Sad news: Paul Newman has lost his long battle with cancer at the age of 83. Newman was a screen icon with dozens of classic films to his credit, as well as an avid humanitarian. He is survived by his wife of 50 years, their six children and eight grandchildren.

Paul Newman has died at age 83.

He passed away after a long battle with cancer Friday at his farmhouse near Westport, Connecticut. No other details were available.

In a statement, Robert Forrester, vice-chairman of Newman’s Own Foundation, said: “Paul Newman’s craft was acting. His passion was racing. His love was his family and friends. And his heart and soul were dedicated to helping make the world a better place for all.

“Paul had an abiding belief in the role that luck plays in one’s life, and its randomness. He was quick to acknowledge the good fortune he had in his own life, beginning with being born in America, and was acutely aware of how unlucky so many others were. True to his character, he quietly devoted himself to helping offset this imbalance.”

Born in Ohio in 1925, the actor rose to fame in such roles as The Hustler, Cool Hand Luke and Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, in which he starred opposite Robert Redford.

He was nominated for 10 Oscars, winning for 1987’s The Color of Money and taking home two honorary ones.

Newman was also known for his philanthropy. He created the Newman’s Own brand of organic foods and donated the company’s profits to charity.

“What started as something of a joke in the basement of his home, turned into a highly-respected, multi-million dollar a year food company,” Forrester said in a statement. “And true to form, he shared this good fortune by donating all the profits and royalties he earned to thousands of charities around the world, a total which now exceeds $250 million.”

He also founded the Hole in the Wall Gang Camp for children with serious illnesses. Said Forrester: “Today, there are 11 Camps around the world, with additional programs in Africa and Vietnam. Through the Camps, well over 135,000 children have had the chance to experience what childhood was meant to be.”

Newman is survived by his wife, actress Joanne Woodward, 78. The couple celebrated their golden anniversary in January. He is the father of six children and eight grandchildren.

Newman never confirmed reports that he was battling cancer. In June, as rumors swirled about his illness, his pal (and neighbor) Martha Stewart wrote, “He is still full of vim and vigor, he is still Cool Hand Luke to me, and of course, my Butch Cassidy!”

Newman announced he was retiring last year.

“I’m not able to work anymore as an actor at the level I would want to,” he said on Good Morning America. “You start to lose your memory, your confidence, your invention. So that’s pretty much a closed book for me… I’ve been doing it for 50 years. That’s enough.”

Newman had said he’d like to be remembered as “a guy who tried, tried to be part of his times, tried to help people communicate with one another, tried to find some decency in his own life, tried to extend himself as a human being. Someone who isn’t complacent, who doesn’t cop out.”

[From Us Weekly]

Newman was nothing short of a class act from the very beginning of his career. His All-American good looks and bright blue eyes garnered lots of attention, but he quickly proved that he was more than just a pretty face. His acting career spanned more than 50 years, boasting such films as “The Verdict” (one of his bast, in my opinion), “Hud” and “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof.” Despite the accolades and A-list status, Newman kept his personal life private. Even as he battled cancer, he worked to keep the severity of his condition from the media. His 50-year marriage to actress Joanne Woodward is a definite inspiration and an anomaly in a town where famous couples are lucky to last a couple of years.

Condolences to his family and friends.

Picture note by JayBird: Paul Newman is shown in the header image with his wife, Joanne Woodward. Here are some pictures of Newman throughout his career.

Uterine cancer survivor and “The Nanny” star Fran Drescher has been named as a U.S. public diplomacy envoy on the issue of women’s health- particularly cancer prevention and care.

On Monday, Sept. 8, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice will name the Emmy and Golden Globe nominee the newest member of the State Department’s Public Diplomacy Envoy program. Drescher will join the ranks of figure skater Michelle Kwan and baseball legend Cal Ripken Jr.

Like the other envoys, Drescher will travel the world promoting America’s image. The State Department, which oversees the program, says she will focus her energy on issues close to her heart, namely women’s health and cancer awareness and prevention.

Drescher, herself a cancer survivor, founded Cancer Schmancer, a nonprofit organization that works to ensure women’s cancers are diagnosed in their early stages, when they are most curable.

Her first trip abroad will be to eastern Europe later this month. The State Department says Drescher will travel to Romania, Hungary, Kosovo and Poland. She is also expected to take a trip to the Middle East.

