The Extraordinary Life of an Ordinary Man: A Memoir
- Downloads：3902
- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2022-10-26 18:21:35
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：Paul Newman
- ISBN：B09S2F521Y
- Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
- Download
Summary
8 hours， 46 minutes
The raw， candid， unvarnished memoir of an American icon。 The greatest movie star of the past 75 years covers everything: his traumatic childhood， his career， his drinking， his thoughts on Marlon Brando， James Dean， Elizabeth Taylor， John Huston， his greatest roles， acting， his intimate life with Joanne Woodward， his innermost fears and passions and joys。 With thoughts/comments throughout from Joanne Woodward， George Roy Hill， Tom Cruise， Elia Kazan and many others。
In 1986， Paul Newman and his closest friend， screenwriter Stewart Stern， began an extraordinary project。 Stuart was to compile an oral history， to have Newman's family and friends and those who worked closely with him， talk about the actor's life。 And then Newman would work with Stewart and give his side of the story。 The only stipulation was that anyone who spoke on the record had to be completely honest。 That same stipulation applied to Newman himself。 The project lasted five years。
The result is an extraordinary memoir， culled from thousands of pages of transcripts。 The book is insightful， revealing， surprising。 Newman's voice is powerful， sometimes funny， sometimes painful， always meeting that high standard of searing honesty。 The additional voices--from childhood friends and Navy buddies， from family members and film and theater collaborators such as Tom Cruise， George Roy Hill， Martin Ritt， and John Huston--that run throughout add richness and color and context to the story Newman is telling。
Newman's often traumatic childhood is brilliantly detailed。 He talks about his teenage insecurities， his early failures with women， his rise to stardom， his early rivals （Marlon Brando and James Dean）， his first marriage， his drinking， his philanthropy， the death of his son Scott， his strong desire for his daughters to know and understand the truth about their father。 Perhaps the most moving material in the book centers around his relationship with Joanne Woodward--their love for each other， his dependence on her， the way she shaped him intellectually， emotionally and sexually。
The Extraordinary Life of an Ordinary Man is revelatory and introspective， personal and analytical， loving and tender in some places， always complex and profound。
The raw， candid， unvarnished memoir of an American icon。 The greatest movie star of the past 75 years covers everything: his traumatic childhood， his career， his drinking， his thoughts on Marlon Brando， James Dean， Elizabeth Taylor， John Huston， his greatest roles， acting， his intimate life with Joanne Woodward， his innermost fears and passions and joys。 With thoughts/comments throughout from Joanne Woodward， George Roy Hill， Tom Cruise， Elia Kazan and many others。
In 1986， Paul Newman and his closest friend， screenwriter Stewart Stern， began an extraordinary project。 Stuart was to compile an oral history， to have Newman's family and friends and those who worked closely with him， talk about the actor's life。 And then Newman would work with Stewart and give his side of the story。 The only stipulation was that anyone who spoke on the record had to be completely honest。 That same stipulation applied to Newman himself。 The project lasted five years。
The result is an extraordinary memoir， culled from thousands of pages of transcripts。 The book is insightful， revealing， surprising。 Newman's voice is powerful， sometimes funny， sometimes painful， always meeting that high standard of searing honesty。 The additional voices--from childhood friends and Navy buddies， from family members and film and theater collaborators such as Tom Cruise， George Roy Hill， Martin Ritt， and John Huston--that run throughout add richness and color and context to the story Newman is telling。
Newman's often traumatic childhood is brilliantly detailed。 He talks about his teenage insecurities， his early failures with women， his rise to stardom， his early rivals （Marlon Brando and James Dean）， his first marriage， his drinking， his philanthropy， the death of his son Scott， his strong desire for his daughters to know and understand the truth about their father。 Perhaps the most moving material in the book centers around his relationship with Joanne Woodward--their love for each other， his dependence on her， the way she shaped him intellectually， emotionally and sexually。
The Extraordinary Life of an Ordinary Man is revelatory and introspective， personal and analytical， loving and tender in some places， always complex and profound。
Reviews
Matthew Fitch
，
Newman was working on this book from 86-91 when it was set aside and eventually forgotten about。 Luckily the transcript was found and what emerges is an icon looking back and questioning his life to that point。 It’s only 266 pages but it reads like a fascinating therapy session。
Donna
，
