ET confirms that Hollywood screen legend and noted philanthropist Paul Newman died Friday after a bout with cancer. The iconic star was 83.

A giant in the film industry -- as well as the food industry with his Newman's Own charitable brand -- the Oscar winner redefined the matinee idol with his rebellious, confident characters in such '60s film classics as 'Cool Hand Luke' and 'The Hustler' and mid-career in films like 'The Sting' and 'Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid' opposite good friend Robert Redford.

The handsome, piercing blue-eyed Newman was initially compared to the likes of Marlon Brando and James Dean, but quickly came into his own with stellar performances in 'Cat on a Hot Tin Roof,' 'Hud' and 'The Long, Hot Summer,' where he met his second wife Joanne Woodward.

But it was his off-screen persona that truly defined Paul Newman. An avid car racer with a modest, self-deprecating personality, Newman was a political activist and an equally avid humanitarian. His dalliance with home-made salad dressing turned into a multi-million-dollar food empire that enabled him to donate more than $250 million to various charities since 1982. Additionally, his network of international Hole in the Wall Gang Camps continues to give kids with cancer and other serious illnesses a summer filled with joyous memories -- all for free.

Despite his super stardom, Newman managed to stay private and elusive in his Connecticut home away from Hollywood, and remained married to Woodward for 50 years. Their union brought about three daughters. Scott, his son from his first marriage, died from an accidental drug overdose in 1978. Newman later turned that tragedy into a positive force with the creation of the Scott Newman Foundation for drug abuse prevention and education.

The Cleveland-born star earned his first Best Actor Academy Award nomination in 1958 for 'Cat on a Hot Tin Roof' and received an honorary Oscar in 1985. But it wasn't until 1986, when he reprised his Fast Eddie Felson character from 'The Hustler' in Martin Scorsese's 'The Color of Money,' that he earned his first Best Supporting Actor statuette. In total, Newman was nominated nine times.

In his later years, the graying star made such memorable films as 'Absence of Malice,' 'The Towering Inferno,' 'Fort Apache the Bronx,' 'The Verdict,' 'The Hudsucker Proxy,' 'Road to Perdition' and Pixar's 'Cars' as the voice of Doc Hudson. In 2007 he retired from acting, but with a career that spanned five decades, his impact continues to be felt by generations young and old.