recently as nine years ago, before his death in 2008.

Perhaps it's blind ignorance on my part that I was unaware of this, but I felt that this is worth sharing for anyone else who didn't realize the Academy Award-winning actor was just as comfortable on black asphalt as he was on the silver screen.

Newman competed in four NASCAR Rolex Grand-Am Sports Car Series events from 2000 to 2005, with his final start coming at the age of 80 (80!). In the 1995 24 Hours of Daytona at 70 years and 8 days old, he won in his class and became the oldest driver to be part of a winning team in a major sanctioned race.

Yes, the Oscar-winner for best actor in "The Color of Money" was just as successful in a completely different walk of life. Paul Newman was superhuman. (And have you tried his pineapple salsa?)

He also narrated the 2007 film "Dale," which chronicled the life and career of NASCAR Hall of Famer Dale Earnhardt.

A pair of tweets sent out Thursday morning then netted an even cooler find, after Richard Childress Racing's Manager of Digital and Social Media Jeff O'Keefe got involved and promised what was sure to be an awesome Throwback Thursday photo.

O'Keefe didn't disappoint.

Richard Childress! With Paul Newman! And five-time Sprint Cup Series winner Dave Marcis!

The picture shows the trio in the Cup garage at a race in the late 1990s and is just the coolest.

So congrats to RCR on winning Throwback Thursday this week.

Cannes festival tribute for Woodward and Newman

On Thursday, Cannes President Gilles Jacob announced this year's nominees for the festival standing beneath a photo of the married couple taken during their filming of "A New Kind of Love" in 1963.

The festival said the image is an opportunity "both to pay tribute to the memory of Paul Newman, who passed away in 2008, and to mark its undying admiration for Joanne Woodward, his wife and most favored co-star." It said, "The vision of these two lovers caught in a vertiginous embrace, oblivious of the world around them, invites us to experience cinema with all the passion of an everlasting desire."

Last year, to celebrate 65th anniversary, the official Cannes logo featured a demure Marilyn Monroe blowing out a candle on a birthday cake.

Cannes Unveils Poster For 66th Edition Featuring Joanne Woodward & Paul Newman

Newman's O

Trisha Yearwood To Perform At 'A Celebration of Paul Newman's Dream'

“This is the legacy of my husband, Paul, and he considered it to be his most important one,” Joanne said. “It is for that very reason that I find this delicate way, in my best manners, to ask friends and supporters to come together to help raise money – it’s about helping the children who need it.”

The Association of Hole in the Wall Camps is a global community of camps and programs for children with serious illnesses and their families. There are 14 member camps worldwide, including eight in the United States, five in Europe and one in Israel, as well as 10 programs in Africa, Asia and South America. Since 1988, more than 350,000 children and families from 50 countries have been served. For more information, please visit http://www.holeinthewallcamps.org.

The 2010 Celebration of Paul Newman’s Hole in the Wall Camps raised more than $3 million with the support of Renee Zellweger, Bette Midler, Bill Cosby, Stevie Wonder, John Mellencamp, Emmylou Harris, Lyle Lovett and many more.

Show-only tickets begin at $35 and are on sale through the Lincoln Center Box Office. Benefit tickets including a post-performance supper begin at $1,500 and are on sale through the benefit office at 212-245-6570 or rachelg@eventassociatesinc.com.

Paul Newman's Volkswagen Beetle once rocked the motor racing world

The trim little California car looks ready to drive to the beach or cruise down the Sunset Strip on a Saturday night. But buckle your seatbelt before you get to the asking price — $250,000.

Obviously, this is no ordinary Volkswagen. Indeed, it has an extraordinary history. In car talk circles, it's known as the Newman Bug, the VW that the late Paul Newman had customized into a "sleeper" racecar in the late 1960s.

It's an Indy Bug with a 300-horsepower engine, racing suspension and five-speed gearbox. On the outside, it looks like Herbie the "Love Bug." But try to beat it off the line and it will blow off your door handles.

