On this day in 1969, the legendary actor, philanthropist and automobile enthusiast Paul Newman makes his onscreen racing debut in the action-drama film “Winning.”
By the time he made “Winning,” the blue-eyed Newman was already famous for his performances in such films as “The Hustler” (1960), “Hud” (1962) and “Cool Hand Luke” (1967). The same year “Winning” was released, Newman paired with Robert Redford in the blockbuster hit “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.” In “Winning,” Newman played Frank Capua, a struggling race car driver who must turn around his fortunes by winning the biggest race of them all—the Indianapolis 500—and in the process avoid losing his wife (played by Newman’s real-life spouse, Joanne Woodward) to his biggest rival, Luther Erding (Robert Wagner). Newman and Wagner attended racing school to prepare for their action scenes, and Newman reportedly performed many of the racing scenes himself, without a stunt driver.
