ONE OF THE GANG NEWMAN OPENS SIXTH CAMP MADE FOR SICK KIDS.

Byline: Greg Botonis and Charles F. Bostwick Staff Writers

LAKE HUGHES - Paul Newman and Bruce Willis joined hundreds of guests under a giant tortoise-shell roof Saturday to dedicate Newman's latest summer camp for chronically ill children.

With a whale-shaped, wheelchair-accessible swimming pool and gardens planted to minimize allergens, Painted Turtle Camp has been planned to take in, each summer, 1,000 youngsters too sick to attend traditional summer camps.

``A lot of people have ideas and never do anything about them,'' said Newman. ``A lot of people have dreams and never do anything about them. When you have ideas and dreams, you do something about it, and that's what we've done here. There's going to be a lot of comfort here, a lot of sweetness here.''

After the dedication, donors and volunteers toured the 173-acre facility - a former recreational vehicle campground, remodeled at a cost of $28 million in the mountains between Santa Clarita and the Antelope Valley.

The guests were entertained by Sugar Ray, dancer Savion Glover and Grammy-winning violinist Joshua Bell.

``It's so unbelievable,'' said event attendee Roth Serbet, who brought his wife and two small children to see the camp. ``This is going to be such a comfort and release for so many kids. Those kids will be able to lose all the stress they have to deal with because of their conditions at least for a little while.''

The Painted Turtle is the sixth in the Hole in the Wall Gang camps - named after the outlaw gang in ``Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.''

Newman's first Hole in the Wall Gang Camp opened in 1988 in Ashford, Conn., and the seventh will open this year in North Carolina.

The actor, whose Newman's Own salad dressing and sauce firm has given away more than $150 million to charities since 1982, donated in the early stages of Painted Turtle's development.

The camp now stands on its own, staffers said.

Painted Turtle gets funding from individuals, corporations and foundations. Youngsters attend summer camp at no charge, chosen on the basis of the greatest medical need.

Newman founded the camp with Page Adler, wife of music producer Lou Adler, who is also on the camp board along with actress Jami Gertz, Detroit Pistons coach Larry Brown and child-welfare and medical professionals and business executives.

``Everybody has such a busy life, we both have four kids, but she took the time out to do this,'' Simone Harrer, a longtime friend of Adler, said.

Jack Nicholson, a multiple Oscar winner like Newman, also helped raise money for the Painted Turtle. Nicholson, Newman and others, including Matt Damon and Julia Roberts, raised $2 million in 2002 by acting in a one-night Hollywood stage play based on author Ernest Hemingway's Nick Adams character.

The Los Angeles Lakers donated the floor for the campground barn, which has been remodeled into a gymnasium.

Willis, who attended Saturday to show his support for the camp, took time out to pose for pictures with fans.

``It's a very special thing they're doing here,'' Willis said of the camp. ``Like Paul said, it's easy to have ideas. It takes a lot more to do something about it. These guys are doing something about it.''

Camp activities are designed to help chronically ill youngsters overcome barriers, to reduce their limitations so they can enjoy the whole camp experience, so they can make friends without having to explain why they look different or feel different, officials said.

A survey by the camp's founders identified 17,500 California youngsters too sick to attend traditional summer camps.

The camp has its own full-time medical staff, and doctors, nurses and medical technicians volunteer from hospitals like Cedars-Sinai and Childrens Hospital Los Angeles.

Youngsters attend camp with others with the same ailments - the first session, June 22-28, will include liver-transplant patients.

Other sessions are for children with skin diseases, sickle-cell disease, kidney disease and hemophilia.

For the rest of the year, the camp will be devoted to family weekend programs, and a medical research conference center will disseminate information and support.

Most families will be notified of the camp through hospitals and organizations set up to aid their children. Applications are also available at the camp Web site, www.thepaintedturtle.org.

Greg Botonis, [phone]

greg.botonis(at)dailynews.com

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7 photos

Photo:

(1 -- 3 -- color in AV edition only; 1 -- ran in AV, SAC and Valley edition only; 2 -- 3 -- ran in AV and Valley edition only) C.J. Cook, top, 2, the son of Painted Turtle Camp's medical director, gives the camp's mascot a pat on the back. Above, guests take boat rides on one of the ponds. At left, watching the dedication of the camp are Paul Newman, far right, and Bruce Willis, in ball cap, along with music producer Lou Adler, left, and his wife, Page, and their two sons, Ike, 10, and Manny, 11.

(4 -- 7 -- ran in AV edition only) Visitors, top, enjoy the recreation building, while, at right, Newman releases fish into the pond. Below, dignitaries join in for the ribbon-cutting ceremony, and, bottom, guests tour the cabins for campgoers.

Jeff Goldwater/Staff Photographer