The actress, known for her trademark nasal voice, Queens accent and staccato laugh, also appeared in the movies “Saturday Night Fever,” “This Is Spinal Tap,” “The Beautician and the Beast” and “Jack.”

Kwan, and Ripkin who were named as envoys in 2006 and 2007, respectively, have been traveling the world using the universal language of sports to promote understanding among young people.

Drescher, who will be the first nonathlete envoy, was offered the job over a year ago by then undersecretary of state for public diplomacy and public affairs Karen Hughes, a former White House adviser to President Bush.

Hughes, who has since left Washington to return to her native Texas, described the Special Envoy program in a 2007 speech as an attempt to “reach out to that vital audience of young people” and provide a way “to counter extremism and foster greater tolerance and respect for diversity and differences.”

Drescher has said that it took her two years and seven different doctors to properly diagnose her cancer. In her book, “Cancer Schmancer,” the actress talks about how gynelogical care has not advanced. “The big problem with the typical exam is we don’t get tested for anything north of the cervix,” Drescher wrote. “What about the uterus and the ovaries? The doctor still gives you a manual pelvic exam which is like something out of the Dark Ages.” If someone with Fran’s money and access to leading doctors has that kind of trouble getting care, you can imagine how other women are faring- in this country and in other parts of the world. I don’t know how much Drescher will actually be able to accomplish as a diplomat, but at the very least, I hope she raises awareness.

Note by Celebitchy: Here are photos from the Stand Up 2 Cancer telethon held on Friday featuring Fran Drescher, Christina Ricci, Sharon Osbourne, Melissa Etheridge, Ellen DeGeneres, Marissa Jaret Winokur, John Krasinski, Forest Whitaker, Sheryl Crow, Charles Barkley, Evan Handler, Abigail Breslin, America Ferrera, Jennifer Garner, Mandy Moore, Salma Hayek, Josh Brolin, Casey Affleck, and Kate Bosworth. Credit: WENN.

Jade Goody is the British Big Brother 2002 contestant who was voted out of the Celebrity Big Brother house in 2007 after she made racist statements about the Indian actress who eventually won, Shilpa Shetty. Goody is known for her stupidity and has made a lot of ignorant comments, including thinking Saddam Hussein was a boxer, and that Sherlock Holmes invented the toilet. She’s still making money and getting work even after her racist bullying controversy. She has two perfumes out and she received $200,000 for appearing on the Indian version of Big Brother, Bigg Boss.

While filming India’s Bigg Boss, Goody received sad news. She’s gone through a series of health scares recently and has been taken to hospital after collapsing several times. Goody, 27, received a phone call on the reality show from her doctor informing her that she’s suffering from cancer. It’s most likely cervical cancer, although the Daily Mail says it’s not entirely clear and could be womb cancer:

The 27-year-old was a contestant on Bigg Boss 2 when she was called to the Diary Room to speak to her UK doctor who told her the results of a recent biopsy.

It is not clear whether she has womb or cervical cancer but the latter is far more common in women of her age.

The mother-of-two broke down in tears and sobbed to housemates she had suffered some ‘bad news’ and that she had to leave the house.

She was immediately withdrawn from the programme and was last night being flown home to begin treatment.

Her spokesman Mark Thomas said: ‘It is pretty obvious that she was looking forward to her time in the house but her health is the first priority and she is flying back for treatment and more tests.’

While cervical cancer has an 83 per cent survival rate, it kills more than 800 women each year and is the second most common form of the disease for women under 35 after breast cancer.

Jade had entered the Bigg Boss house after undergoing tests at Princess Alexandra Hospital in Essex after her third cancer scare and following four mystery collapses earlier this month.

But just three days after entering the house, she was told the devastating news yesterday by a specialist from the UK who was patched through to the Diary Room to speak to her.

A source said: ‘She was called into the Diary Room and spoke to her agent and then her consultant in the UK.

‘She just burst into tears, ran out and said to housemates “I have cancer”.’

Show bosses said the scenes will not be aired when the show is transmitted later tonight.

[From The Daily Mail]

It’s thoughtful of producers not to air the footage and you would expect them to put it on the show to explain what happened. It’s also quite dramatic and could make for high viewership if they included those segments.