Newman bought the car in 1963, and later he and the convertible appeared in some magazine advertisements for Volkswagen. In 1969, he asked Jerry Eisert, a renowned Indy Car builder in Costa Mesa, to make some modifications on the car, which included installing a bigger motor.

Eisert took out the backseat and replaced the stock VW motor with a Ford 351-cubic-inch engine — the equivalent of putting a rocket on a kid's red wagon. After Eisert's work was complete, Hollywood gossip had Newman racing the car on Mulholland Drive with some of his industry pals and also competing against all comers at local racetracks. Cool Hand Bug.

Newman's passion for racing blossomed after he made the 1969 film "Winning," and the experience of learning how to drive for that movie turned into a second career. For the next 15 years, he was a successful driver on the Sports Car Club of America circuit and, driving a Porsche, finished second at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1979.

Newman once told ESPN, "It actually took me three years of rearranging my schedule before I could find time to get my license and everything. After that, I never did a film between April and September or October. [Racing] was all I did."

In preparation for "Winning," Newman and the film's co-star, Robert Wagner, took lessons at Bob Bondurant's driving school at Riverside Raceway. Soon after, Bondurant moved the school to Ontario Motor Speedway, and it was there one night in 1969 that Newman met Sam Contino, head of the automotive technology department at Chaffey College in Alta Loma.

Contino and his students were testing a car they had built — a Trans-American Sedan Series Camaro — as part of their "race car preparation technology" class, a three-unit course.

According to Contino, that night John DeLorean brought a new 1969 Camaro to the track for Bondurant, and Newman, who was on the speedway's board of directors, was putting a Formula Four open-wheel racer through its paces.

When Newman saw Contino and the students, he introduced himself.

"He looked at our Trans-Am Camaro and asked if he could drive it," Contino, 82, recently recalled. "After he drove it, he said, 'I'd like to show you one of my toys.'"

That's when the Chaffey class first saw the Newman Bug.

Newman told Bondurant that he was thinking of giving up the Volkswagen, but didn't know what to do with it. Bondurant suggested that he donate it to Chaffey's auto tech department.

"He said, 'It's yours if you want it,'" Contino said. "I had gotten some Chaffey jackets from the football team for our students to wear and we gave him a jacket." From then on, Newman was a sponsor of the Chaffey program.

The class added the Newman Bug to its collection of cars, which included a Trans-Am Boss 302 Mustang and two Ramblers that had been part of the James Garner Racing Team. The class turned one of the Ramblers into a Baja car for competition in Mexico road races and the other into a dragster.

They painted the VW the Chaffey school colors, white with red trim, and put on four Keystone chrome rims. Although they prepared the car for racing, it was used mostly as a training aid to show workmanship and construction.

In 1986, Contino retired from teaching at Chaffey and the school presented him the Newman Bug as a retirement gift. Contino and his son, Tom, did a complete restoration of the car in April 2009 and had plans to show it to Newman. But the actor died before the car was finished.

"The car is a tribute to Paul Newman for all that he did for us," Sam Contino said.

The Newman Bug was recently shown at the Long Beach Grand Prix, where it drew sizable crowds. "People look at it from a distance and think it's just a Volkswagen," Contino said, "but then they get closer and see the big Ford motor where the back seat should be, and it blows their minds."

Mostly, though, the car sits in Tom Contino's garage in Hesperia, awaiting a new owner.

"Sometimes I drive it around the block," Tom Contino said, "and my wife will take it out for ice cream."

Sam Contino said he hopes a car collector will buy it. Or, if a museum was interested, "I would be willing to give it up."

Paul Newman Called Elizabeth Taylor 'a Helluva Actress'

Even in the sanitized 1958 MGM version of Tennessee Williams's potent drama in which they costarred, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof – with the sultry Newman as the drunkard ex-athlete Brick and an indelible Taylor as his neglected wife, Maggie the Cat – the two sent audiences' pulses racing. But they were more than simply sex symbols. Both proved themselves Academy Award-level actors and world-class humanitarians.