Genres: Nonfiction/AutobiographyI liked this one and I love the cover。 It felt like a candid look into the life of Paul Newman。 I liked that he owned his life decisions， both the good and maybe the not so good。 And I liked the way he covered the issues with his parents without playing the "woe is me - victim card"。 What I liked the most was the humor。。。great timing is a must and this had that。 And what I appreciated the most is that this wasn't too long （and by that I mean long winded） and it wa Genres: Nonfiction/AutobiographyI liked this one and I love the cover。 It felt like a candid look into the life of Paul Newman。 I liked that he owned his life decisions， both the good and maybe the not so good。 And I liked the way he covered the issues with his parents without playing the "woe is me - victim card"。 What I liked the most was the humor。。。great timing is a must and this had that。 And what I appreciated the most is that this wasn't too long （and by that I mean long winded） and it wasn't too short。。。it was just right。 So 4 stars。 。。。more
Ellen Mandly
，
I found this book， and Paul Newman， to both be very dreary。
Mary Mishler
，
Its eye opening and a great read！Sometimes a bit hard to follow from。one person's point of view to the next and then to Paul himself。 However the end result was a much better picture of the man far beyond what you saw on screen！ Its eye opening and a great read！Sometimes a bit hard to follow from。one person's point of view to the next and then to Paul himself。 However the end result was a much better picture of the man far beyond what you saw on screen！ 。。。more
Chris
，
The title of this memoir couldn’t be more spot on。 Paul Newman didn’t take kindly to his movie-star status， didn’t like the fuss about his dazzling blue eyes， and didn’t really enjoying acting， feeling less-than in the roles he portrayed。 Later in life， when he discovered a passion for racecar driving， Newman found his niche， a hobby that fed his daredevilish nature。 In his 70s， Newman did soften with age， “He evolved immensely in the last quarter of his life; he became more present and reveled The title of this memoir couldn’t be more spot on。 Paul Newman didn’t take kindly to his movie-star status， didn’t like the fuss about his dazzling blue eyes， and didn’t really enjoying acting， feeling less-than in the roles he portrayed。 Later in life， when he discovered a passion for racecar driving， Newman found his niche， a hobby that fed his daredevilish nature。 In his 70s， Newman did soften with age， “He evolved immensely in the last quarter of his life; he became more present and reveled in giving back，” writes his daughter Clea Newman Soderlund， in the book’s Afterword。 Newman died in 2008， at age 83。“Paul Newman: The Extraordinary Life of an Ordinary Man” is being described as “raw，” a word that capsulizes a book I found captivating。 The memoir is based on a series of interviews between Newman and his trusted friend， Stewart Stern， from 1986-1991。 The interviews were Newman’s idea， his desire to tell the real story of himself， not the movie-star version。 “This book came out of a struggle to try and explain it all to my kids。 I want to leave some kind of record that sets things straight， pokes holes in the mythology that’s sprung up around me， destroys some of the legends and keeps the piranhas off。 Something that documents the time I was on this planet with some kind of accuracy。 Because what exists on the record now has not bearing at all on the truth…。” In the book’s Foreward， Newman’s daughter Melissa Newman， states that transcripts of the interviews were in storage in locked vaults in the family’s Connecticut home for a decade。 Nearing the end of his life， Stern wanted them “archived at least for posterity，” but he passed away before the project came to fruition。 Later more transcripts were discovered， in total the Newman/Stern interviews numbered more than 14，000 pages。 “You can read about private jets and red carpets elsewhere，” Melissa Newman writes。 “This is definitely not that。 Instead， it’s a sort of self-dissection， a picking-apart of feelings， motives， and motivations， augmented by a Greek chorus of other opinions， relatives， Navy buddies， and fellow artists。 One overriding theme is the chronic insecurity which is familiar to so many artists…。”The memoir is arranged chronologically beginning with Newman’s strange， sad upbringing。 He was born in 1925， the younger of two boys—sons of a stunningly beautiful Eastern European mother， who viewed Newman as a “decoration” for her well-to-do home。 His father owned and managed a small-town sporting goods store in Shaker Heights， Ohio， with his brother， yet buried his troubles in a bottle， becoming a “secret drinker” an addiction that later dogged Paul Newman too， known to knock back more than a few beers at a sitting， after giving up hard licquor。 Reading about Newman’s childhood， it’s little wonder he suffered from the family’s dysfunction。 “Our house contained the sounds of constant warfare。 It could be a quiet war， like the chunking of knives in human flesh…it could also be explosive and noisy， which was usually my mother erupting。 Or threatening to erupt。 We’d sit there waiting for something to go wrong， for somebody to fall off the eggshells and run， waiting for a mistake and the explosion to follow。” Paul Newman’s memoir includes stories about his stint in the Navy; his college years; the heartache and happiness in his hasty first marriage to Jackie Witte; the birth of their children， including Scott， who died of an overdose in 1978; the struggles and joy of his 50-year marriage to film star Joanne Woodward; interesting antidotes and details about his numerous movie roles and experiences; acknowledgement of his drinking problem; his penchant for race cars; and the fulfillment he found in his philanthropic ventures。 “The Extraordinary Life of an Ordinary Man” would have been a mesmerizing read if it had only included Paul Newman’s words about himself， beautifully but often brutally expressed。 However， the icing on the cake of this must-read are the excerpts from others who knew him， liberally sprinkled throughout， offering a comprehensive， heartfelt tribute to a beautiful， giving， talented， wounded， human being。 。。。more
