Early in his acting career, he was often mistaken for Marlon Brando. He even claims to have signed around 500 autographs: "Best wishes, Marlon Brando." Those "Brando" autographs signed by Newman must be worth a fortune

   
Paul Newman steel blue eyes were legendary that fans wanted photos. The bother was too much for Newman who took to wearing sunglasses whenever in public

Paul Newman was voted the greatest film actor of all times, according to a survey of film experts. The man with the most famous blue eyes in Hollywood topped the list based on such criteria as box-office success, Oscar nominations and acting range. 

The top 10:Paul Newman | Tom Hanks | James Stewart | Harrison Ford | Marlon Brando | Cary Grant | Robert Redford | Sean Connery | Tom Cruise | Gary Cooper

Born Paul Leonard Newman was born in Shaker Heights, Ohio, on 26 January 1925, the second son of Arthur and Theresa Newman. He attributed his good looks to his mixed heritage of being half Jewish (father side) and half Christian (on his mother’s side)

Newman was so disgusted with his debut performance in "The Silver Chalice" (1954) that he took out press adverts, garlanded with a funeral wreath, to persuade people to avoid it. It had an adverse effect when crowds flocked to the cinema much to Newman’s dismay.

Oscar-nominated for Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (1958), The Hustler (1961), Hud (1963), Cool Hand Luke (1967), Absence of Malice (1981) and The Verdict (1982), before finally winning in 1986 for The Color of Money. Newman unfazed stored his only Oscar in a cupboard. However, he will admit to the the New York Critics Prize award for his directorial debut, Rachel, Rachel (1968) 

He served in the US Navy during the Second World War, but his hopes of becoming a pilot were dashed when a medical revealed that those dazzling blue eyes, for which he would later become famed, were colour-blind. That was just the beginning of the troubles those eyes have caused 

All his life, Newman complained, he was plagued by people demanding to gaze into them. Though he rarely moaned, that irritated him. He once said, "to accomplish what I have accomplished, and than have some yo-yo come up to you and bark... "Take off those dark glasses and let’s have a look at those blue eyes’… it’s really discouraging."

He married Jacqueline Witte, a tall blonde actress in 1949 and had three children. They moved to New York where Jacqueline modelled and Newman studied at Lee Strasberg’s Actors’ Studio, among a vintage collection of classmates were Marlon Brando, James Dean and Rod Steiger. The group perfected the art of cool, although Newman admits it took some time to get a grip on it. 

Father to three children, Scott, (who committed suicide) Susan and Stephanie, with first wife  and three daughters, Nell, Lissy and Clea, with Joanne Woodward who he married in Vegas in 1958. 

Since the drug overdose death of his son, Newman has donated the proceeds from his own recipe salad dressings and foods to the Scott Newman Foundation. He also represented the USA at the 1978 UN Conference on Nuclear Disarmament.

The press describes him as,  "A cool sexuality that is unique in American cinema with a quality se of sex and danger…."  Newman retorts with, "My spaghetti sauce out-grosses my films"

Newman's favourite  films all have a H in the title: The Long Hot Summer 1958 - Cat On A Hot Tin Roof 1958 - The Hustler 1961 - Hud 1963 - Hombre 1967 - Cool Hand Luke 1967

Paul Newman died at home in Westport, Connecticut