Susan Kendall Newman, Paul Newman’s daughter, dies at 72

Susan Kendall Newman, the daughter of Paul Newman and star of the Beatles tribute film “I Wanna Hold Your Hand,” has died. She was 72.

Susan died of complications from chronic health conditions on Aug. 2, her family announced.

“Susan Kendall Newman will be remembered for her sharp wit and tongue, generosity and love, and her devotion to family and friends,” the family said. “She will be very much missed.”

The late actress, whose mother was Paul’s first wife, Jackie Witte, began her career in on and off Broadway productions, including Jerry Adler’s 1975 show “We Interrupt This Program,” which only lasted seven outings.

In 1978, Susan played one of six teenagers who try to sneak their way into the Beatles’ first performance on “The Ed Sullivan Show” in Feb. 1964 in Robert Zemeckis’ “I Wanna Hold Your Hand.”

The comedy film marked Zemeckis’ feature film directorial debut and was the first movie to ever be executive produced by Steven Spielberg. The cast also featured Nancy Allen, Bobby Di Cicco, Marc McClure, Theresa Saldana, Wendie Jo Sperber, Eddie Deezen, Christian Juttner and Will Jordan.

Susan had a role as a pharmacist in the 1977 sports comedy “Slap Shot,” starring her dad as a minor league ice hockey coach. She also appeared in Robert Altman’s 1978 satirical comedy-drama “A Wedding,” starring Desi Arnaz Jr., Carol Burnett and Geraldine Chaplin.

In 1980, Susan produced an ABC Theatre presentation of Michael Cristofer’s Pulitzer Prize-winning play “The Shadow Box.” The adaptation was directed by her father and starred her stepmother, Joanne Woodward.

Susan received an Emmy Award nomination for producing “The Shadow Box” for television.

She was also nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Spoken Word Album for Children for producing a family-friendly audiobook series of classical literature for Simon & Schuster.

Outside of her work in Hollywood, Susan was a lifelong philanthropist and social activist. She worked closely with the Scott Newman Foundation, Paul’s non-profit aimed to combat substance abuse. Paul founded the organization in honor of his son, Scott, who died of a drug overdose in 1978.

As a drug abuse prevention expert, Susan frequently spoke at the Betty Ford Center and the Annenberg Complex, as well as at universities, hospitals, community groups, and government bodies across the U.S. and in Canada, Australia and Mexico.

Susan also worked with the California Department of Education and helped oversee the creation of the video Drug-Free Kids: A Parent’s Guide, which helped parents recognize and address substance abuse.

Susan’s parents were married from 1949 to 1958 and had two other children, son Scott and daughter Stephanie, 71. Witte died at age 64 in 1994.

Shortly after his divorce from Witte, Paul got married to Woodward, 95, and they had three daughters together: Nell, 66, Melissa “Lissy,” 64, and Claire “Clea,” 60. The couple remained married until Paul’s death at age 83 in 2008.