The tribute, from George Clooney, followed the announcement that the eight-times nominated, but just one-time Oscar winner, had died at his home in Westport, Connecticut, at the weekend after a battle with cancer. He was 83.
The son of a former Ohio journalist, Newman will best be remembered for not only the most striking blue eyes, which he flashed in more than 65 movies in a career spanning half a century, but for starting a not-for-profit food company, which has delivered $US250 million to charity.
"It`s a great loss, in so many ways," said Martin Scorsese, who directed The Color of Money, the film for which Newman won his Oscar.
"The history of movies without Paul Newman? It`s unthinkable. His powerful eloquence, his consummate sense of craft, so consummate that you didn`t see any sense of effort up there on the screen, set a new standard."
Robert Redford, Newman`s co-star in the classic Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, said there was a point at which it was impossible to describe the sense of loss. "I have lost a real friend. My life - and this country - is better for his being in it," he said.
Newman made his name as a handsome rascal in films including The Hustler, Hud and Cool Hand Luke and was able to extend his career into his sunset years in films such as Road to Perdition.
He was married for 50 years to his second wife, actress Joanne Woodward - making them one of Hollywood`s greatest and longest-lasting couples.
What did you think of Paul Newman?
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