Poppy
，
3。5 stars rounded upThe book is well done for what it is， but the fact that it *is* is a little unsettling， mainly because its subject was notoriously private during his lifetime。 I enjoy Paul Newman the actor， but I’m pretty sure I would not have enjoyed Paul Newman the human being。 I can’t help but wonder， too， about the sacrifices Joanne Woodward made in being his wife and the mother of some of his children。 I’d love to read *that* book。
Tam📖
，
Paul Newman…is there any way to give more than 5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️🌟🌟🌟🌟✨💫✨
Susan
，
This was one of those books that made me happy and sad at the same time and for many reasons。 Looking at Paul Newman you'd think that everything in his life would be pretty rosey but it wasn't that way at all。 If you are a fan you know about his son Scott but there were other issues that I knew nothing about。 It was written in a very intimate way， almost like you were sitting there chatting with him。 I ended up liking him even more than I already did。 And he was seriously good looking， no gettin This was one of those books that made me happy and sad at the same time and for many reasons。 Looking at Paul Newman you'd think that everything in his life would be pretty rosey but it wasn't that way at all。 If you are a fan you know about his son Scott but there were other issues that I knew nothing about。 It was written in a very intimate way， almost like you were sitting there chatting with him。 I ended up liking him even more than I already did。 And he was seriously good looking， no getting around that！ 。。。more
Rose
，
Satisfying memoir
Christine
，
Loved this。 Very different sort of memoir。
Bookreporter。com Biography & Memoir
，
When one contemplates the greatest movie stars of all time， Paul Newman has to be at the top of that list。 A career that spans six decades， bringing us some of the greatest films of all time --- including Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid， The Sting and The Verdict --- he’s also known for his 50-year marriage to fellow actor Joanne Woodward。But much like a Hollywood movie， behind the scenes， all that glitters is not always gold。 Starting with a comfortable but emotionally spare childhood in Ohi When one contemplates the greatest movie stars of all time， Paul Newman has to be at the top of that list。 A career that spans six decades， bringing us some of the greatest films of all time --- including Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid， The Sting and The Verdict --- he’s also known for his 50-year marriage to fellow actor Joanne Woodward。But much like a Hollywood movie， behind the scenes， all that glitters is not always gold。 Starting with a comfortable but emotionally spare childhood in Ohio， to his stint in the Navy and his early days in Hollywood， a fraught first marriage and his ongoing issues with alcohol， Newman always struggled to know himself better and learn from his experiences， good and bad。 And here， in THE EXTRAORDINARY LIFE OF AN ORDINARY MAN， we get to learn more about this incredible actor and philanthropist in his own words and the words of those who knew him best。Paul Leonard Newman was born in Shaker Heights， Ohio， an affluent suburb of Cleveland， to parents Arthur Sr。 and Tress。 Arthur Sr。 managed a local sports equipment store， and his marriage was tumultuous at best， according to friends。 There was passion there， but mostly arguing and resentment。 Tress channeled all her attention toward her youngest son， doting on him and dressing him up in feminine outfits， but still making him jump through hoops to gain her affection。 Newman realized that he blocked out a great swath of his childhood: “[A]round when I started adolescence， something in me closed down。 I don’t know what it was， but I began to feel like an outcast。 I began to sense I was on the outside looking in， and didn’t even know what I was looking for inside。”Filled with the bravado of youth， 18-year-old Newman joined the Navy in 1943。 When a friend was killed on his very first exercise flight， he recalls， “I remember being stunned by the news， but I somehow didn’t connect it to myself…。 Back then， there must have been a strange， wonderful sense of immortality。 And my own evolving type of emotional anesthesia。” After being honorably discharged from the Navy in 1945， Newman headed off to Kenyon College on the G。I。 Bill。 It was here， after getting kicked off the football team for drinking， that he discovered acting。 But knowing how shy and introverted he was， it certainly was a curious choice。Right after graduation， Newman married his first wife， Jackie Witte， an ambitious actress who often participated in summer stock productions alongside him。 