The Late Walter Matthau & Yiddish Theater

[MaxwellSt <MaxwellSt...>]

>From an AP article about the late WM:

Some of the facts about the actor's early life seem accurate. He was born 
Walter Matuchanskayasky on Oct. 1, 1920, in New York City to impoverished 
Russian-Jewish immigrants.

The father left home when Walter was 3. Walter and his older brother, Henry, 
lived with their mother, a garment worker, in a series of cold water flats on 
the lower East Side.

Young Walter showed a dramatic bent early, reading Shakespeare at 7 and 
reciting poems in school assemblies at 8. He was introduced to Yiddish plays 
at 11, when he sold soft drinks at 2nd Avenue theaters. He made occasional 
appearances onstage at 50 cents a performance.

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