One of Hollywood’s most popular figures, veteran Paul Newman on Tuesday denied rumors about being diagnosed with lung cancer. The rumors started circulating after he announced his withdrawal from his latest project to direct a screen-adaptation of John Steinbeck’s book “Of Mice and Men.” He cited unspecified health issues.

In a message e-mailed to Reuters and several media agencies, Newman’s representative Jeff Sanderson said the Oscar-winning actor was “doing nicely,” giving no further details about his health condition. He also added that these were exactly the actor’s words, which he wanted to “share” with all his fans.

On Monday, several media and Internet reports revealed that Newman, 83, had been diagnosed with lung cancer and was undergoing outpatient treatment at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York. A representative for the center hasn’t confirmed the rumors.

Last year, Newman announced he was giving up acting citing lack of “confidence” in his acting skills, thus ending a half-of-century career of acting and directing, which brought him nine Academy Award nominations and one Oscar for best acting in the 1986 film “The Color of Money.”

His impressive filmography includes roles in some 60 movies in which he played from the good guy to the bad one, thus remaining in everyone’s memory. Appearances in films like “Cat On A Hot Tin Roof,” “The Hustler,” “Cool Hand Luke,” “Butch Cassidy And The Sundance Kid,” “The Sting,” “The Color Of Money” made him very popular earning him the Academy’s recognition.

Newman is known not only for his career on Hollywood’s plateaus, but also for his Newman’s Own food range, which started by making salad dressings and slipped to producing lemonade, pasta sauce and popcorn. The company has all its profits after paying the taxes, donated to charity. The profits are estimated at more than $100 million since its creation.