Now, sadly, they are both gone. Newman died at age 83, in 2008, and Taylor, at 79, early Wednesday morning.

Fortunately, their performances remain – as does a tribute Newman paid Taylor on behalf of Turner Classic Movies. (See the video here.)

"What can you say about a legend?" Newman muses at the beginning of the four-minute video love letter. Acknowledging but not dwelling upon her remarkable violent eyes or stunning beauty, Newman instead concentrates on her screen presence, "her volatility, her sense of truth."

"On the screen," he said, "her very presence seemed to radiate charm."

And while "she practically grew up in front of the camera," Newman noted, "her life has not been an easy or a private one, but a series of tribulations, serious illnesses, senseless tragedy and lost love."

Left a widow during the making of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof when the private plane carrying her husband, impresario Mike Todd, crashed in New Mexico, Taylor continued acting as Maggie, finding the work therapeutic. "I was overwhelmed with her professionalism," Newman said.

"One thing for sure: She is not afraid to take chances in front of people. I find a lot of actors who reach the top, they become very protective of themselves, and self-indulgent, but not Elizabeth," added Newman. "I was always staggered by her ferocity."

Echoing a sentiment that was often said about Taylor – who was unstintingly devoted to friends (and costars) Rock Hudson, Montgomery Clift and Roddy McDowall – Newman said, "Not only is she a phenomenal actress, but she is also a generous human being and one who cherishes and works at her friendships. She gives her talent and her time unselfishly … She has risen above her pain and troubles to help others overcome theirs."

On Sunday April 10, Turner Classic Movies will present a 24-hour tribute to Elizabeth Taylor, with nine films, including the two for which she won the Best Actress Oscar, 1960's BUtterfield 8 and 1966's Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?

Daughter: Newman liked being on Nixon enemies list

Nell Newman's father died a year ago at age 83. She says he considered himself lucky and wanted to give back, leading to his passion for philanthropy.

His daughter gave a rare glimpse into the actor's life Monday in an interview with The Associated Press. Her company, Newman's Own Organics, is highlighting its partnership with McDonald's Corp., where it sells coffee.

She says her father enjoyed practical jokes and liked turning up on President Nixon's enemies list. She says he also preferred the company of race car mechanics to the Beverly Hills jet set.

Her company and Newman's Own have given $250 million to charities.

Scott Sharp's Paul Newman Memories

At 17, Sharp began taking part in Tuesday test sessions at Lime Rock in his Dad's SCCA national championship-winning Datsun 240Z. And once Scott began competing in races the following year, it didn't take long for him to reach success.

"It actually sat in our basement for years," Sharp said of the 240Z, which at the time was 17 years old. "I used to hang around it all the time, opening the doors, and showing it off to my friends. Then, my Dad's team did a little bit of an update to it, and I started driving it. The first year driving it, I won my first SCCA national championship."

Sharp's maiden title in 1986 was his first of three consecutive national championships, in the midst of the glory years of SCCA GT1 and GT2 competition. While Scott was working up the ladder, he not only looked up to his Dad, but also to a Hollywood legend who also was a quick shoe on the track.

Paul Newman began racing for BSR in the late '70s and was a fixture with the team for over a decade. In fact, Bob Sharp Racing became known as Newman Sharp Racing in the '80s, when the young Sharp was racking up the wins and national championships.

"I still have a lot of great memories of Paul," Scott said. "The guy was so personable and a lot of fun to be with. He always had a fun time no matter what he did. If you were with him you of course had a good time as well."

Sharp and Newman drove together as teammates in Trans-Am in 1989 and 1990 and also raced a handful of times in GT1 and GT2 competition. But most of Sharp's memories of Newman came right at their home track at Lime Rock, putting around during open test sessions.

"I remember one time we were up there in a regular production Nissan with a roll-cage in it with thin little shaved tires," Scott explained.

"We were out, and it was raining! We were trying to get tuned up for the end-of-year Runoffs at Road Atlanta. Paul said, 'Hey let's go take this car out.' It then started pouring.

