Walter Matthau mini-bio: Born Walter Matthow on October 1, 1920, to a pair of Russian-Jewish immigrants in
New York City, Matthau grew up poor on the Lower East Side and started out selling
soft drinks and playing bit parts at a Yiddish theater at age 11. He was paid 50
cents for each of his occasional onstage appearances. His father, a peddler from
Kiev, left home when he was 3 years old. He lived with his older brother, Henry, and
their mother, a garment worker, on the Lower East Side of New York. After graduating
from Seward Park High School during the Depression, he took government jobs as a
forester in Montana, a gym instructor for the Works Progress Administration and a
boxing coach for policemen. During World War II, he served in the Army Air Corps as
a radio cryptographer in a heavy bomber unit in Europe and returned home a sergeant
with six battle stars.
In 1948, his first Broadway role was when he was hired as an understudy for the role
of an 83 year old English bishop in 'Anne of the Thousand Days' starring Rex
Harrison. His fame came with The Fortune Cookie (1966) and The Odd Couple (1968).
While making the former, he suffered a serious heart attack. This was due to heavy
smoking and chronic gambling. In 1976, he had heart bypass surgery. In 1993, he was
hospitalized for double pneumonia. In 1995, he had a benign colon tumor removed. In
1999, he was hospitalized again for pneumonia. His ill health was due to his eating
habits. He had two children with Grace Johnson, David and Jenny.
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