A sign in Paul Newman’s Westport Conn. offices famously read: “If I had a plan, I would be screwed.”
But before he died Friday at age 83 after a long struggle with cancer, the late actor and philanthropist played against type to make sure his beloved philanthropies, especially a network of camps for children with life-threatening diseases, would outlive him.
He had first broached the subject of his philanthropic legacy several years ago, while fishing with two old friends, Robert Forrester and David Horvitz, off the Outer Banks of North Carolina, Forrester reminisced to the Associated Press.
Newman confided he wanted to ensure that the profits from his stupendously profitable food company, Newman’s Own, continued to go to the Hole in the Wall Camps, which he had begun more than 20 years ago, as well as to dozens of other charities he felt strongly about.
At Forrester’s request, Newman listed the values he wanted the company to embody after he was gone, including quality food, fair labor practices, a focus on philanthropy, not profit, and an open, rather than bureaucratic work environment.
After their return from the fishing trip, they did something about it, setting up interlocking foundations to ensure those values would endure. Newman’s Own foundation, which had been chaired by Newman, is co-chaired by Joanne Woodward, his wife of more than 50 years, and also by Forrester. “We’re stewards of that legacy,” Forrester said.
A second foundation, Association of Hole in the Wall Camps, was set up to fund-raise for the network of 11 Hole in the Wall camps around the world, which have been attended by more than 135,000 children and where Newman himself spent time every summer.
“He saw the camps as places where kids could escape the fear, pain and isolation of their conditions, kick back and raise a little hell,” his friend said.
Trustees include his friend Horvitz, Richard D. Segal, another friend who is chairman of Seavest Inc. and friend Henry B. Schact, the former chairman and CEO of Lucent Technologies.
A third foundation, Hole in the Wall Gang Fund, whose directors include his daughter, Clea Newman Soderlund and the actress Julia Roberts, actually does the work of running the camps.
Newman became a multimillion-dollar philanthropist almost by accident.
In 1982, he and writer A.E. Hotchner, a friend and neighbor, started Newman’s Own to market the oil-and-vinegar salad dressing that the actor was famous for making in the horse barn of his Connecticut property.
But what began as an act of whimsy quickly grew into a multimillion-dollar business. The company has a staff of 28 and an independent management team, and now makes 100 different products, including lemonade, pasta sauces, popcorn, salsa and steak sauce. It also launched a spin-off in 1993, Newman’s Own Organics, run by the actor’s daughter, Nell Newman, who lives in Santa Cruz.
Newman and the company have given away 100 percent of the after-tax profits - more than $250 million - to charities ranging from the Hole in the Wall Association to the Safe Water Network, which provides safe drinking water to impoverished communities in places like India and Africa.
Another daughter, Melissa “Lissy” Newman, said her father’s charity work mattered to him more than anything else.
“That is what he would like people to remember,” she said. “Reach out. Keep doing it. If we all did something for somebody or some organization today, can you imagine the change that would happen?
Click here to sign up for the Muckety Newsletter
0 Comments
There are no comments yet, be the first by filling in the form below.
Leave a Comment