"I went out and came down the hill and did three 360' spins. I ran off into the mud, luckily didn't hit the wall and had enough of it. I pulled into the pits and Paul decided to take it out.

"So he gets in and I'm in the passenger seat, and he's just hauling. I'm like, 'wow!' We went down the back straightaway and he just blows by the braking point that I had. All of a sudden, the car doesn't turn, then boom! He pancakes the thing.

"Laughing our butts off, we drive back to the pits with a totaled car. He was just laughing as he gave the key back to my Dad. We were all standing there stunned, but Paul was just having a good time. That was a great memory."

Newman, who earned four national titles over the span of a decade, helped mentor drivers like Scott, who were at the time just getting into the sport. He provided a lot of advice, mainly since he had raced many of the cars before, such as the 240Z and 280Z.

"One thing about Paul is that he was a very smooth driver," Scott said. "To think that he didn't start racing until he was 42 or 43 years old is amazing. As quick as he got, particularly when he was in his 60's, was pretty amazing. If he could have backed that up 20 years, he could have gone very, very far in racing."

Like the Sharp family, Lime Rock Park was Newman's home track, and his memories will live on for generations to come.

COUPLE OF JUNKYARD JOKES BETWEEN STARS

Julia Roberts Among the Stars for Paul Newman's Charity Fundraiser

Among what they had to say about Newman, who died last year, was:

• "We've done a lot of these galas," Julia Roberts said, after doing a dancing kick line with kids who have attended the camps. "And I've never stood up without my buddy Paul Newman. It seems so much easier to sing and dance and make a fool of yourself when he's right next to you. He encourages fun, more than any person I've ever met. "

• "I went up to the camp and Paul had me eat my first oyster," Jerry Seinfeld said during a sidesplitting stand-up routine. "I had never had an oyster in my life. And he convinced me to eat one. And it was horrible and it was exciting. And I thought, this will be gross and I'll have a story: I had my first oyster with Paul Newman."

• Former President Bill Clinton remembered meeting Newman as a "penniless law student" and then recalled his first visit to the first Hole in the Wall Camp in Connecticut as a "penniless governor" of Arkansas. "I have watched it since then," he said, "expand to "Florida, Ireland – which really touched my heart – France, and soon the Middle East." In fact, there are now camps, available to eligible children free of charge, in all 50 states and in 39 countries around the world, says the organization's Web site.

Harry Connick Jr., who performed "a little New Orleans Boogie Woogie" in Newman's honor, recalled once getting a voicemail from Newman that "changed my whole thing with my wife. I became more eloquent. He was the only guy who could really make you, as a man, feel like total crap. Feel like white trash," Connick Jr. joked, referring to Newman's accomplishments onscreen as well as with his substantial charity work.

Introducing the event on behalf of Newman's wife Joanne Woodward, Robert Redford, Newman's costar in Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid and The Sting, said that "with success comes the pleasure to follow your passion. And Paul had many. Joanne, the girls, the whole family, racing, and salad dressing. I couldn't believe that when I first heard it."

Paul Newman tribute: Doornbos to run with Hole in the Wall camps logo during Indy 500

"I'm honored to have the Hole in the Wall Camps on my race car for the Indy 500," said Doornbos. "The owners decided to run these colors as a tribute to Paul and I am proud to represent such an extraordinary man and the organization he founded to bring happiness to seriously ill children. I met him when I raced against the team in Champ Car and he was one of the first to congratulate me on my win in Mont Tremblant and told me he enjoyed the battle. I know that he was competitive just like me and like everyone at Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing and I will try to do my best to make the Hole in the Wall Camps proud on Sunday.”

In addition, NHLR driver Graham Rahal announced on Friday the formation of the Graham Rahal Foundation and the commitment to make the Association of Hole in the Wall Camps the primary beneficiary. For more information on the camps, please visit www.holeinthewallcamps.org.

Newman's secret sex life alleged

Porter interviewed Brando about Newman before the acting great died in 2004 - and he was stunned with what the heavyweight star let slip.

