Claim: Paul Newman was a racecar driver.

Paul Leonard Newman -LRB- January 26 , 1925 -- September 26 , 2008 -RRB- was an American actor , IndyCar driver , entrepreneur , and philanthropist . He won and was nominated for numerous awards , winning an Academy Award for his performance in the 1986 film The Color of Money , a BAFTA Award , a Screen Actors Guild Award , a Cannes Film Festival Award , an Emmy Award , and many others . Newman 's other films include The Hustler -LRB- 1961 -RRB- , Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid -LRB- 1969 -RRB- as Butch Cassidy , The Sting -LRB- 1973 -RRB- , and The Verdict -LRB- 1982 -RRB- . However , he is perhaps best remembered for his role as the title character in Cool Hand Luke -LRB- 1967 -RRB- .   Despite being colorblind , Newman won several national championships as a driver in Sports Car Club of America road racing , and his race teams won several championships in open wheel IndyCar racing . He was a co-founder of Newman 's Own , a food company from which he donated all post-tax profits and royalties to charity . As of January 2017 , these donations have totaled over US$ 485 million . He was also a co-founder of Safe Water Network , a nonprofit that develops sustainable drinking water solutions for those in need . In 1988 , Newman founded the SeriousFun Children 's Network , a global family of summer camps and programs for children with serious illness which has served 290,076 children since its inception .