Matthau

Funny yet down-to-earth honest yet full of exaggeration actor Walter Matthau (1920-2000) will always occupy a place in America's heart as one of the great comic talents of his generation. Born Walter Matuschanskayasky into Jewish tenements on New York's Lower East Side he was a child actor in New York Yiddish theater and later a World War II Air Force radioman-gunner. He paid dues for ten years on Broadway in summer stock and on television before landing his film debut <I>The Kentuckian</I> in 1955. By the time of his 1968 casting as cantankerous but lovable slob Oscar Madison in the film version of Neil Simon's <I>The Odd Couple</I> Matthau had won major Hollywood stardom.<BR />Based on dozens of interviews and extensive research this book covers the breadth of his often-complicated personal life and multi-faceted career including his unforgettable performances in such films as <I>The Fortune Cookie</I> <I>A Guide for the Married Man</I> <I>Plaza Suite</I> <I>Charley Varrick</I> <I>The Taking of Pelham One Two Three</I> <I>The Sunshine Boys</I> <I>The Bad News Bears</I> <I>California Suite</I> and <I>Grumpy Old Men</I>.