No one should have to go through that and I hope she’s ok. Goody has two children from an ex-boyfriend, Bobby Jack, 5, and Freddie, nearly 4. She was pregnant in the spring of last year with a child from a different boyfriend, then 19 year-old Jack Tweed, but she had a miscarriage in June and eventually broke up with Tweed, saying she “felt more like his mother than his girlfriend.” Hopefully she will fully recover from this.

There have been a lot of stories of female celebrities suffering cancer, particularly breast cancer, and it helps emphasize how important it is to see your doctor and have regular checkups and screening tests.

Jade Goody is shown launching her perfume, “Controversial,” at Embassy night club in London on 7/29/08. Credit: Lia Toby / WENN

Christina Applegate is set to share some fabulous news this morning. According to E!, Applegate filmed an interview with Robin Roberts on Monday morning in which she says that she is now completely free of cancer – a true testament to the importance of early detection.

Christina Applegate has great news. “They got everything out, so I’m definitely not going to die from breast cancer,” the Samantha Who? star says in an interview scheduled to air Tuesday on Good Morning America. The 36-year-old actress, whose mom also battled—and survived—the disease, revealed earlier this month that she had been diagnosed with early stage breast cancer and was undergoing treatment.

Applegate, said that she has been getting regular mammograms since she turned 30. A second MRI, part of the follow-up from a biopsy she had last year, revealed the cancer. “I was so mad and I—I just remember I was—I was just shaking,” she told GMA cohost Robin Roberts, herself a breast-cancer survivor, on Monday. “And then also immediately, I had to go into…’take-care-of-business mode,’ which was…I asked them, ‘What do I do now? What—what is it that I do? I get a doctor, I get a surgeon, I get an oncologist? What do I do?’”

Apparently she did what was right for her, which included penciling in all the help she needed and switching to a macrobiotic diet. “I’m clear,” Applegate said. “Absolutely 100 percent clear and clean. It did not spread. They got everything out, so I’m definitely not going to die from breast cancer.”

[From E! News]

E! doesn’t say if Applegate discusses what course of treatment she chose. I’m also curious when she found out she had cancer, and if she waited a bit to get a clearer prognosis before releasing a statement. No matter what this sounds like great news, and really serves as a reminder about the importance of diligent checkups from an early age.

Here’s Christina at the Screen Actors Guild Awards in January. Images thanks to PR Photos.

Christina Applegate has received an outpouring of support since last week when she announced that she has breast cancer. It sounds like her prognosis is good and it was caught early. Fellow survivor Suzanne Somers wrote Applegate an encouraging open letter that was published in People. Somers made headlines back in 2001 when she decided to treat her cancer without chemotherapy, instead using radiation, surgery, a treatment made with a fermented mistletoe extract.

Dear Christina,

Cancer is scary, and lonely. You can’t ask anyone to make decisions for you because it’s just too heavy. There is a lot of ‘rush to treatment,’ when what you really need is time to research and think about how you want to approach this. Take your time Christina, there is no rush. Take your time and think it through. Use your cancer to learn and grow and as a force to work for you. You might choose to take an alternative approach. There are more options than the ones presented to you in the oncologist’s office. You will make it. The success and drive you have had in your career will be the same strengths you will use to win over this nasty disease. And I am here if you want to talk to someone who was ‘there.’

Sincerely,
Suzanne Somers

[From People]

I always find it a little odd when someone chooses an open letter instead of writing – or speaking – to a person directly. But I would guess Christina isn’t really easy to get in touch with right now. And by writing her letter to People, Somers made others aware of some of the emotional issues of breast cancer. I like that she didn’t seem to force her views at all; she just simply pointed out that there are other treatments besides the traditional ones, and each person has to figure out what’s best for her. Somers appears to be in pretty good health, and certainly took a less-than-conventional route.

Here’s Christina shooting some beach scenes for her hit show “Samantha Who” in May. Images thanks to Fame. Header picture of Suzanne Somers from October 2005. Images thanks to PR Photos.

Christina Applegate has been diagnosed with an early stage of breast cancer, according to a statement put out by her representative. It sounds like it was caught early and that she should be fine after treatment. The 36 year-old actress has a family history of breast cancer. Her mother is a breast cancer survivor and underwent treatment and a mastectomy when Christina was a young girl. Christina is active with the Susan G Komen breast cancer foundation - my mother met her during a walk for the charity a few years ago - and it is likely that she goes for regular mammograms and checkups:

Christina Applegate has been diagnosed with an early form of breast cancer her rep confirmed Saturday.

