Racer, actor Paul Newman dies at 83

09/27/08, 10:29 am et

He was a racer who supported his racing habit by acting. That's how he wanted to be remembered. Racer/actor Paul Leonard Newman, who managed to succeed in both fields, died Friday, Sept. 23, after a long battle with cancer. He was 83.

Newman came to racing late in life, driving his first race car in his 40s. Bob Bondurant trained him to drive for the 1969 movie Winning at the then-brand-new Bondurant School, which at the time was using Datsun 510s and roadsters at Orange County International Raceway in California. Newman was the fourth student at the school. Costar Robert Wagner was the fifth.

"I asked him why he wanted to go to my school and he said, 'I had two other movies I could make quite a bit of money in, but I wanted to see if I could drive a race car.' " Bondurant...