In his book, Paul Newman: The Man Behind The Baby Blues, he quotes Brando as saying, "He never fooled me. Paul Newman had just as many on-location affairs as the rest of us, and he was just as bisexual as I was. But, where I was always getting caught with my pants down, he managed to do it in the dark."

Porter tells America's the Globe he has been tracking Newman's secret sexual encounters since he met the actor in 1959 and alleges in his new book the late star, who was happily married to actress Joanne Woodward for 50 years, bedded icons like Grace Kelly, Judy Garland, Natalie Wood and Marilyn Monroe.

The writer also claims Newman and James Dean had a gay romance.

But the actor's family has dismissed Porter's book, claiming the sex allegations are "disgusting".

A source says, "Paul knew there were rumours out there about his sexuality and to have to face them when he's not here to dispute them is Joanne's worst nightmare."

'Butch & Sundance' top bromance poll

The pair's Butch Cassidy & The Sundance Kid roles beat Lethal Weapon's Murtaugh and Riggs, portrayed by Danny Glover and Mel Gibson, on RoddysRockinReviews.com's online countdown.

Naming Newman and Redford's portrayals number one, the website claims Butch and Sundance are the "Bromance of Bromances," adding, "When things in their wild world goes awry the two have so much devotion to each other that they face their imminent doom together without even blinking."

Point Break's Bodhi and Johnny Utah, played by Patrick Swayze and Keanu Reeves, Star Trek's Spock and Captain Kirk and Top Gun's Maverick (Tom Cruise) and Iceman (Val Kilmer) also make the new top 10.

We Hear...

NOT SO COOL SIDE OF NEWMAN

The Post's Kyle Smith reports Shawn Levy's new bio, "Paul Newman: A Life," out next month from Harmony Books, portrays the late Oscar-winner as a functioning alcoholic who, wearing a bottle opener on a chain around his neck, put away "beer after beer after beer, a case or more a day," followed by the hard stuff, usually scotch.

Onlookers said Newman was seen "drinking beers on the set, in his office, at parties, during interviews, watching TV, getting ready for TV and relaxing after dinner. Mort Sahl recalled him filling a brandy snifter with ice and scotch and sipping it in a steam room. Newman himself joked about drinking even in bed." Preparing for his role as the sozzled detective in "Harper," Newman bragged, "I just got drunk."

On the set of "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid," despite his reputation as Hollywood's most faithful husband, Levy relates, Newman had an affair for a year and a half with a journalist who was writing a puff piece on the movie: " 'I finally said to myself, 'I can do better than this,' she remembered. 'I told him, 'You're always drunk, and you can't even make love.' I ended it."

Newman hated when people asked to see his famous blue eyes. He raged, "There's nothing that makes you feel more like a piece of meat. It's like saying to a woman, 'Open your blouse, I want to see your t - - s."

Of the rivalry between Newman and Steve McQueen, who was asked to play the "Sundance Kid," Levy writes: "McQueen was a star, but . . . he felt a kind of rivalry with Newman as a real man who didn't stand for Hollywood cant and gloss. [He] got hung up on the fact that Newman, demonstrably a bigger earner . . . would receive billing over him." When he asked for top billing and Newman said no, McQueen walked -- and the part went to Robert Redford.

Film icon Paul Newman joins Conn. Hall of Fame

Newman died in September at age 83. He was a longtime Westport resident and an Oscar-winning star of stage, television and films.

He also was known as a champion of the underdog. He gave $250 million to charities through his food company and set up camps for severely ill children.

Newman was inducted into Connecticut's Hall of Fame on Thursday. The president of the Newman's Own Foundation received the award on behalf of Newman and his wife, actress Joanne Woodward.

U.S. Congress honors late actor Paul Newman

Rep. Steve Cohen, a Democrat from Tennessee, introduced the resolution honoring Newman on the House floor in Washington. Rep. Jim Jordan, a Republican from the actor's native state of Ohio, was among the House members who spoke about Newman.

"His legendary acting, steely blue eyes, good humor and passion for helping the less fortunate made him one of the most prominent figures in American arts for 40 years," Jordan said.

