Buttermaker

The boozed up fellow on the left above is one Walter Matthau, born this day 1920 in New York City, New York. The son of Russian-Jewish immigrants, he grew up poor, and served in the U. S. Army during World War II, were he suffered the injuries that led in part to his perpetual slouch. That slouch is famous, Matthau was a very tall fellow at 6 foot 3 inches, but that slouch made him seem like the curmudgeon that he played to perfection. He played many roles on TV, stage, and in pictures, but two in particular make him my hero. One is the messy sportswriter Oscar Madison in The Odd Couple, opposite Jack Lemmon's role as Felix Unger. Classic stuff, and a role that transcends the big screen. His other role that endears him to me is as the drunken, washed up ex baseball player Morris Buttermaker in the Bad News Bears. I have already posted about my work place's comparison to the Bad News Bears, and we even have our own (slightly less drunk) Buttermaker. It is another role for the ages, played to absolute perfection by a consummate professional. Him and I also shared a common love that of gambling. He was one quoted as saying "I always had one ear offstage, listening for the call from the bookie." He even lost an impressively large amount of money betting on spring training baseball. That is a dedicated gambler, betting on spring training baseball is almost as bad as betting on the WNBA. So, for two classic roles in two classic movies, and for acting the parts so very well, Walter Matthau (October 1st, 1920-July 1st, 2000 of cardiac arrest at the age of 79), you are my hero of the day.