Clea Newman cleared her diary to spend last Sunday quietly immersed in memories of her father on what would have been his 95th birthday.

The youngest of Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward’s three daughters, she looked through her family albums and played a movie to look into his vivid blue eyes again.

“I really love watching dad in his earlier films and ones my parents made together,” Clea says. “The Sting was the only film I could really watch the first three years after he passed, anything else made me sad.

“Now, I’m just so appreciative I have so much. I get to hear his voice, see his face and relive the different times of his life. It’s like walking through my own memories.”

Paul with daughter Clea, now 55 (
Image:
Sygma via Getty Images)

Paul, who died of lung cancer almost 12 years ago, left far more than iconic films such as Cool Hand Luke and Butch Cassidy And The Sundance Kid as his legacy.

He was a devoted philanthropist and in 1988 established his first camp for sick children called The Hole in the Wall Gang, named after the mountain pass where Butch Cassidy’s Wild West gang hid out.

There are 30 camps worldwide, providing fun and free respite care under the umbrella of SeriousFun.

The British arm of the charity, called Over The Wall, has welcomed more than 8,000 children to its camps in Dorset, Northamptonshire, South Wales, Staffordshire, South Yorkshire, Perth and Fife in the 21 years since its launch.

Paul Newman with wife Joanne Woodward (sitting) children Melissa "Lissy" Newman, and Claire "Clea" Newman (
Image:
NBCUniversal via Getty Images)

Clea, 55, is the figurehead of SeriousFun, which has provided more than one million happy experiences for sick children, most of whom are unaware of the incredible life led by the camp’s famous founder.

The resemblance between Clea and her dad is striking, not least in her blue eyes.

She says: “Dad was a ridiculous joke teller. He loved to tell his favourite jokes, but he could never get through them. He would start laughing so hard he couldn’t get to the punchline.”

Paul was a revered actor, considered the most handsome man in Hollywood. And his marriage to Joanne, who turns 90 next month, was seen as the strongest in showbiz.

Joanne Woodward and daughter Clea Newman attend the celebration of Paul Newman's Hole in the Wall Camps (
Image:
FilmMagic)

They hoped to give Clea and her two sisters a down-to-earth upbringing in their family home in Connecticut, where Paul made family dinners and kids’ finger paintings stood next to their parents’ three Oscars on the mantle.

But by the age of 10, it dawned on Clea that not all parents owned planes, racing cars, had nights out at A-List awards ceremonies and were besieged by paparazzi whenever they went to a restaurant.

She says: “I didn’t understand fame.

“My childhood was great in some ways and very difficult in others. When we were little, my parents had to be away a lot working but always tried to stay connected.

Paul Newman in the White Mountain National Forest with his daughters (
Image:
NBCUniversal via Getty Images)

“When they were home, it was all about us. I always felt so grateful for my family and the upbringing I had. It wasn’t perfect, but whose is?”

Paul was not immune to heartache in his family life. During his first marriage to Jackie Witte, he had three children: daughters Susan and Stephanie and his only son Scott.

In 1978, Scott died of an accidental drug-and-alcohol overdose aged 28.

Two years later, still in the painful grip of grief, Paul opened the Scott Newman Centre in California which provided drug-prevention in schools.

His main drive in life was to help people. And in 1982, years after bottling his famous salad dressing for years to give away as Christmas gifts, Paul agreed to let Newman’s Own salad dressing go on sale.

Clea says Paul "couldn't tell a joke for laughing" as she reminisces on his birthday (
Image:
Zuma Press / eyevine)

In the first year it made almost $1million and all post-tax profits were gifted to charity. Six years later he opened his first children’s camp.

Clea says: “He was driven by giving back and, in my eyes, his gift was inspiring others to do the same. I think that is his real legacy.”

A list of things she misses about her dad would be endless. But Clea has no hesitation in saying what she misses most. “No question: asking his advice. I can’t get his perspective from anyone else. He understood me so well.”

Paul’s recent birthday was a reflective day for Clea, who tried to imagine the day had he still been here.

“I think about him all the time but his birthday is always a time to be thankful for all he gave of himself – to me, to our family and to others.

Paul died from lunger cancer aged 83 (
Image:
Photos courtesy of SeriousFun Children’s Network.)

“Those days were not just a celebration of him but all the people he was lucky to have around him.”

While missing her dad, knowing he has done so much for so many is an immense comfort to Clea.

“It makes me feel overwhelmingly proud. I think dad wanted to make a real difference and we all see the proof of that with the families on the camps.

“What I hope is that people remember all the good that can happen in the world if we just take a little more care of each other.”