“Benefitting from early detection through a doctor ordered MRI, the cancer is not life threatening,” the Emmy nominated Samantha Who? star’s rep said in a statement. “Christina is following the recommended treatment of her doctors and will have a full recovery.”

Applegate’s mother is a breast cancer survivor.

“The first time she was diagnosed I was a very young girl – probably 7. I’m not sure it really fully hit me at the time, but she had to undergo surgery and have a mastectomy and reconstructive surgery,” Applegate, 36, told USA Today in 2003.

“It was devastating for my mother to lose one of her breasts and have to go through all that,” Applegate said. “It is a very personal cancer for the women it affects. This is about women’s womanhood. It’s one of the aspects of our femininity.”

Breast cancer is currently the most common cancer in women and the leading cause of cancer-related deaths in the 15-54 age group.

[From US Weekly]

Actress Cynthia Nixon recently disclosed that she had breast cancer in 2006 and that it was detected early and she is now cancer free. Nixon’s mother is a two time breast cancer survivor and helped her realize the importance of early detection.

While looking for photos for this story I found some exclusives at Bauer Griffin which were taken May 13 and show Christina at an “outpatient cancer clinic” at Cedars Sinai, where they say she stayed for two hours. It’s possible that she chose to wait to announce her cancer, like Cynthia Nixon, until after treatment was successful.

In early July, Applegate lost her ex boyfriend of over two years. 26-year-old Lee Grivas was found dead in his apartment of an apparent heroin overdose on July 1. Applegate issued a statement at the time saying that she was “profoundly saddened” by his death. She is now thought to be dating a bass player who hails from Holland.

Applegate has gone through a lot this year, and our thoughts are with her for a quick recovery.

Christina Applegate is shown in the header on May 13 outside Cedars Sinai. Credit: JRI/JF2/bauergriffinonline.com. She is shown below at the “Over Her Dead Body” Los Angeles Premiere on 1/29/08. Credit: Albert L. Ortega / PR Photos

Beloved 55 year-old star Patrick Swayze is still working and is determined to beat pancreatic cancer. He’s working on his health through daily meditation, hours of massages, gentle Eastern exercise and a healthy diet. Unfortunately Swayze is still smoking the occasional cigarette, but he is reportedly not inhaling. That probably makes a small difference, but with all the other measures he’s using to get healthy it seems like he would work to give up cigarettes too:

Patrick Swayze… is crediting his improved health and weight gain to combining an ancient healing technique with his own diet and positive philosophy.

“Patrick’s health regime consists of hours of meditation and stretching, four massages a day including two-hour foot massages to stimulate the organs and induce blood flow, and Tai Chi martial arts exercises,” a close pal revealed to The Enquirer.

“He also takes herbal supplements, eats only organic food and sticks to a strict macrobiotic diet…”

The only sticking point in his health regimen is his tobacco addition, revealed his pal.

“Patrick is having a hard time trying to quit. He still smokes, but claims he doesn’t inhale.”

[From The National Enquirer, print edition, August 11, 2008]

Patrick is now working on the series “The Beast” for A&E, which is filming in Chicago. He said to photographers at the airport a little over a week ago “I’m a miracle, dude.”

The prognosis for pancreatic cancer victims is slim, with less than 5% of sufferers living 5 years or more after diagnosis. Last week Carnegie Mellon professor Randy Pausch, whose “last lecture” video received millions of views on YouTube, passed away after a nearly two year long battle with the illness. Maybe Swayze will beat the odds. He’s definitely following Pausch’s life lessons and is living life to the fullest.

Patrick Swayze is shown on the set of “The Beast” on 7/28/08. Credit: Fame.

55 year-old Patrick Swayze has put on some weight and is looking good as he battles pancreatic cancer. He has undergone experimental “cyberknife” surgery and was thought to be gaunt and just hanging in there but these latest photos may prove the speculation wrong. He seems to be in excellent spirits and not as thin as he was at his last photographed outing at a Lakers playoff game in late May. Swayze gave the paparazzi at LAX this Sunday upbeat answers to their questions about his health despite the fact that he had to take off his belt and boots for security:

When asked how he was feeling the actor said “He was cookin’” and when asked about his health he replied “I’m a miracle dude, I don’t know why.”

