New York  - Hollywood legend Paul Newman has died at the age of 83, the actor's charitable organization Newman's Own Foundation reported Saturday.

"We will miss our friend Paul Newman, but are lucky ourselves to have known such a remarkable person," the foundation said in a statement.

The Oscar-winning actor and philanthropist died Friday after a long battle with lung cancer, the foundation said. He is survived by his wife, actress Joanne Woodward, and five daughters, two of them from an earlier marriage. A son, Scott, died in 1978.

Rumours had been circulating for months that the movie star was in ill health, before Newman's business partner for many years, AE Hotchner, said in June that the star had had cancer for 18 months. Newman himself would only say that things were going well.

Slightly more than a year ago, Newman retired from the screen, saying 50 years in the movies was enough, and in May of this year he cancelled a planned theatre production in his hometown of Westport, Connecticut for health reasons.

Among his most popular films were Butch Cassidy and The Sundance Kid, and The Sting, both co-starring Robert Redford.

From his food company Newman's Own, the actor donated to social causes more than 200 million dollars, the entirety of the company's profits. (dpa)