In a statement, Cohen called him "a talented artist whose craft has been a part of our American tapestry for over 50 years" and a person who "made the world a better place."

Newman, who died at age 83, earned nine Oscar nominations and appeared in more than 50 movies including "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof," "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid" and "The Sting."

Aside from auto racing and his commitment to quiet family life outside Hollywood's media glare, Newman was also a noted philanthropist who in 1982 co-founded Newman's Own, a food company that has given more than $250 million to charity.

The House resolution's approval came two days after Newman was celebrated at the Academy Awards on Sunday, where a video clip of the actor concluded an annual tribute to entertainers who died the year before.

Stars Pay Tribute to the Legends Who Left Us

After I made Raging Bull, my life and my career were at a low ebb. During that time, I received two unsolicited letters of admiration that meant the world to me. One was from Paul Newman; needless to say, I have always treasured that letter. A few years later, I had a chance to work with him on The Color of Money. He was, as I suspected, a true professional as well as an extremely dedicated artist. I loved him as an actor; I loved him as a man. And I miss him very much. —Martin Scorsese

Paul Newman's Will Revealed

The details of the late Paul Newman's will have been made public, and reveal to whom—and what—the legendary actor chose to bequeath his belongings.

While the lion's share of the charitable man's personal possessions were, as expected, left to his wife Joanne Woodward, Newman opted to leave his three Oscars and various other theatrical awards, including an Emmy, three Golden Globes and a Screen Actors Guild Award, among others, to his Newman's Own Foundation.

According to the will, signed by Newman in Connecticut on April 11 of this year, the actor's "tangible personal property," including real estate holdings, musical instruments and works of art were left to Woodward.

The widowed actress will also maintain control of Newman's production companies and his various real estate holdings, including the duo's shared home in Westport, Conn.

The avid driver also instructed that his airplane and race cars be auctioned off to the highest bidder, with proceeds going back to his estate.

Additionally, the ever-generous actor directed that his interest in the Newman-founded Newman's Own and Salad King companies were to be directed back to his Newman's Own Foundation, which would in turn distribute the profits to charity.

Newman died of cancer on Sept. 27. He was 83.

Newman's 18-page last will and testament was first obtained by Radar Online.

Hollywood's A-list turns out for Newman charity

The lineup for a dramatic reading of "The World of Nick Adams" on Monday night at San Francisco's Davies Symphony Hall already was set when the acting legend died of cancer Sept. 26 at the age of 83. The event benefited The Painted Turtle, a camp for children with life-threatening illnesses, that was started by Newman in 1999.

"We expected Paul to be with us and so this kind of turned into kind of a tribute," said Danny Glover, who joined Jack Nicholson, Julia Roberts, Tom Hanks, Warren Beatty, Sean Penn and other big names in the reading. "This is the first time we are doing this without Paul — there is a void there, without a doubt."

Some 2,500 people attended the star-studded benefit, which began with a video in which Newman discussed his work with the Association of Hole in The Wall Camps, which runs 11 camps around the world including The Painted Turtle.

"What I was trying to do was acknowledge luck," Newman said in the video narrated by Nicholson. "If you acknowledge it, you have to do something about it — something for the less fortunate."

There was no mention of Newman during the scripted 90-minute reading, which are the words of Ernest Hemingway adapted for television by A.E. Hotchner, who started the food company Newman's Own with the actor. But after the performance, children from the camp joined the 17 actors on stage as singer Bonnie Raitt performed "Put a Little Love Into Your Heart," which she dedicated to Newman.

Newman and the Newman's Own brand have given more than $250 million to charity over the years.

Hanks, who starred with Newman in 2002's "Road to Perdition," remembered him Monday as a down-to-earth actor who was always willing to share the screen.

"Paul was a member of the ensemble more than anything else," Hanks said. "He didn't care about the hierarchy, but he was a guy, quite frankly, who should have won the Nobel Peace Prize."

