Product Description
Based on dozens of interviews and extensive research, this book covers the breadth of Walter Matthau's often-complicated personal life and multi-faceted career. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Wonderful book about an all time great star
Walter Matthau is one of my favorite movie stars.He was a great comic actor, and (as noted in this book) he also played drama as well as just about anyone.Plus, off-camera, he was such a memorable personality.This book is loaded with facts and insight about Matthau's life, and interviews with people who knew him.I particularly loved reading about his childhood on the Lower East Side, his time spent during World War II, how he broke into the entertainment industry, and his lifelong gambling problem.Great book!!!!

excellent book!!!!!!!
I've always been a fan of Walter Matthau, and was looking forward to reading this book.I found that it was loaded with information about him.I didn't know that he appeared in so many 1950s television shows, for example, and that he acted in so many dramas before playing Oscar Madison.I also enjoyed reading about his childhood, his military service in World War II, and his friendship with Jack Lemmon.A first-class read!!! ... Read more

Product Description
Together, Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthau put the fun in dysfunctional, working jointly in 11 memorable, often classic, cinematic pairings. At odds onscreen, the two become best friends off a friendship that enhanced every frame of film they appeared in side by side.Jack & Walter follows the intersection of Lemmon and Matthau s careers, starting in 1966 with their first screen-pairing in The Fortune Cookie and continuing through their last laugh filled romp in The Odd Couple II in 1998. With Lemmon representing America's favorite everyman and Matthau characterizing the beloved grouchy brother-in-law, the dynamic duo made millions of moviegoers smile every time the two appeared in darkened theatres across the nation if not the world.Though both had remarkable solo careers, together their work cemented their positions in Hollywood history as the last great comedy team of the 20th Century. In recognition of the pair's remarkable cinematic achievements, author Ben Costello who became their life-long fan after meeting Lemmon on two memorable occasions and corresponding with Matthau produced this memorable testament to the friends who made each motion picture come alive. With complete biographies of both Lemmon and Matthau, full credits and storylines for all 11 films, more than 100 publicity and behind-the-scenes photographs, and memories from co-workers and co-stars including some of Hollywood's biggest stars, Jack & Walter: The Films Of Lemmon & Matthau will be a favorite for fans and historians alike. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (5)

Not enough backstory info & too thin
As both a Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthau fan, I wish I could share the other reviewers enthusiasm for this book, but I cant. When I bought this, I was hoping for real informative, behind the scenes info about the making of the 11 films Jack and Walter made together. Oh, it does have that, under the heading "backstory", but for me it just isnt enough.

Each film in the book has its own chapter. In each chapter are the credits list of the cast and crew, a synopsis of the entire film plot (beginning, middle, and ending), the behind the scenes 'backstory', quite a few choice quotes from film critics of the movie (interestingly, at first the book fairly provides both positive and negative movie critic quotes of their movies. But by their last movie listed, The Odd Couple II, only positive movie critic quotes are provided even though the vast majority of film critics panned it), and bunches of (black and white only) photographs.

Now dont get me wrong. I DID somewhat like the book, as any info on Jack and Walter and their films are a good thing, but its woefully, painfully thin. I bought this book HOPING for a massive amount of info on the behind the scenes info and anecdotes about the making of each and every film, the behind the scenes stuff. It does provide that in the "backstory" segments, BUT the "backstory" segement of each and every chapter is not much longer than the synopsis. They are just way too short. I place emphasis on the backstory as the most important part of the book because almost everything else in it I can get elsewhere on the internet or other books: The movie credits, the movie crtiques, the biographies, the movie plots, etc. Its the "backstory" segments that are rare and unique and cant be found just anywhere and everywhere.

And the photos take up so much space on the pages. They either take up half the page, 2/3rds of the page, or 3/4ths of the page (sometimes just one photo takes up an entire page), with only a couple of paragraphs of text under or over the photo. Only a few handful of photos are actually small, like around 1/4th of the page. I get the feeling that the reason for the enormous sizes of these photos was simply to pad out the book.

