Matthau: A Life

Rating:
Summary: excellent book!!!!!!!
Review: I've always been a fan of Walter Matthau, and was looking forward to reading this book. I found that it was loaded with information about him. I didn't know that he appeared in so many 1950s television shows, for example, and that he acted in so many dramas before playing Oscar Madison. I also enjoyed reading about his childhood, his military service in World War II, and his friendship with Jack Lemmon. A first-class read!!!

Rating:
Summary: Portrait of a star (including warts)
Review: Walter Matthau always enjoyed fabricating his past. From false name (Matuschanaskayasky) to false ancestors (his father was not an orthodox priest). Most of his biographers dutifully reported all those false informations he fed them over the years, until the "real" person of the actor nearly disappeared under the flood of anecdotes. Now - the long list filled with the names of interviewed persons confirms it - Rob Edelman and Audrey Kupferberg set out to search after the "real" Walter Matthau. From his miserable childhood on New York's lower East-Side to the U.S.Army Air-Corps, to Broadway. Scene-stealing supporting parts in films, and finally, the big breakthrough at the late age of 55 with "The Odd Couple" and "The Fortune Cookie".

The best thing about this book is, that we finally get to know more about the private person than we used to know about the public one. This biography gives an astonishing frank account of the star's weaknesses (He lost about $5 million on the race-track) and his failures. The whitewashing is only minimal: no, it's not the lawyer who is to blame if the ex-wife isn't well off. The fact that his first family (including his two children) disappeared completely from public sight once he started his second one is honestly mentioned. Matthau's health problems are described in such detail that his son was even criticized for his, well, detailed description. Fortunately "Matthau - a life" does NOT contain exhaustive interpretations of his films - read the Allan Hunter book for this - but on 338 pages on which not one word is wasted exactly what the title promises: The story of a man and his life. Essential reading.

Rating:
Summary: Wonderful book about an all time great star
Review: Walter Matthau is one of my favorite movie stars. He was a great comic actor, and (as noted in this book) he also played drama as well as just about anyone. Plus, off-camera, he was such a memorable personality. This book is loaded with facts and insight about Matthau's life, and interviews with people who knew him. I particularly loved reading about his childhood on the Lower East Side, his time spent during World War II, how he broke into the entertainment industry, and his lifelong gambling problem. Great book!!!!