Walter Matthau
Personal Info
Known for
Acting
Gender
Male
Birthday
1920-10-01
Day of Death
2000-07-01 (79 years old)
Place of Birth
New York City, New York, USA
Walter Matthau
Biography
Walter Matthau (born Walter John Matthow; October 1, 1920 – July 1, 2000) was an American actor, comedian and film director.
He is best known for his film roles in A Face in the Crowd (1957), King Creole (1958) and as a coach of a hapless little league team in the baseball comedy The Bad News Bears (1976). He also starred in 10 films alongside Jack Lemmon, including The Odd Couple (1968), The Front Page (1974) and Grumpy Old Men (1993). Matthau won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance in the Billy Wilder film The Fortune Cookie (1966). Matthau is also known for his performances in Stanley Donen's romance Charade (1963), Gene Kelly's musical Hello, Dolly! (1969), Elaine May's screwball comedy A New Leaf (1971) and Herbert Ross' ensemble comedy California Suite (1978). He also starred in Plaza Suite, Kotch (both 1971), Charley Varrick (1973), The Sunshine Boys (1975), and Hopscotch (1980).
On Broadway, Matthau originated the role of Oscar Madison in The Odd Couple by playwright Neil Simon, for which he received a Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play in 1965, his second after A Shot in the Dark in 1962. Matthau also received two British Academy Film Awards and a Golden Globe Award. In 1963, he received a Primetime Emmy Award nomination for his performance in The DuPont Show of the Week. In 1982, he received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
Acting
(2020)
'Fail-Safe' and the Cold War
as Self (archive footage)
(2015)
Last of the Independents: Don Siegel and the Making of 'Charley Varrick'
as Self (archive footage)
(2000)
Hanging Up
as Lou Mozell
(2000)
Revisiting 'Fail-Safe'
as Self (archive footage)
(1998)
The Odd Couple II
as Oscar Madison
(1998)
The Marriage Fool
as Frank Walsh
(1998)
(1998)
(1997)
(1997)
Out to Sea
as Charlie Gordon
(1996)
I'm Not Rappaport
as Nat Moyer
(1996)
The Grass Harp
as Judge Charlie Cool
(1996)
(1995)
Grumpier Old Men
as Max Goldman
(1995)
(1994)
Incident in a Small Town
as Harmon Cobb
(1994)
I.Q.
as Albert Einstein
(1993)
Grumpy Old Men
as Max Goldman
(1993)
Dennis the Menace
as George Wilson
(1993)
(1992)
Against Her Will: An Incident in Baltimore
as Harmon Cobb
(1992)
(1992)
How the Grinch Stole Christmas!
as Narrator (voice)
(1991)
JFK
as Senator Long
(1991)
Mrs. Lambert Remembers Love
as Clifford Pepperman
(1990)
The Incident
as Harmon Cobb
(1989)
(1988)
The Little Devil
as Padre Maurizio
(1988)
The Couch Trip
as Donald Becker
(1987)
(1987)
A Beverly Hills Christmas
as Self
(1986)
Pirates
as Captain Thomas Bartholomew Red
(1986)
(1985)
Movers & Shakers
as Joe Mulholland
(1984)
(1983)
The Survivors
as Sonny Paluso
(1982)
(1982)
I Love Liberty
as Self
(1982)
I Ought to Be in Pictures
as Herbert Tucker
(1982)
(1981)
First Monday in October
as Dan Snow
(1981)
Buddy Buddy
as Trabucco
(1980)
Hopscotch
as Miles Kendig
(1980)
Little Miss Marker
as Sorrowful Jones
(1978)
California Suite
as Marvin Michaels
(1978)
House Calls
as Dr. Charley Nichols
(1978)
The Stingiest Man in Town
as Ebenezer Scrooge (voice)
(1978)
Casey's Shadow
as Lloyd Bourdelle
(1978)
Actor
as Boris Thomashevsky
(1978)
Funny Business
as Self - Host
(1976)
The Gentleman Tramp
as Self / Narrator
(1976)
The Bad News Bears
as Coach Morris Buttermaker
(1975)
The Lion Roars Again
as Self
(1975)
The Sunshine Boys
as Willy Clark
(1974)
Earthquake
as Drunk
(1974)
The Taking of Pelham One Two Three
as Lt. Garber
(1974)
The Front Page
as Walter Burns
(1973)
Charley Varrick
as Charley Varrick
(1973)
The Laughing Policeman
as Sgt. Jake Martin SFPD
(1972)
Awake and Sing!
as Moe Axelrod
(1972)
Pete 'n' Tillie
as Pete Seltzer
(1971)
A New Leaf
as Henry Graham
(1971)
Kotch
as Joseph P. Kotcher
(1971)
Plaza Suite
as Roy Hubley / Jesse Kiplinger / Sam Nash
(1969)
Cactus Flower
as Dr. Julian Winston
(1969)
Hello, Dolly!
as Horace Vandergelder
(1968)
Candy
as Gen. R.A. Smight
(1968)
The Odd Couple
as Oscar Madison
(1968)
The Secret Life of an American Wife
as The Movie Star
(1968)
Jack Benny's Bag
as Self
(1968)
Carol Channing and 101 Men
as Self
(1967)
A Guide for the Married Man
as Paul Manning
(1966)
The Fortune Cookie
as Willie Gingrich
(1965)
Mirage
as Ted Caselle
(1964)
Fail Safe
as Prof. Groeteschele
(1964)
Goodbye Charlie
as Leo Sartori
(1964)
Ensign Pulver
as Doc
(1963)
Charade
as Hamilton Bartholemew
(1963)
Island of Love
as Tony Dallas
(1962)
Lonely are the Brave
as Sheriff Morey Johnson
(1962)
Big Deal in Laredo
as Meredith
(1962)
Who's Got the Action?
as Tony Gagouts
(1960)
Two by Saroyan: 'Once Around the Block' and 'My Heart's in the Highlands'
as Ben Alexander / Philip Judah
(1960)
Strangers When We Meet
as Felix Anders
(1959)
Gangster Story
as Jack Martin
(1958)
King Creole
as Maxie Fields
(1958)
Voice in the Mirror
as Dr. Karnes
(1958)
Ride a Crooked Trail
as Judge Kyle
(1958)
Onionhead
as 'Red' Wildoe
(1957)
Slaughter on 10th Avenue
as Al Dahlke
(1957)
A Face in the Crowd
as Mel Miller
(1956)
Bigger Than Life
as Wally Gibbs
(1955)
The Indian Fighter
as Wes Todd
(1955)
The Kentuckian
as Stan Bodine
(1954)
Atomic Attack
as Dr. Spinelli
Crew
(1980)
Little Miss Marker
Executive Producer
(1959)
Gangster Story
Director