Paul Newman: true superstar

Paul Newman, the Oscar-winning superstar who personified cool as the anti-hero of such films as Hud, Cool Hand Luke and The Color of Money - followed by a second act as an activist, race car driver and popcorn impresario - has died. He was 83.

Newman died last Friday at his farmhouse near Westport, US, following a long battle with cancer, publicist Jeff Sanderson said. He was surrounded by his family and close friends.

In May, Newman dropped plans to direct a fall production of Of Mice and Men at Connecticut's Westport Country Playhouse, citing unspecified health issues. The following month, a friend disclosed that he was being treated for cancer and Martha Stewart, also a friend, posted photos on her website of Newman looking gaunt at a charity luncheon.

But true to his fiercely private nature, Newman remained cagey about his condition, reacting to reports that he had lung cancer with a statement saying only that he was "doing nicely".

As an actor, Newman got his start in theatre and on television during the 1950s, and went on to become one of the world's most enduring and popular film stars, a legend held in awe by his peers. He was nominated for Academy Awards 10 times, winning one Oscar and two honorary ones, and had major roles in more than 50 motion pictures,

including Exodus, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, The Verdict, The Sting and Absence of Malice.

Newman worked with some of the greatest directors of the past half century, from Alfred Hitchcock and John Huston to Robert Altman, Martin Scorsese and the Coen brothers.

His co-stars included Elizabeth Taylor, Lauren Bacall, Tom Cruise, Tom Hanks and, most famously, Robert Redford, his sidekick in Butch Cassidy and The Sting.

"There is a point where feelings go beyond words," Redford said on Saturday. "I have lost a real friend. My life - and this country - is better for his being in it."

He sometimes teamed with his wife and fellow Oscar winner, Joanne Woodward, with whom he had one of Hollywood's rare long-term marriages. "I have steak at home, why go out for hamburger?" Newman told Playboy magazine when asked if he was tempted to stray.

They wed in 1958, around the same time they both appeared in The Long Hot Summer. Newman also directed her in several films, including Rachel, Rachel and The Glass Menagerie.

With his strong, classically handsome face and piercing blue eyes, Newman was a heartthrob just as likely to play against his looks, becoming a favourite with critics for his convincing portrayals of rebels, tough guys and losers.

New York Times critic Caryn James wrote after his Oscar-nominated turn as the town curmudgeon in 1995's Nobody's Fool that 'you never stop to wonder how a guy as good-looking as Paul Newman ended up this way'.

"Sometimes God makes perfect people," fellow Absence of Malice star Sally Field said, "and Paul Newman was one of them."

Newman had a soft spot for underdogs in real life, giving $250 million to charities through his food company and setting up camps for severely ill children.

Passionately opposed to the Vietnam War, and in favour of civil rights, he was so famously liberal that he ended up on President Richard Nixon's 'enemies list', one of the actor's proudest achievements, he liked to say.

Tributes to the epic Hollywood career of Newman have continued to flood in, praising his dedication to fundraising for charity, the civil rights movement and motor sports.

His lack of conceit and reluctance to exploit his fame for personal gain earned him the appreciation of fellow professionals, film critics and politicians on both sides of the Atlantic.

Sir Michael Parkinson, who interviewed Newman for a documentary, said he was "one of the very finest screen actors" of our time.

"Newman spanned the gap between the golden days of Hollywood, the 40s and 50s with actors like Cary Grant and James Stewart and Clark Gable, and the present lot represented by Brad Pitt, Tom Cruise," he said.

Parkinson described Newman as "quiet, reserved and suspicious": he had been deeply affected by the death of his only son, Scott, from a drug overdose in 1978.

Sam Mendes, who directed Newman in the 2002 film Road to Perdition, remembered it as "the highlight of my professional life".

Mendes said: "It seems to me to be one of the great 20th-century lives: he was famously generous, with his extraordinary and unstinting work for his charities, he was a passionate advocate for the adrenaline and danger of his beloved racing cars, he was a shining example of how to use global fame for the greater good, and most of all he was one of the great movie actors of this or any other age."

As well as establishing a foundation to finance anti-drug films in memory of his son, Newman set up summer camps for terminally-ill children paid for by sales of personally endorsed food products.

During the 1960s and 70s, Newman supported civil rights protests and went on anti-Vietnam war demonstrations. In later life his enthusiasm for racing came to the fore. As a driver, Newman's career highlight was his second place finish in the Le Mans 24 Hours race of 1979.

As team owner of Newman/Haas, his squad claimed eight Indy/Champ Car titles. Former Formula One world champions Nigel Mansell and Mario Andretti were among the drivers.

Ron Dennis, F1's McLaren chief, said: "Newman was a fine driver, who was famous in Hollywood for doing his own stunt driving as often as not."

Nicolas Sarkozy, the French president, even hailed him as "a great friend of France ... the fans of motor racing will remember his successive appearances at the Le Mans 24 Hours race".

Arnold Schwarzenegger, governor of California, said: "Newman entertained millions in some of Hollywood's most memorable roles ever, and brightened the lives of many more, especially seriously ill children, through his charitable works."

In a joint statement, Newman's five daughters from his two marriages said: "Our father was a rare symbol of selfless humility, the last to acknowledge what he was doing was special."