No one\u2019s life is perfect all the way through. For all of the amazing things Paul Newman accomplished in his life and his career, he still had two big regrets that he wished he could change. Surprisingly, they weren\u2019t winning more Oscars or excelling further in his career \u2013 his regrets had to do with his family.<\/p>\n
A full and philanthropic life<\/p>\n
Newman\u2019s career spanned from 1953 all the way to 2007. He was an award-winning performer, earning the Oscar for Best Actor in a Leading Role for his work in The Color of Money (1986). He was nominated several other times.<\/p>\n
Newman married twice. His first marriage, to Jacqueline Witte, lasted from 1949 to 1958 and the two had three children together, including Newman\u2019s only son. His second marriage to Joanne Woodward started the same year he divorced Witte, and lasted until his death in 2008. Newman and Woodward had three daughters together, making Newman the father of six in total.<\/p>\n
Newman began the Newman\u2019s Own Foundation in 1982, which is an organization that sells food products but donates all of the profits directly to charity. Over the years, the organization has donated a remarkable $570 million.<\/p>\n
Newman regretted his relationship with his father<\/p>\n
Newman\u2019s first regret in life was in regard to his father. He and his father did not have the greatest relationship and before Newman saw his huge success as a Hollywood actor, he believed his father thought of him as a failure. \u201cI think he thought I didn\u2019t show much promise in those days and I tend to agree with him,\u201d Newman said.<\/p>\n
When his father died, he had yet to have made a name for himself, so his father never saw the true potential that his son had. Newman wished that his father could\u2019ve seen his success and had not gone to his grave thinking his son was a failure.<\/p>\n
Newman also regretted his relationship with his son<\/p>\n
Newman\u2019s second regret in life was in regard to his only son, Scott. Scott spent most of his life in the custody of his mother, Newman\u2019s first wife. He had a troubled upbringing, got in trouble in school, and ultimately dropped out of college. He also lived in the shadow of his father after becoming an actor and stuntman himself, saying once that, \u201cThey expect you to be like him, or they try to get to him through me \u2026 but I don\u2019t have his blue eyes. I don\u2019t have his talent. I don\u2019t have anything that\u2019s me.\u201d<\/p>\n
Scott became an alcoholic and it was this, coupled with prescription medication from a motorcycle accident and other illegal substances that contributed to his accidental overdose and death in 1978. He was only 28 years old. Newman wished that he and his son had been closer. \u201cI knew he drank too much and [medicated] himself, but I didn\u2019t know how to open a door into him,\u201d Newman later said. \u201cI don\u2019t think I ever hugged Scott or patted him on the arm or back or rump \u2014 the things fathers do.\u201d<\/p>\n
More from us: James Cameron Regrets One Specific Scene In \u2018Titanic\u2019<\/p>\n
After his son\u2019s death, Newman started the Scott Newman Foundation in 1980, which provides education about substance abuse.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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