NEW HAVEN, Conn. -- Paul Newman shied away from Hollywood, choosing instead to live in a farmhouse in Connecticut, but he was held in awe by his movie-town peers.

A spokeswoman for screen legend Paul Newman said the actor has died at the age of 83.

Spokeswoman Marni Tomljanovic said Newman died Friday of cancer at his Connecticut home.

Conn. Mourns Paul Newman

On Saturday, Mainers who held a special spot in their heart for Newman together at the diner that served as a backdrop in his movie "Empire Falls." Flowers and a cross outside Skowhegan's Empire Grill comprised part of a tribute to a legendary film actor who spent months in the town in the fall of 2003, WMTW-TV reported.

Empire Grill served as a backdrop to Newman's HBO movie "Empire Falls" about a gritty mill town. The diner was real and real townspeople were part of the movie.

"My band was in the movie. We played in the wedding reception scene," said Joe Scozzafava, an extra in the movie. "Our scene was just a minute or two long at the most and we were there shooting for an entire day. To see how all the pieces are made, how it all goes together, that was exciting for us, that was great fun."

Townspeople said Newman became one of them during those months, saying they got to know the real Newman -- even those who met him from a distance.

"He waved, he was very friendly. He's always been a great star of mine," said Maryann Shaw, of Skowhegan.

Residents said Newman was kind and generous, and he quietly donated to local charities.

"You can see the emotion in him, too, how much he cared about what he did. If he didn't like something, he didn't like it. He was truthful about that, too. That was another good thing about him you knew where he was coming from," said Duane Burbank, the owner of Skowhegan Fleuriste, a local flower shop also featured throughout the movie.

Burbank said the shooting of the movie was a special time when the town came alive.

A scrapbook was left at the diner as a remembrance, and a customer stopped by and left a single rose and a card that read: "In memory of Paul Newman on behalf of the people of the town of Skowhegan. Thank you for your visit."

Hollywood Celebrated Man's Career

Newman was nominated for Academy Awards 10 times, winning a regular Oscar in 1987 for "The Color of Money" and two honorary ones. He was equally at home in comedies such as "The Sting" and dramas such as "Hud."

He sometimes teamed with his wife, Joanne Woodward, also an Oscar winner for the 1957 film "Three Faces of Eve."

Newman is survived by his wife, five children, two grandsons and his older brother, Arthur.

His daughters released a statement Saturday morning, saying Newman was a "rare symbol of selfless humility, the last to acknowledge what he was doing was special."

The statement also said: "Intensely private, he quietly succeeded beyond measure in impacting the lives of so many with his generosity. Always and to the end, Dad was incredibly grateful for his good fortune. In his own words: 'It's been a privilege to be here.' He will be profoundly missed by those whose lives he touched, but he leaves us with extraordinary inspiration to draw upon. During this difficult time, we ask for privacy for our family."

Hollywood is also reacting to the passing of the screen legend.

Actor Robert Redford said he's "lost a real friend."

He and Newman were co-stars in two of their best-known movies -- "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid" and "The Sting."

Redford said it's hard to put into words his feelings about Newman. But he said his own life -- and the nation -- are "better for his being in it."

Another former co-star, Sally Field, said, "Sometimes God makes perfect people, and Paul Newman was one of them."

They worked together in the film, "Absence of Malice."

Jokester, Philanthropist

Newman was born in Cleveland, Ohio, the second of two boys of Arthur S. Newman, a partner in a sporting-goods store, and Theresa Fetzer Newman.

He was raised in the affluent suburb of Shaker Heights, where he was encouraged him to pursue his interest in the arts by his mother and his uncle Joseph Newman, a well-known Ohio poet and journalist. He made his acting debut at age 7 in a school production of "Robin Hood," where he played the role of the court jester, according to Peggy Caldwell, the school district spokeswoman for Newman's high school alma mater, Shaker Heights High.

He graduated from Shaker Heights High School in 1943.

Upon graduating from Shaker, he enrolled at Ohio University in Athens, Ohio. After a stint with the Navy in World War II, Newman completed his degree at Kenyon Collegein Gambier, Ohio, 1949. He got a degree in English and was active in student productions in. Later he went on to study acting at Yale University, as well as under Lee Strasberg at the Actors Studio in New York City.

His classmates at the famed Actor's Studio including Brando, James Dean and Karl Malden. His breakthrough was enabled by tragedy: Dean, scheduled to star as the disfigured boxer in a television adaptation of Ernest Hemingway's "The Battler," died in a car crash in 1955. His role was taken by Newman, then a little-known performer.

Off the screen, Newman had a taste for beer and was known for his practical jokes. He once had a Porsche installed in Redford's hallway -- crushed and covered with ribbons.

"I think that my sense of humor is the only thing that keeps me sane," he told Newsweek magazine in a 1994 interview.

He was also famously liberal -- and was proud to have earned a spot on Richard Nixon's "enemies list."

In 1982, Newman and his Westport neighbor, writer A.E. Hotchner, started a company to market Newman's original oil-and-vinegar dressing. Newman's Own, which began as a joke, grew into a multimillion-dollar business selling popcorn, salad dressing, spaghetti sauce and other foods. All of the company's profits are donated to charities. By 2007, the company had donated more than $175 million, according to its Web site.

In 1988, Newman founded a camp in northeastern Connecticut for children with cancer and other life-threatening diseases. He went on to establish similar camps in several other states and in Europe.

He and Woodward bought an 18th century farmhouse in Westport, where they raised their three daughters, Elinor "Nell," Melissa and Clea.

Newman had two daughters, Susan and Stephanie, and a son, Scott, from a previous marriage to Jacqueline Witte.

Scott died in 1978 of an accidental overdose of alcohol and Valium. After his only son's death, Newman established the Scott Newman Foundation to finance the production of anti-drug films for children.

In May 2007, he told ABC's "Good Morning America" he had given up acting, though he intended to remain active in charity projects.

"I'm not able to work anymore as an actor at the level I would want to," he said. "You start to lose your memory, your confidence, your invention. So that's pretty much a closed book for me."