[From Splash News photo description]

He looks damn good, and it’s great to hear he’s doing so well. Swayze is filming a new show for A&E called The Beast, in which he plays an FBI agent who takes a new partner under his wing. He was flying off to work on the show.

Swayze lives on a ranch in New Mexico with his wife of 23 years, Lisa Niemi, 52. He gave an update to People Magazine in late May stating he was responding well to treatment at Stanford University Medical Center and that he was enjoying Spring and the baby calves that were being born on his farm. He may see many more seasons and babies if he continues on the path he’s on. You look great, Patrick, and we are so relieved to see you doing well.

Photos from 7/20/08. Credit: Splash News

Some celebrities cash in with wedding or baby photos while those in need of fame try to revive or launch struggling careers with reality shows. Television legend and 70s pinup Farrah Fawcett has figured out a way to turn the most harrowing heath crisis of her life into a documentary that will earn her at least $2 million. If there’s any celebrity story or event that is worth that much money, Farrah’s battle with cancer is definitely it:

She worked a financial deal with “Entertainment Tonight” earlier this year where the show followed her around to treatments and showed Fawcett’s friends videotaping her ordeal. Now, the footage shot by Fawcett’s pals is being sold to NBC for “over $2 million,” said a source. Craig Nevius, the documentary’s producer, said, “We are negotiating with one of the big three networks, but no deal has been signed yet.” Presumably, footage would air on both “Today” and “Dateline.”

[From The NY Post via Huffington Post]

That’s wonderful for Farrah and should help her have a comfortable retirement. Farrah underwent experimental treatments for cancer, including targeted chemotherapy in Germany that is not yet available in the US.

Farrah was first diagnosed with anal cancer in October, 2006. She announced that she was cancer free in February of last year, but the cancer sadly returned and she went to Germany on the advice of her friend, the singer Cher. In February of this year Cher told Access Hollywood that Farrah had beat the cancer again and was cancer free following her treatments:

Stunning news from the legendary diva about Farrah’s condition and, in fact, it was Cher who encouraged her friend to seek treatment in Germany.

“It is a completely different kind of treatment,” Cher explained. “She had the cancer and then it went to her liver and so what they do there is, instead of giving you chemo all over, they do a thing called (chemo)embolization where they take whatever chemo that they were going to give you and they put it directly into the tumors into your liver and then when they shrink down smaller enough they do a thing called Cyberknife and they go in and they just take it out.”

[From Access Hollywood]

Now we’re about to have a glimpse of what Farrah went through to fight cancer. That footage is priceless. Good job Farrah, and congratulations on beating cancer.

Farrah Fawcett is shown at the airport on 5/29/08, thanks to Splash.

Back in January we covered reports that Paul Newman was battling lung cancer, to which he responded that the only things he was getting treatment for were hair loss and athlete’s foot. Five months later and it seems that he’s looking very frail, and more news agencies are suggesting that the lifelong smoker does have lung cancer. His rep has a cryptic statement from the man.

“Newman says he’s doing nicely,” his spokesman, Jeff Sanderson, said in a message emailed to media outlets today in answer to queries about the cancer reports.

Reached by telephone in his Los Angeles office, Sanderson declined to elaborate or give further details.

“This is what I got from him. He says he’s doing nicely, and this is the statement I wanted to share with you, and that’s what I have,” Sanderson told Reuters.

“I spoke to his office. … this is the statement that came directly from him.”

Sydney Morning Herald

That is very cryptic, but what you come to expect from a legend like Paul Newman. OK! Magazine actually says that the rep called the reports ‘not true’, but I haven’t been able to find this elsewhere.

As well as being a great actor, he also has a successful range of ‘Paul Newman’s Own’ salad dressings, cookies and organic food products. Adding speculation that he is unwell is that he has just turned over his $120million share in the company to charity.

Paul is now 83 years old, so he might just be scaling back into proper retirement. Hopefully this is the case, since it isn’t unusual for people to live well into their 90s.

Paul and his wife Joanne Woodward celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary in January, which I think means they aren’t allowed back into Hollywood. They live in Westport, Connecticut currently. He was just the most attractive man in his prime, and is still working now. His last film role was the voice of Doc Hudson in Cars.

Paul Newman is shown in the header in a still from a Barbara Walters interview this spring, thanks to Splash.