Behind the Scenes of Cool Hand Luke

1
Behind the Scenes of Cool Hand Luke

• Starring Paul Newman and George Kennedy
• By Caitlin Van Stone and Marjorie DeSisto

2
Paul Newman

• Born January 26, 1925
• in Shaker Heights, OH
• Height 59
• Discharged from Navy
• in 1946
• Attended Kenyon College,
• Yale School of Drama and
• the New York Actors Studio

3
His Career

• Performed in plays such as The Glass Menagerie
• Spent 14 months on Broadway
• His breakthrough role was in 1956 as boxer Rocky
  Craziano in Somebody Up There Likes Me.

4
Awards

• Received Best Actor Academy Award for his role
  in The Color of Money
• He was also nominated for seven other Oscars,
  including one for Cool Hand Luke.
• Newman is also acclaimed as a director.

5
His Family

• After divorcing Jackie Witte in 1958, Newman
  married actress Joanne Woodward, and they had 3
  children together.

6
Life Beyond Acting

• Paul Newman is the creator of Newmans Own food
  products, which grossed over 100 million dollars
  (more than all of his movies) that was all
  donated to charity.
• He now lives with his wife in Westport, CT.

7
George Kennedy

• Born February 18, 1925 in New York City
• Height 64
• By age two, he was already a stage and radio
  performer.

8
In the Army

• George Kennedy enlisted in the Army during World
  War II, and he stayed enlisted for 16 years.
• After seeing combat, he became an Armed Forces
  radio and television officer .

9
As an Actor

• Kennedy decided he wanted to act while working as
  technical advisor for The Phil Silvers Show.
• He then went on to appear in more than 100 films,
  with his debut as Hawk in Gunfight at Black Horse
  Canyon.

10
Awards

• George Kennedy won an Oscar for Best Supporting
  Actor for his performance as Dragline in Cool
  Hand Luke.
• He also received a Golden Globe nomination for
  Airport.

11
The Production Notes

• The film Cool Hand Luke was based on the novel by
  Donn Pearce.
• Pearce had actually served two years on a
  Southern chain gang for safecracking.
• He had a small role in the film, and he served as
  technical advisor.

12
Production Notes Continued

• The Southern prison camp used to film the movie
  was built just North of Stockton, CA.
• For the camp, twelve buildings were constructed
  and surrounded by a chain link fence.
• Special arrangements had to be used in order to
  use country roads.

13
More Production Notes

• During one scene of the film, they really
  black-topped a mile long stretch of highway for
  the county.
• Jo Van Fleet, the actress who played Arletta, is
  actually only six years older than Paul Newman.

14
Even More Production Notes

• During the filming process, a local building
  inspector actually put condemned notices on the
  set structures for not meeting building code
  standards.
• He quickly removed the notices when he learned
  what the buildings were for.