MARTHA STEWART tells ET that while her good friend PAUL NEWMAN looked a little thinner, he was doing "fine" when she recently saw him at a charity event.  

"He seemed absolutely fine; he's a little thinner, and he's had gray hair for a long time, [but] he looked fine," Martha says. "He was at the [Hole in the Wall Camp] benefit, and I hadn't seen him in a while and I was so happy to see him and he said he was just back from his racing team in Indianapolis. Can you imagine? He's 83 years old and he's still racing and interested in his cars."

Stewart posted a photograph of Newman on her Web site that raised concerns about the actor's health and there were reports in the media that alleged that he was battling cancer. But shortly thereafter, his rep released the following statement: "Newman says he's doing nicely."

The Oscar winner lives in Connecticut with his wife, fellow Oscar winner JOANNE WOODWARD. Newman won an Oscar for his portrayal of pool shark Fast Eddie Felson in 1986's 'The Color of Money,' which co-starred TOM CRUISE.

ET caught Stewart in between broadcasts of her Sirius radio show "At Martha's Table." She appeared with prominent television chef EMERIL LAGASSE and both expressed condolences for the untimely death of TIM RUSSERT, saying he would be greatly missed.