As Paul Newman’s acting career continued to flourish in the 1960s, he decided to branch out into producing and directing. The star told the Bay Area’s KRON 4, “The reason I started directing was that it was very very difficult to find scripts to do as an actor. There were scripts that I read that I would’ve said, ‘Gee, I would have loved to have been connected with that project.”
Newman directed five feature films and one made-for-TV movie, all featuring Joanne Woodward. 1968’s “Rachel, Rachel” marked Newman’s directorial debut. The story concerns a virginal small-town schoolteacher (Woodward) and the sexual awakening that liberates her. The film received four Oscar nominations, including best picture for Newman, who produced it, and best actress for Woodward, who won a Golden Globe for her work. The role is widely considered one of Woodward’s best performances. Though snubbed by the Oscars for a directing nomination, Newman was named best director by the New York Film Critics Circle and won the Golden Globe for best director, as well as a nomination from the Directors Guild of America.
Newman followed “Rachel, Rachel” with 1971’s “Sometimes a Great Notion,” a picture he also starred in. Newman next directed Woodward, as well as their daughter Nell, in 1972’s “The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-Moon Marigolds,” followed by the acclaimed TV-movie “The Shadow Box” in 1980, 1984’s “Harry & Son” starring Newman and Robby Benson, and a 1987 adaptation of Tennessee Williams’ “The Glass Menagerie,” Newman’s final film as a director.
Read More: World News | Entertainment News | Celeb News
Nicki
