Paul Newman (January 26, 1925)

Paul Newman studied at Lee Strasberg’s Actor's Studio, which gave him a start in his career as an actor. Son of a Jewish father and Catholic mother, he evidently seemed perfect for his role in Exodus – just Jewish enough to be a convincing hero in a blockbuster film about the founding of Israel. I think of him often when buying cookies, salsa, or spaghetti sauce, thanks to his late-life success founding Newman’s Own, the food corporation – from which the profits all really do go to charitable endeavors. And can't help also thinking of him when I imagine the Israeli pioneers at the time of the Israeli War of Independence. Just can't help it.