Tom Hanks, Paul Rudd and More Stars Reflect on How Paul Newman ‘Led a Movement’ and Had ‘an Extraordinary Life’

The stars paid tribute to the late actor during a charity event

The stars were aligned to celebrate the life and legacy of Paul Newman.

Tom Hanks, Paul Rudd, Adam Driver and more stars paid tribute to the late actor during the A Night of SeriousFun Gala, hosted by SeriousFun Children’s Network, on April 7.

During the 90-minute live show, Hanks, 68, honored “American legend” Newman’s many acting parts, as well as what he described as “maybe the most important role he ever played.”

“In 1988, Paul led a movement to start up a camp designed specifically for kids with serious illnesses. Thirty-seven years later, SeriousFun campers and programs can be found all over the world,” he continued, adding, “For Paul, seeing kids raise a little hell meant they were doing things they never thought possible, whether flying down a zip line 30 feet in the air, or simply being away from home for the very first time.”

Then, noting that Newman was a “bit of an expert” on the topic of “raising hell,” Hanks concluded his remarks, stating that the actor lived “an extraordinary life.”

During his speech, Rudd, 56, honored Newman’s “work as a visionary leader” and all he did for the SeriousFun Children’s Network.

“It began with a simple but profound idea. What if there was a camp specifically designed for kids with serious medical conditions? And what if it could be delivered at zero cost to families? 37 years later, Paul’s vision has inspired a global movement of camps and programs that serve over 100 different medical conditions, designed to deliver exactly what these kids need, and right beside world-class medical treatment,” he said.

Driver, 41, for his part, highlighted Newman’s work as a racecar driver, and how that impacted his charity work.

“Maybe it was all that racing that helped Paul realize the importance of challenging yourself, because that’s exactly what every camper is encouraged to do with the SeriousFun Children’s Network,” he said.

Newman was an actor, film director and racecar driver who worked on an array of successful projects, including The Hustler, The Sting, The Verdict, Cool Hand Luke, The Color of Money and Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, to name a few.

The father of six died from lung cancer at his home in Westport, Conn., in September 2008 at the age of 83.

His legacy lives on through his charity work with the SeriousFun Children’s Network, which describes itself as “the leading network of medical specialty camps in the world, comprised of 30 camps and programs serving children with serious illnesses and their families, always free of charge.”

The organization adds that it has “evolved to become the leader in medical specialty camps, delivering over 2 million life-changing experiences to children and families from over 50 countries.”

Back in 2022, one of Newman’s daughters, Clea Newman, told PEOPLE, “He really wanted to make a difference and give back. He went very deep with the camps.”