During the 1965 filming of Mirage, director Edward Dmytryk told Walter Matthau (1920–2000), "you're going to become the greatest character actor in the business." The actor rejected that assessment, insisting he would become a leading man. Film professors Edelman and Kupferberg (coauthors of Angela Lansbury) offer an engaging chronicle of an actor who lacked leading man looks, whose own mother wanted him to have his nose fixed and who achieved stardom through sheer individuality and talent. Matthau grew up on Manhattan's Lower East Side and recalled his childhood as "a dreadful, horrible, stinking nightmare." His father deserted the family and his mother couldn't show affection, yet young Walter discovered a love of acting that led him to Broadway. 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." Matthau never overcame his addiction, frequently working just to pay off debts. The enduring partnership between Matthau and Jack Lemmon supplies an opportunity for an in-depth portrait of both men, and Matthau's hatred of Hello, Dolly
co-star Barbra Streisand, though familiar, gives the book an emotional bite. All the major points of Matthau's life are covered: winning an Oscar for The Fortune Cookie; his happy second marriage and intense adoration for his son, Charlie; his heavy smoking, multiple heart attacks and final bout with liver cancer. Although the writing style is undramatic and is often a low-key recitation of names, dates and events, there's enough fascinating new material to attract Matthau's many fans. Photos. (Oct.)