I estimate that without the photos, the text takes up somewhere around 50 pages (less than 1/3rd of the 165 page book), if that. And thats including the 4 chapters of biography on Jack, Walter, the "teamwork", and "legacy" chapters. Not counting those 4 chapters, I estimate that in the chapters about their films, the text (not counting the space the photos takes up), is about 25-30 pages of this book. Thats the real meat of the book. Only 25-30 pages worth of text for 11 films! Just not enough. (and the movie credit pages all take up a whole page for each film even though only a small handful of the cast and crew are listed. These movie credit pages are just not complete). Even magazine articles are longer than this.

If the author, Ben Costello, is reading this, you need to do an updated edition of this book by making the "backstory" segments 5, 10, even 20 times longer than they are now. Do the research, the legwork, the homework to put in much more detail, more inside and behind the scenes info, more anecdotes, more trivia into those segments. And make those photos smaller. This 165 page book ought to be a 3 hundred to 4 hundred page book.

I paid 11.99, plus 3.99 for shipping, plus tax for this book (bought from an Amazon seller). Which came to a total of 17.35. I'm banging my head for paying that much money. This book just wasnt worth that price at all. 2 or 3 bucks, perhaps. I advise those who are wondering if they should buy this book, be patient and wait for the price to come way down, even if it takes a couple of years. You wont be missing much.

What a gift!

As a "Baby Boomer," I have grown up loving Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthau movies. While they each had many good solo movies, together they were a team, a match made in heaven. This book not only talks about each actor, but also tells us about each movie they made together, and the relationship they had with each other.

They were good friends from their first movie. In time they grew to love each other and enjoyed working together. They were so in-tuned to each other that at times the directors just let them run with or without the script.I have really enjoyed seeing the pictures in this book and the dialogue that goes with it. I have laughed and felt the sadness also.

A high point is the fact that their movie's transcends all ages. My children who are now grown and have children of their own, still want to see the movies I have of Jack and Walter when they come to visit.I feel director John Davis summed it up best-"I will tell you why these guys were so perfect...they're Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthau. Their chemistry is so great that it doesn't matter what they're playing. It could be brain surgeons or Yiddish surfboard salesmen. It's the simple fact that they are Jack and Walter, and nobody can do it like they can." Or as Jack Lemmon would always say before a scene, "its magic time."

If it had not been for the outstanding work by the author Ben Costello; most of us would never of had a chance to know the real Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthau. I can only imagine the many hours of research and interviews he did to create this fascinating book. For those of you who will buy this book, I leave you with these words--from the first page to the last "Its magic time."

Whispering Winds Book Reviews

Another Pictorial Treasure
Ben Costello has done it again! In his new book, Jack & Walter, author Costello offers readers a delightful peek into the lives of one of cinema's best loved screen teams. The author bios are a treat for Lemmon and Matthau fans who, like me, have enjoyed the actors' diverse characters over many years. But the photos are the real draw for me. I loved the pictures, which included many of Hollywood's biggest names: Clark Gable, Paul Newman, Shirley MacLaine, Elvis Presley, Jerry Lewis, Sophia Loren and many, many more. Buy a copy of this book for yourself, then pick up an extra for a Father's Day gift. You can't go wrong with Jack & Walter, The Films of Lemmon & Matthau!

A must for any fan of either actor
There is sometimes a chemistry between two people where it just clicks and there is gold. "Jack & Walter: The Films of Lemmon & Matthau" chronicles the career of the two legendary actors when they were placed together, though each was a legend in his own right. Author Ben Costello looks at the pair's joint films ranging from their earliest work together in 'The Fortune Cookie', to their most well-known film 'The Odd Couple', to their much more recent films 'Grumpy Old Men' and 'JFK'. Chapters also cover both men's solo careers. Each movie gets its own chapter, complete with production stills and personal photos in black and white. "Jack & Walter" is a must for any fan of either actor.

