Paul Newman’s firstborn daughter, Susan Kendall Newman, an actress, Emmy-nominated producer, and social activist, has died.
Videos by Suggest
Her death on Aug. 2 was attributed to “complications from chronic health conditions,” according to an obituary published Tuesday in The New York Times. She was 72.
“Susan Kendall Newman will be remembered for her sharp wit and tongue, generosity and love, and her devotion to family and friends,” her family said. “She will be very much missed.”
The daughter of Newman and his first wife, Jackie Witte, the late actress began her career in on- and off-Broadway productions. Her credits include Jerry Adler’s 1975 show We Interrupt This Program, which ran for only seven performances.
She also appeared in the classic 1977 sports comedy Slap Shot, playing a pharmacist opposite her father, who starred as a minor league hockey coach.
She also appeared in an early film by director Robert Zemeckis (Back to the Future, Forrest Gump). In Zemeckis’ 1978 film I Wanna Hold Your Hand, Susan played one of six teenagers attempting to sneak into The Beatles’ 1964 performance on “The Ed Sullivan Show.”
According to IMDb, the comedy was Zemeckis’ directorial debut and the first film executive-produced by Steven Spielberg. The cast also included Nancy Allen, Bobby Di Cicco, Marc McClure, Theresa Saldana, Wendie Jo Sperber, Eddie Deezen, Christian Juttner, and Will Jordan.
She also appeared in Robert Altman’s 1978 satirical comedy-drama A Wedding, starring Desi Arnaz Jr., Carol Burnett, and Geraldine Chaplin.
Susan Kendall Newman Shifts From Acting to Producing
In 1980, Susan produced an ABC Theatre adaptation of Michael Cristofer’s Pulitzer Prize-winning play The Shadow Box. Directed by her father and starring her stepmother, Joanne Woodward, the production earned Susan an Emmy Award nomination for television.
She also received a Grammy Award nomination for Best Spoken Word Album for Children, having produced a family-friendly audiobook series of classical literature for Simon & Schuster.
Meanwhile, Susan was a dedicated philanthropist and social activist. She supported the Scott Newman Foundation, a nonprofit founded by Paul Newman to address substance abuse after his son Scott died of a drug overdose in 1978.
A drug abuse prevention expert, Susan spoke frequently at the Betty Ford Center, the Annenberg Complex, universities, hospitals, community groups, and government bodies across the US, Canada, Australia, and Mexico.
Susan also collaborated with the California Department of Education to oversee the production of the video “Drug Free Kids: A Parent’s Guide,” designed to help parents identify and address substance abuse.
Susan’s parents were married from 1949 to 1958 and had three children: Susan, Scott, and Stephanie, now 71. Witte passed away in 1994 at age 64. After their divorce, Paul married Woodward, now 95, and they had three daughters: Elinor (66), Melissa (64), and Claire (60). Paul and Woodward remained married until his death in 2008 at age 83.