The 'eyes' still have it for Paul Newman!

If You Have Brown Eyes, and Bad Luck, Don't Go Into Show Business?
Posted by Len Bourret, for www.BroadwayWorld.com (Copyright 2009)

The 'eyes' still have it for Paul Newman!

Paul Newman felt his eyes were the key to his fame.

Paul Newman liked to joke about his trademark blue eyes, musing that if they turned brown his career might be in jeopardy, his daughter has revealed. The film legend, who died a year ago at the age of 83, was also delighted to learn he was on Richard Nixon's enemies list, Nell Newman said. The Academy Award-winning actor's daughter gave a rare glimpse into his life in an interview with the Associated Press, saying: "He always used to joke if his eyes turned brown, what would happen to his career... He always felt he was just really lucky." Nell was meeting with reporters in Connecticut as part of an effort by her company, Newman's Own Organics, to highlight its partnership with McDonald's Corp. And she revealed that, despite his Hollywood success, Paul preferred the company of race car mechanics to the Beverly Hills jet set. He and his family were most comfortable in Westport, the southwestern Connecticut town where they fished and roamed the land with their five dogs, including her dad's Irish wolfhound. The actor also saved a document that showed he had turned up on President Nixon's enemies' list. "He was tickled pink and framed it," Nell said. Paul and writer AE Hotchner started Newman's Own in 1982, and it and Newman's Own Organics have given $250 million dollars to charities. Nell said her dad believed in supporting small organizations that didn't have wealthy connections. "He liked quiet philanthropy," she said. "He didn't want his name on any buildings."