Newman team back in the pits

During Friday’s practice session, the Newman/Haas/Lanigan cars of Justin Wilson and Graham Rahal will feature small decals honoring Newman’s life. They include a logo with “PL,” a nickname by which most of his racing friends knew him, and a reference to him being a “true friend” of racing.

“We have just a few little things on the cars,” general manager Brian Lisles told The Associated Press in an interview in the team compound at the Indy Racing League’s Indy 300 on Thursday. “Paul was a very low-key person. We’ve paid our respects in our own private way, and that’s the way we wanted to do it.”

And the Newman/Haas/Lanigan team, which has won 107 races, 107 pole positions and eight driver titles, will continue for 2009 and beyond—without a name change.

“Purely on the business side, arrangements were made beforehand, that the team name would continue,” Lisles said. “That was talked about by all the partners in the event of any of them no longer being part of the team. Of course, none of us would have it any other way.”

The team was formed when Newman and Carl Haas, competitors in the Can-Am series, began investigating the possibility of entering a team in the old CART series. It was created in 1982, with Mario Andretti as its driver, and Mike Lanigan joined the team at the start of its 25th season in 2007.

“The biggest thing was (Newman) was dedicated to the team,” said team manager John Tzouanakis, who has been with the team since the beginning. “And he could come and be left alone. People were always chasing him, wanting pictures of him, autographs.

“It was his kind of country club, to get away from the hustle-bustle of his life and come to the race track and watch the team perform.”

Newman’s last race was at Milwaukee in June, and Lisles said most on the team knew the prognosis wasn’t good for their longtime friend.

“We were well aware of the situation with Paul,” Lisles said. “He came to see us a few times during the past year, and everybody pretty much knew what was going on and what the end game would be.”

Newman never traveled to Australia with the team, which has six wins, seven poles and 10 podium finishes in 17 years of racing Down Under.

The American Rahal would like to make it seven Sunday, when organizers plan a special video tribute to Newman and a minute’s silence in his honor.

“It’s obviously a different atmosphere not having Paul with us,” Rahal said at a driver breakfast Thursday. “Everybody on the team looked at him as a friend more than a team owner. Certainly he is missed, and we are going to be giving it our all for him this weekend.”

Helping Newman's legacy

It also spurred the Belfords to expand the program. It just so happened that 195 acres of gently rolling hills, lakes, woods, meadows and wetlands was adjacent to their property - the ideal setting for a year-round camp modeled after the Hole in the Wall Camps created by Academy Award-winning actor/IndyCar Series team co-owner Paul Newman.

The idea is becoming reality with Flying Horse Farms scheduled to open in 2010, and it soon will receive a $40,900 donation from IndyCar Series driver Graham Rahal - the proceeds from an eBay auction of a Newman movie poster-themed helmet worn by Rahal in the July race at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course. The helmet is signed by Rahal, designer Troy Lee and Newman, who died Sept. 26 at age 83.

"I cannot express how happy I am that the helmet auction raised $40,900 for the Flying Horse Farms," said Rahal, 19, driver of the No. 06 Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing car. "Paul Newman set such a tremendous example of the impact that can be made by giving back and doing what you can for others. I hope he would have been proud of what I was able to accomplish with the help of Troy Lee and that this will help Flying Horse Farms move one step closer to being able to bring some happiness to future campers."

The non-profit organization is working with the Association of Hole in the Wall Camps to become the Midwest's first Hole in the Wall Camp. The Association of Hole in the Wall Camps is a charitable partner of the Indy Racing League and Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Taking its name from the 1969 movie Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, in which Newman played a likable outlaw, the original Hole in the Wall Gang Camp opened in 1988 in Ashford, Conn.

"If I have a legacy, it will be the camps," Newman, a native of suburban Cleveland, said.

Flying Horse Farms will serve children from Ohio and surrounding states, creating a fun, safe and supportive camp experience for children as well as providing free support services and retreats for the entire family. Visit Association of Hole in the Wall Camps Web site.

