Hollywood mourns star Paul Newman

Hollywood has been mourning the death of Oscar-winning film legend Paul Newman, who died of cancer aged 83.

Tributes have been pouring in for the star of movies such as Butch Cassidy And The Sundance Kid and The Sting.

His co-star in both films, Robert Redford, said: "I have lost a real friend" while Oscar-winner Kevin Spacey said Newman was a "great humble giant".

Former actor, California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, called him "a generous but modest philanthropist".

Former US president Bill Clinton and his wife Hillary described him as "an American icon, philanthropist and champion for children," in a statement.

Newman died at his Connecticut home on Friday.

A statement from Newman's family said: "His death was as private and discreet as the way he had lived his life."

The star's five daughters praised their father's "selfless humility and generosity" in a statement released to the press.

"Paul Newman played many unforgettable roles," they said.

"But the ones for which he was proudest never had top billing on the marquee: Devoted husband, loving father, adoring grandfather, dedicated philanthropist."

In Los Angeles, flowers were placed on Newman's star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame as the Motion Picture Association of America hailed his "extraordinary career."

The actor starred in some 60 films in a career that spanned five decades.

He was nominated for an Academy Award 10 times - but it took him 33 years to win one, picking up the best actor trophy for The Color Of Money in 1987.

In May 2007, Newman said he was giving up acting because he could no longer perform to the best of his ability.

"I'm not able to work any more... at the level that I would want to," he told US broadcaster ABC.

"You start to lose your memory, you start to lose your confidence, you start to lose your invention.

Earlier this year, he pulled out of directing a stage production of John Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men in Connecticut because of unspecified health problems.

'Ego removed'

Eulogies for the star have poured in from friends and colleagues around the world.

Sam Mendes, who directed Newman in 2002's Road To Perdition, said the actor was "an extraordinary man in every respect".

The thing I remember the most about him is his total lack of ego and his lack of entourage and his lack of hangers-on."