By:  Serach Nissim

At Sotheby’s auction, you can now bid on items that belonged to Paul Newman and his wife.

As reported by the NY Post, Sotheby’s “Life & Legacy” auction,  is auctioning off over 300 personal items which belonged to the heart throb and his actress wife, Joanne Woodward.  The New York auction, which begins on June 12th, will offer a variety of items the couple owned throughout their 50-year marriage, which will “offer a rare window into the personal and professional lives of the famed couple who were also dedicated philanthropists,” Sotheby’s said. Lots include antique furniture, clothing, photographs, paintings, books, racing collectables, and Emmy Award Nomination certificates.  “My parents shared a passion for antiques and vintage items, the quirkier the better,” said their daughter Melissa Newman.  Up for bids are even the prop shackles used in the classic movie, “Cool Hand Luke”, which were given an estimate price of between $3,000 and $5,000, but have already reached a bid of $11,000.

Sotheby’s is also offering two Rolex wristwatches which had belonged to Newman, at its “Important Watches” auction on June 9.  Each of the rare Daytona watches may sell for between $500,000 to $1 million apiece (they are not the “Paul Newman” branded Daytonas).

Sotheby’s said the auctions “will illuminate the two worlds that Woodward and Newman occupied: the glamorous lifestyle of a Hollywood power-couple and their private life where they surrounded themselves with the people, objects and philanthropic causes they cherished the most.”

Newman, who was nominated for 10 Academy Awards, passed away in 2008 from lung cancer, at age 83.  He received numerous awards including: an Academy Award, a BAFTA Award, three Golden Globe Awards, a Screen Actors Guild Award, a Primetime Emmy Award, a Silver Bear, and a Cannes Film Festival Award. He is best known for his role in films: The Color of Money (1986), The Hustler (1961), The Verdict (1982), The Long, Hot Summer (1958), HUD (1963), The Sting (1973), and Road To Perdition (2002).

Besides being a legendary actor, Newman was also a film director, entrepreneur, a professional race car driver, political activist and a philanthropist.  He had also served in the United States Navy in World War II.   Newman’s Own, a line of food products that he co-founded, had all its proceeds, after taxes, donated to charity. Per Wikipedia, in 2007, he donated $10 million to Kenyon College, which he had attended for his Bachelors degree.  Newman was named the Most Generous Celebrity of 2008 by Givingback.org.

Woodward, who had starred with Newman in many films, had earned her own “Best Actress” Oscar for her role in “The Three Faces of Eve”.  She and Newman had three children together, including Nell, Melissa and Clea Newman.  Mrs. Woodward has been living with Alzheimer’s disease since 2007.  At 93, she is currently the oldest living Best Actress Oscar-winner, and one of the last surviving stars from the Golden Age of Hollywood cinema, as per Wikipedia.