"By the time he was six, Walter was luring tramps and other unsavory characters home with the promise of a meal. He loved to hear their tall tales. A year later, imitating an Irish neighbor, he began collecting dialects, a lifelong pursuit that helped him, by listening carefully, play characters by ear, getting their "voice tone" and phrasing right. He had an unusual sympathy for old people, a fondness for underdogs, and a "fine scorn for stuffed shirts"