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SYDNEY - Oscar winning actor Russell Crowe has paid tribute to Hollywood screen legend and philanthropist Paul Newman who has died after a long battle with cancer.
Newman died yesterday, aged 83, at his farmhouse near Westport, Connecticut, publicist Jeff Sanderson said. He was surrounded by his family and close friends.
Crowe, who won an Oscar for the film Gladiator, says Newman was an inspiration.
"Earlier, I read a quote from him which I find to be really amusing," Crowe told ABC Radio today.
"It speaks so much to who he is.
"He said that regardless of his status, he was always a character actor - he just looked like Little Red Riding Hood."
In May, Newman said he had dropped plans to direct a production of Of Mice and Men, citing unspecified health issues.
- AAP