Neither felt that their marriage was ever on solid ground。 Despite Newman’s frequent absences as his career started to gain traction while hers languished， the pair had three children in quick succession。 Still， Newman found himself immediately captivated by a young actress from Georgia named Joanne Woodward， who was cast as an understudy， along with himself， on the Broadway production of “Picnic” in 1953: “There came a point when I was really leading two lives。 I was living my life with Jackie and I was living my life with Joanne。 These were impossible times。 Till then， I’d never had a sense of consequences， never suffered from them…。 But now， with Jackie and Joanne， consequences began to weigh heavily on me。 I was a failure as an adulterer。”Where Newman wasn’t failing was in his career。 After ascending to the lead role in “Picnic，” he soon became the “It Boy” in Hollywood。 Following a disastrous biblical sword and sandal flop （The Silver Chalice）， he was still being considered for the lead in Elia Kazan’s On the Waterfront when Marlon Brando hesitated。 （Brando wised up and took the part。） But after James Dean’s untimely death， Newman was cast in roles meant for the late actor， including Somebody Up There Likes Me， playing the boxer Rocky Graziano。 From this point， he worked consistently。 And in 1958， he and Woodward married in Las Vegas and started their own family， adding three girls to the clan。Forever in motion and hopping from location to location， Newman often pondered his failings as a parent and how his career might not be the best choice for someone in that role。 His oldest child and only son， Scott， often felt dwarfed in his shadow。 Still， though， he tried his hand at being an actor and a stuntman。 After many years struggling with drug addiction， Scott died of an overdose in 1978 at the age of 28。 Newman proceeded to throw himself into work…and drinking。 Joanne Woodward commented， “I used to think the only peace Paul ever found was that peace he used to find in being dead drunk。 Now he finds it in racing cars。 Peace and grace， the comfort of knowing he has done something well。” So racing became his latest obsession， even competing in a race the year before he died。In addition to his storied career， Newman still found time to be incredibly philanthropic。 It started with the food line Newman’s Own， which contributes 100% of their profits after operation costs to charity， and continued with the Hole in the Wall Gang camps for seriously ill children， which he hoped would be his greatest legacy。After years of trying to avoid deep reflection， the notoriously private Newman embarked on a memoir project with his friend， Stewart Stern。 It yielded hours of interview tapes and transcripts from 1986 to 1991， but the amount of material seemed to overwhelm them。 The result is this memoir， which is a perfect companion piece to Ethan Hawke’s recent HBO Max documentary series， “The Last Movie Stars。” There’s something about hearing the actual words from the memoirist that makes it all the more poignant， especially when they are no longer here。 With a touching Foreword and Afterword from his daughters， we see that they are still gaining understanding and insights about their loving and complicated father。On contemplating his own end， Newman --- with his wry sense of humor --- stated， “But I am convinced that this is only a dress rehearsal。 And when I die and they put me in that box down in the ground， someone is going to yell， ‘Cut！’ Then a director will say， ‘OK， let’s go back to the number-one position， let’s get the cameras back there and shoot that scene all over again。’ And my box will open up again and some other life will be continued or pursued。 I actually think I’ll die seven or eight times。 It will all turn out to be some kind of joke。”Reviewed by Bronwyn Miller 。。。more
Cora
，
A swift and interesting exploration。
Lindsay
，
I’m not sure why I chose to read this…Paul Newman is a little ahead of my time but I do love a good memoir。 He scrapped this book years ago and didn’t want to move forward with it so it makes me a little sad that it was actually published。 He was obviously a very private person and in parts of this， he isn’t portrayed in the best light。 He was certainly very philanthropic， but he also came across as incredibly lonely and someone who was constantly looking for his true passion。 The comments throu I’m not sure why I chose to read this…Paul Newman is a little ahead of my time but I do love a good memoir。 He scrapped this book years ago and didn’t want to move forward with it so it makes me a little sad that it was actually published。 He was obviously a very private person and in parts of this， he isn’t portrayed in the best light。 He was certainly very philanthropic， but he also came across as incredibly lonely and someone who was constantly looking for his true passion。 The comments throughout from family members， co-workers， other actors were interesting。 。。。more
Kevin
，
