Walter Matthau was barely three when his father deserted the family.

Subscribe for more Hollywood biographies and stories! http://bit.ly/HollywoodCollectionSub

Poverty and New York street smarts produced a selfdeprecating humor that never left. The G.I. Bill let him study acting and by 1951 he earned a New York Drama Critics Award. Television dramas followed and then came Hollywood. When director Billy Wilder cast him opposite Jack Lemmon, a classic partnership was created. In Lemmon, Matthau found an enduring friend and frequent costar. Matthau’s reallife combination of cynicism and gruff sentimentality was reflected in the performances that brought him to major stardom.

Twotime Academy Award winner, Matthau’s fifty years of show business have earned him the love of millions and the admiration of fellow professionals. Clips used include: A Face in the Crowd, Charade, The Fortune Cookie, The Odd Couple, Cactus Flower, The Sunshine Boys, Hopscotch, Grumpy Old Men and I’m Not Rappaport. In addition to Walter Matthau himself, onscreen interviewees include actors Jack Lemmon, Julie Harris, Ozzie Davis and Roddy McDowell, directors Herbert Ross, Edward Dmytryk, writer Neil Simon and Walter’s son, director Charles Matthau.