Similar surnames, Matuschanskayasky, and sometimes Matashansky or Matansky have been attributed to Walter Matthau though he's always claimed that they were never his birth names. Rumours started when he took an unpaid role as adrunk in a movie and used the sobriquet instead of his real name.
Reports are that he made up "Matuschanskayasky" as a joke and that his real "real" name is Matthow. The existence of Michelle Matthow would seem to confirm this...
According to his son, Charlie Matthau, on "Larry King Live" (1985), July 14, 2000, his real name was Walter Matthow, and he changed it to be more exotic. The name Walter Matuschanskayasky was one he made up to retaliate for being "tricked" into appearing in the movie Earthquake (1974) with a much larger part than he expected.
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