出身贫寒的沃尔特.马修生于纽约市,11岁时在纽约第2大道犹太剧场扮演龙套的角色。第二次世界大战时在空军部队当过广播员。战后进新学派戏剧班受训,并开始在固定剧场演戏,在百老汇的地位也由小配角逐渐升为主角。
Statuesque, smart Canadian-born Alexis Smith, with her blue/green eyes and a seductively husky voice, lent a touch of class to her leading ladies of the 1940s and 1950s.