"As we work to build Flying Horse Farms with the inspiration from Paul Newman, we are blessed to have had Graham's foresight to have this tribute helmet designed to benefit the camp," said Mark Bivenour, CEO of Flying Horse Farms. "We are only sorry that Mr. Newman won't be able to see the fruits of this auction, but we know his spirit will be with each camper. And many thanks to the anonymous winning helmet bidder for their generous contribution."

Syracuse Crunch honours Newman by retiring late actor's "Slap Shot" jersey

The Syracuse Crunch announced Tuesday that the team will pay tribute to the late actor by raising a banner before Saturday’s American Hockey League game against the Rochester Americans. The banner will stay there for the entire season.

Crunch president Howard Dolgon says it’s appropriate Newman’s legacy should be recognized and honoured in the arena where parts of the legendary movie were filmed in 1977.

Newman died last month at age 83 after a battle with cancer.

A video tribute to Newman’s role in “Slap Shot” will be shown during the ceremony.

Several Tributes To Atlantic Team Owner Paul Newman at Road Atlanta Season Finale

Every car in the Atlantic field is carrying special decals with Newman's initials, "PLN," and Newman Wachs Racing drivers Jonathan Summerton and Simona De Silvestro have also been wearing "PLN" patches on their firesuits. Prior to this afternoon's season finale, a moment of silence will be observed for Newman, and a special remembrance is also planned for this evening's Awards Banquet at the Chateau Elan Resort & Winery.

"Paul Newman was a racing icon, and we were fortunate to count him as a team owner and friend in the Atlantic Championship," said Atlantic Championship President Vicki O'Connor. "Our hearts obviously go out to Paul's partner, Eddie Wachs, the Newman Wachs Racing team, and all of Paul's many friends and family as they continue to deal with this loss. We hope our tributes will provide some comfort to them."

A long-time racing driver and team owner, as well as an Academy Award-winning actor, Newman joined forces with Wachs to field an Atlantic Championship team for the first time in 2006. Now in its third season of Atlantic competition, the team celebrated its first series victory with De Silvestro in the 2008 season-opener at Long Beach driving the No. 34 Nuclear Clean Air Energy/NEI/Entergy entry. Summerton has since added two wins--at Edmonton and Road America--and will start this afternoon's race from the pole position in the No. 36 Nuclear Clean Air Energy/NEI/Entergy machine. Summerton could bring the team its first Atlantic Championship title, as he enters the race trailing points leader Jonathan Bomarito by just seven points.

Broadway Lights Dim for Paul Newman

The Great White Way will pay tribute to the late acting legend by dimming the lights on the marquees of all Broadway theaters on Friday night at 8 p.m. The venues will remain dark for one minute.

While most acclaimed for his screen work, Newman was no stranger to the boards, making his Broadway debut in 1953 in Picnic, where he met his future wife, Joanne Woodward.

As recently as 2003, Newman received a Tony Award nomination for his role in Our Town, a role that also earned him an Emmy nod after the play aired on television.

"For over half a century Paul Newman has graced our stages and inspired our souls with his brilliant talent," said Charlotte St. Martin, the executive director of the Broadway League.

"After beginning his illustrious career on stage, his love for theater continued throughout his life as demonstrated by the Newman family's support of the renowned Westport Country Playhouse. Off-stage, his tireless devotion to philanthropic work has enhanced many lives and worthwhile causes.

"His presence everywhere will be missed."

John Mayer Pays Tribute to Paul Newman

The singer-songwriter recently took to his blog to explain the game and, more importantly, to honor the late screen legend.

"I used to play this game with my friends where we'd try and figure out who the 'heaviest' legend was in terms of having the clout to bump another superstar from a reservation at a packed restaurant on a Saturday night," Mayer wrote. "It starts to get fun when ... [you're] bickering about whether Robert De Niro bumps Bob Dylan, or Springsteen bumps Bono."

But the game "quickly runs out of steam," he noted, "when you realize that nobody can top Paul Newman."

Mayer, who turns 31 in two weeks, signed off with an emphatic salute to the blue-eyed icon: "Nobody will ever be that cool again."

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