“Why go out for hamburger, when I’ve got steak at home?”
American actor Paul Newman (1925-2008) married American actress Joanne Woodward in 1958. In a Playboy magazine interview in July 1968, Newman was asked about his 10-year marriage and the temptation of other actresses. Newman said:
“There’s no reason to roam. I have steak at home. Why should I go out for hamburger?”
Newman’s “steak/hamburger” quote has been frequently cited. According to a 2009 newspaper story in The Telegraph (London, UK), however, Newman did have at least one affair in 1968.
Wikiquote: Paul Newman
Paul Leonard Newman (January 26, 1925 – September 26, 2008) was an American actor and film director. He won numerous awards, including Academy Awards, Golden Globe Awards, Screen Actors Guild Awards, a Cannes Film Festival Award and an Emmy award. Considered an iconic figure in Hollywood history, he was also the founder of Newman’s Own, a food company that donates all profits and royalties to charity.
Quotes
I don’t like to discuss my marriage, but I will tell you something which may sound corny but which happens to be true. I have steak at home. Why should I go out for hamburger?
. Quoted in Paul and Joanne: A Biography of Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward by Joe Morella and Edward Z. Epstein (1988), p. 157
Wikipedia: Joanne Woodward
Joanne Gignilliat Trimmier Woodward (born February 27, 1930) is an American actress, producer, activist, and philanthropist. She is perhaps best known for her Academy Award-winning role in The Three Faces of Eve (1957).
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Spouse(s) Paul Newman (1958–2008; his death)
21 June 1968, The News (Van Nuys, CA)< "TV/Radio" by Hal Bates, pg. 32-A, col. 1:
Lloyd Chester of KFWB pointed out Paul Newman’s replay in July’s Playboy Magazine when asked why his ten-year marriage to Joanne Woodward has been unmarred by gossip column hints of extra-marital affairs: “...there’s no reason to roam. I have steak at home; why should I go out for hamburger?”
5 January 1969, Boston (MA) Sunday Globe , “Paul Newman, Politically Active Superstar” by Lloyd Shearer, Parade magazine, pg. 7, col. 1:
Unlike most leading me, he declines to seduce either his leading ladies or anxious and ambitious young actresses. “I regularly get steak at home,” he explains. “Why should I fool around with hamburger?”
Old Fulton NY Post Cards
25 February 1969, Schenectady (NY) Gazette, “‘Human Dynamo’ Describes Paul Newman, Says Wife,” pg. 13, col. 6:
Paul says of their 10-year union, “I don’t like to discuss my marriage but I will tell you something which may sound corny but which happens to be true.
“I have steak at home. Why should I go out for hamburger?”
Old Fulton NY Post Cards
18 July 1969, Times Union (Albany, NY), “Sex Roles Discussed at Institute” by Mary Arensberg, pg. 15, col. 5:
Paul Newman was quoted as saying: “Why go out and get hamburger when you can get steak at home?” It is up to the female in the marriage relationship to provide the “steak.”
Google Books
Paul Newman:
A Life, Updated
By Lawrence J. Quirk
Lanham. MD: Taylor Trade Publishing
2009
Pg. 129:
The most memorable thing about the movie is a line from pert Elke Sommer that is sort of an answer to Newman’s “why go out for hamburger when I’ve got steak at home” quote. Looking Newman up and down as if he were a meatball, Elke says, “Why settle for one dish when there’s a smorgasbord?”
The Telegraph (London, UK)
Paul Newman was a drunk adulterer, according to new book
Paul Newman was a womanising alcoholic who cheated on his wife while playing his most famous role, according to a new book.
By Roya Nikkhah 12:09PM BST 02 May 2009
(...)
Newman famously cast himself as Hollywood’s most faithful husband with the line: “I have steak at home, so why should I go out for a hamburger?”
According to the book, however, he began an 18-month affair with Bacon while filming Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid in 1968.
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Paul Newman & Joanne Woodward. When asked how their marriage endured he said, “Why would I want to go out for hamburger when I have steak a
8:28 AM - 22 Apr 2017