Siddhesh Joshi (Editor)

Scott Newman (actor)

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Occupation
  
Actor, stuntman

Role
  
Film actor

Name
  
Scott Newman

Years active
  
1973–77


Scott Newman wearing a black striped coat, vest, violet striped long sleeves, and black necktie

Full Name
  
Alan Scott Newman

Born
  
September 23, 1950 (
1950-09-23
)
Cleveland, Ohio, U.S.

Siblings
  
Susan Kendall Newman, Nell Newman, Melissa Newman, Claire Olivia Newman, Stephanie Newman

Grandparents
  
Theresa Newman, Arthur Sigmund Newman

Movies
  
Similar People
  
Paul Newman, Susan Kendall Newman, Jackie Witte, Nell Newman, Joanne Woodward

Parents
  
Paul Newman, Jackie Witte


Died
  
November 20, 1978 (aged 28) Los Angeles, California, U.S.

Scott newman tribute


Alan Scott Newman (September 23, 1950 – November 20, 1978) was an American film and television actor and stuntman, whose most prominent roles were in The Towering Inferno and Breakheart Pass. He was the only son of Academy Award-winning actor Paul Newman. After Scott Newman's death in 1978 from a drug overdose, his father established the Scott Newman Center in his honor, dedicated to preventing drug abuse through education.

Contents

Scott Newman with a tight-lipped smile and dirt on his face while wearing a helmet with number fourteen and wearing a brown jacket

Early life

Paul Newman and his son Scott Newman watching the Ontarion 500 automobile race in Ontario, California while wearing sunglasses

Born in Cleveland, Ohio, to Paul Newman and his first wife, Jackie Witte, Scott Newman was a year old when the family moved to New York City.

Scott Newman smiling while looking afar and wearing a coat and scarf

When Scott was still a young boy with two younger sisters, Susan and Stephanie, his father moved to California to further his career, leaving his family in New York. By 1958, his parents had divorced and his father had married Joanne Woodward, who settled in Westport, Connecticut during the late 1960s, where Scott attended Staples High School briefly. In a later interview, Paul Newman said of his children, "When they were growing up I wasn't there much, and when I was there I was very inconsistent with them. It was hard for them to get a balance." Scott attended expensive private schools but was dismissed from some of them for bad behavior. He came to resent the absence of his father, blaming Woodward and refusing to speak to her.

Acting career

By the late 1960s, Scott had dropped out of college and started to take jobs as a stuntman in his father's films, making over 500 parachute jumps to become a certified instructor. He also took on menial jobs and refused to ask his father for financial help. In the early 1970s, his father decided to use his influence to try to initiate an acting career for his son, and arranged a part for him in The Great Waldo Pepper (1975), starring Robert Redford. At the time, Scott stated, "I'm not taking any acting help from my father. I want my work to stand on its own merit." He had started to drink heavily, and was arrested for minor alcohol-related offences. He also assaulted a police officer, kicking him in the head in a squad car after being arrested for vandalizing a school bus while drunk. Newman's father paid the resulting $1000 fine.

Paul Newman talking to his son Scott Newman while he is wearing black long sleeves and Scott wearing a blue coat, long sleeves, and brown necktie

He later played an acrophobic fireman in The Towering Inferno (1974), in which his father also starred. Although they had no dialog together because Scott's scenes were with co-star Steve McQueen, both Newmans can be seen in the film's finale. Paul's character is on the steps with Faye Dunaway, and Scott is one of the two firemen carrying a man on a stretcher down the plaza steps to California Street, at the Bank of America building in San Francisco. He also played small parts in various TV series during 1975, such as Marcus Welby, M.D., Harry O and S.W.A.T.; and in the Charles Bronson film, Breakheart Pass (1975).

Corey Haim attends Scott Newman Center Benefit Honoring George Schlatter at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills, California

Newman subsequently appeared in the 1977 film, Fraternity Row, but this was to be his last appearance. His alcoholism became more severe, and by 1978 he was sleeping on friends' floors and working as a laborer. He also tried his hand at cabaret singing in small clubs, billing himself as William Scott. Around this time, he confided to family friend A. E. Hotchner, "It's hell being his son, you know... I don't have his blue eyes. I don't have his talent. I don't have his luck. I don't have anything... that's me."

Death

He suffered a motorcycle accident in the fall of 1978, and was taking painkillers to ease the discomfort of his injuries. He also accepted an offer of psychiatric help, paid for by his father. However, in Los Angeles on the night of November 19, he took a fatal dose of valium with alcohol and other drugs. Scott Steinberg, one of the minders appointed by his father, called an ambulance, but Newman was pronounced dead on arrival, the official verdict being an accident. His father later said, "It was the saddest day of my life. The memory of it can never be erased." He told Hotchner: "There's nothing you can say that will repair my guilt about Scott. It will be with me as long as I live."

Scott Newman Center

In 1980, Paul Newman established the Scott Newman Center, dedicated to helping health care professionals and teachers educate children about the dangers of alcohol and drug use. The organization also initiated the Rowdy Ridge Gang Camp, a system of summer camps for families recovering from the problems associated with drug use and alcoholism.

Filmography

Actor
1977
Fraternity Row as
Chunk Cherry
1975
Breakheart Pass as
Rafferty
1975
S.W.A.T. (TV Series) as
Will Brewer
- The Vendetta (1975) - Will Brewer
1975
Harry O (TV Series) as
Randy
- Lester (1975) - Randy
1975
Marcus Welby, M.D. (TV Series) as
Harry Palmer
- Four Plus Hot (1975) - Harry Palmer
1975
The Great Waldo Pepper as
Duke
1974
The Towering Inferno as
Young Fireman
Archive Footage
2022
The Last Movie Stars (TV Series documentary) as
Self
- Chapter Two: A Star Is Born (2022) - Self

References

Scott Newman (actor) Wikipedia