There was nothing ordinary about Paul Newman （1925-2008）， the Oscar-winning actor， prize-winning race car driver and philanthropist who gave away more than $570 million to charities。 In THE EXTRAORDINARY LIFE OF AN ORDINARY MAN， Newman never dwells on his accomplishments and， instead， uses the memoir like a long therapy session for soul-searching。 Plagued with chronic insecurity， he felt for most of his life like an impostor who achieved success through luck rather than talent。Between 1986 and 1 There was nothing ordinary about Paul Newman （1925-2008）， the Oscar-winning actor， prize-winning race car driver and philanthropist who gave away more than $570 million to charities。 In THE EXTRAORDINARY LIFE OF AN ORDINARY MAN， Newman never dwells on his accomplishments and， instead， uses the memoir like a long therapy session for soul-searching。 Plagued with chronic insecurity， he felt for most of his life like an impostor who achieved success through luck rather than talent。Between 1986 and 1991， Newman taped conversations with friend and screenwriter Stewart Stern， who also interviewed many of Newman's family， friends and coworkers。 Newman lost interest。 The audiotapes were transcribed and forgotten。 This posthumous memoir is a chronological， multi-voiced oral history， distilled from the 14，000 transcript pages。 Although there are tales of filming CAT ON A HOT TIN ROOF， HUD， THE STING， and other films， Newman is more interested in discussing such serious issues as his alcoholism。 Joanne Woodward， his wife of 50 years， says， "I used to think the only peace Paul ever found was that peace he used to find in being dead drunk。" The addictive personality was passed down to his son， Scott， who died of a drug overdose at age 28。 Newman writes with heartbreaking insight and guilt about his son's long descent into addiction， rehab and death。This unforgettable and extraordinary memoir， one of the best and most compelling books of 2022， is a breathtakingly honest mea culpa from a complicated man striving to excavate his demons; according to Newman's daughter Clea， who writes the memoir's afterword， he succeeded in his final decades。 。。。more
Phyllis Fredericksen
，
Very well done。 Taken from interviews with Newman and family and friends， this book goes deep into reasons for the star’s inward thoughts and deals with his search for self confidence。 Parents are explored and it is easily seen how they affected him deeply。
John Schorg
，
There's a real air of melancholy that hangs over this book。 It certainly comes across that Newman did not feel as successful or admirable as his public image。。。to the point that there is some question if he even wanted this book published。 But this is compelling reading from the start， and certainly well worth the time and trouble。 There's a real air of melancholy that hangs over this book。 It certainly comes across that Newman did not feel as successful or admirable as his public image。。。to the point that there is some question if he even wanted this book published。 But this is compelling reading from the start， and certainly well worth the time and trouble。 。。。more
Beverly
，
This affirms my theory of the neuroticism of actors。 Paul Newman is a prime example。 With repressed emotion and sketchy sense of self he could only access himself by pretending to be someone else。 Apart from that he was kind of ordinary: a hardworking beer drinking frat boy with drive。 He accomplished a lot。
Liv
，
To start， this book published 14 years after Newman's death is a book Paul Newman never meant for you to read。 It was compiled from hours and hours of interviews he did with a screenwriter friend decades ago， and after that session， he decided to burn all of the recordings。 However， this book was compiled at the wishes of two of his daughters from the transcripts。 Much of this is revealed at the end of the book in an afterward。 Throughout Newman's account of his life （narrated very well in audio To start， this book published 14 years after Newman's death is a book Paul Newman never meant for you to read。 It was compiled from hours and hours of interviews he did with a screenwriter friend decades ago， and after that session， he decided to burn all of the recordings。 However， this book was compiled at the wishes of two of his daughters from the transcripts。 Much of this is revealed at the end of the book in an afterward。 Throughout Newman's account of his life （narrated very well in audio by Jeff Daniels）， there is a sense of real loneliness， at feeling like he wasn't always in control of his own life， and that he resented the intrusion of fame。 He found it boggling how women eventually found him to be such a sex symbol， as he couldn't get a girl to even talk to him until after he had been discharged from the military。 There were a lot of fascinating moments in this book: reading about his relationship with his parents （his mother treated him mostly like a prop and once he was married to his first wife， insisted they sleep in twin beds）， his family's complicated relationship with Judaism and how he was the rare actor who chose not to change his name， his time working with Lee Strasberg and the Actors Studio， his relationship with Joanne Woodward， the comparisons to Marlon Brando and James Dean， etc。， plus the information from his daughter about his philanthropic efforts。 Despite that， there was a clear message that Paul Newman wanted to live a private life， and finding out after reading his story how much he didn't want other people to invade his privacy complicated my reaction to this book。 I feel a little resentful that I was unwittingly someone else trying to get a piece of him， and that definitely affects my opinion of this "memoir。" 。。。more
Katie B
，