A Must Read!!
What a joy to be allowed into the world of Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthau.I was entertained, touched, informed and found myself laughing as I read.Ben has a way of bringing you intotheir lives as actors and also shares their treasured friendship .So much information that you will go back to this book again and again.Thanks Ben!! ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Walter Matthau Rules!!
This is a great biography of the reknowned entertainer Walter Matthau.He rules!! ... Read more

Product Description
8 1/2" x 11" 20-page pressbook. ... Read more

Product Description
Playbill: Once More with Feeling: National Theatre (Joseph Cotton, Arlene Francis, Walter Matthau) (October 20, 1959, Vol. 2, No. 42). 1958 paperback published by Playbill Incorporated. Features: "From a Playwright's Notebook" by William Inge; "Who's Who in the Cast"; and "Male Leads" by Seymour Schimel. Advertisers include: Columbia Records, Kent cigarettes, Pontiac, Oldsmobile, Citroen, Coty, TWA, My Sin, United States Lines, Cadillac, Rheingold beer, Revlon, Chevrolet, GM, Germaine Monteil, Plymouth Dodge DeSoto Chrysler Imperial, Chesterfield cigarettes, more. ... Read more

Product Description
High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! Walter John Matthau (October 1, 1920 ? July 1, 2000) was an American actor best known for his role as Oscar Madison in The Odd Couple and his frequent collaborations with Odd Couple star Jack Lemmon, as well as his role as Coach Buttermaker in the 1976 comedy The Bad News Bears. He won an Academy Award for his performance in the Billy Wilder film The Fortune Cookie. He was born as Walter John Matthau in New York City's Lower East Side on October 1, 1920, the son of Rose Berolsky (from Lithuania), who worked in a sweatshop, and Milton Matthau, an electrician and peddler (from Russia), both Jewish immigrants. His original surname has often incorrectly been listed as Matuschanskayasky (see Matuschanskayasky below for a detailed discussion). As a young boy, Walter attended a Jewish non-profit sleepaway camp, Tranquillity Camp, where he first began acting in the shows the camp would stage on Saturday nights. He also attended Surprise Lake Camp. ... Read more

Product Description
9 complete stories at a great price!

Featuring:

The Cat in the Hat read by Kelsey Grammer
Horton Hears a Who read by Dustin Hoffman
How the Grinch Stole Christmas read by Walter Matthau
Did I Ever Tell You How Lucky You Are? read by John Cleese
The Lorax read by Ted Danson
Yertle the Turtle, Gertrude McFuzz, and The Big Brag read by John Lithgow
Thidwick, the Big-Hearted Moose read by Mercedes McCambridge
Horton Hatches the Egg read by Billy Crystal
The Cat in the Hat Comes Back read by Kelsey Grammer ... Read more

Customer Reviews (10)

The Cat in the Hat
My granddaughters were not sure they were going to like this CD.They wanted to listen to it during daylight first.After hearing it with other people around, they decided they liked it and would listen to it at night when they were in bed.It took a bit of convincing, however.

The background music gets a bit too loud
The background music gets a bit loud at times. We got used to it eventually. Otherwise the stories are great and so are the performances. My 8y.o. son can't get enough. What's great, we could follow up with the books. I would highly recommend it for elementary school children.

The Cat in the hat
Kids like to listen to this a lot, we down loaded it to the computer and they love it.

Great idea but background music interferes
My daughter loves Dr. Seuss so I immediately ordered this CD and the Green Eggs & Ham version as well. It's a great idea, but the background music is too loud at various points so it's hard to understand the words while the CD plays. That is our only complaint. I was able to decipher what the reader was saying, but my four-year-old had trouble and lost patience with it after a few minutes. I'm hoping she'll grow to appreciate it as time goes on.

Great Stories!
Really Great Stories! My kids loved them. Gertrude McFuzz is fabulous and John Lithgow was superb as the reader. In fact all of the cast were excellent in their roles.

The Big Brag, Thidwick, How Lucky You Are are easily perpetual favorites. We played these over and over.

A not to be missed collection for young listeners.... ages 1 to 100!

... Read more

Product Description
The 11-story collection includes:

How the Grinch Stole Christmas
Read by Walter Matthau

The Cat in the Hat
Read by Kelsey Grammer

Horton Hears a Who
Read by Dustin Hoffman

Did I Ever Tell You How Lucky You Are?
Read by John Cleese

The Lorax
Read by Ted Danson

Yertle the Turtle and Other Stories: Gertrude McFuzz; The Big Brag
Read by John Lithgow

Thidwick, the Big-Hearted Moose
Read by Mercedes McCambridge

Horton Hatches the Egg
Read by Billy Crystal

The Cat in the Hat Comes Back
Read by Kelsey Grammer ... Read more