Matthau
A Life
Published on 4. September 2002
Book
Hardback
368 pages
978-0-87833-274-8 (ISBN)
Description
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 The Kentuckian in 1955. By the time of his 1968 casting as cantankerous but lovable slob Oscar Madison in the film version of Neil Simon's The Odd Couple, Matthau had won major Hollywood stardom. 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 The Fortune Cookie, A Guide for the Married Man, Plaza Suite, Charley Varrick, The Taking of Pelham One Two Three, The Sunshine Boys, The Bad News Bears, California Suite, and Grumpy Old Men.
Reviews / Votes
Matthau: A Life by Rob Edelman and Audrey Kupferberg is a telling book at the man behind this well-loved personality and luminary in America's television and film history. From the slums of New York's Lower East Side to the glamour of stardom, Walter Matthau's life story is as rag-to-riches as they come. * Turner Classic Movies * Matthau: a Life provides a comperhensive and entertaining tribute to the most unlikely movie star ever to grace the big screen. -- Phil Hall * New York Resident * The authors meticulously relate the story of his acting career, but more absorbing is their retelling of Matthau's obsessive gambling, which he describes as "worse than alcoholism... worse than cancer." * Publishers Weekly * The new book also rips the lid off Matthau's darkest secret- his lifelong obsession with gambling. Pals told the authors he would bet on anything- from horses to cockroaches. * Globe * Rob Edelman and Audrey Kupferburg's Matthau: A Life is the authorized biography, and it's like sitting around the Hillcrest Country Club listening ro people tell hilarious stories about a very dear human being. -- Scott Eyman * Iowa Tribune * Matthau: A Life is a telling look at the man behind this well-loved personality and luminary in America's television and film histroy. * The Big Reel * Walter Matthau was one of the greatest comic talents of our generation. In a new book, Rob Edelman and Audrey Kupferberg tell a compelling and comprehensive biography of Matthau. * Jewsweek.Com *More details
Language
English
Place of publication
Lanham
United States
Product notice
sewn/stitched
Cloth over boards
With dust jacket
Illustrations
40 Illustrations
Dimensions
Height: 235 mm
Width: 157 mm
Thickness: 26 mm
Weight
767 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-87833-274-8 (9780878332748)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
E-Book
09/2002
1st Edition
Taylor Trade Publishing
€16.80
Available for download
Persons
Rob Edelman and , authors of Meet the Mertzes, Angela Lansbury: A Life on Stage and Screen, and The John Travolta Scrapbook, are both lecturers in film history at the State University of New York-Albany. They live in Amsterdam, New York.