Walter Matthau
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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.
Known for
Credits
Dennis the Menace (1993)
as Mr. Wilson
Hello, Dolly! (1969)
as Horace Vandergelder
JFK (1991)
as Senator Long
Charade (1963)
as Hamilton Bartholemew
The Taking of Pelham One Two Three (1974)
as Lieutenant Garber
The Odd Couple II (1998)
as Oscar Madison
Grumpy Old Men (1993)
as Max Goldman
Pirates (1986)
as Captain Thomas Bartholomew Red
Earthquake (1974)
as Drunk
Grumpier Old Men (1995)
as Max Goldman
The Odd Couple (1968)
as Oscar Madison
Hanging Up (2000)
as Lou Mozell
Onionhead (1958)
as 'Red' Wildoe
King Creole (1958)
as Maxie Fields
I Ought to Be in Pictures (1982)
as Herbert Tucker
The Front Page (1974)
as Walter Burns
The Couch Trip (1988)
as Donald Becker
Fail Safe (1964)
as Prof. Groeteschele
Cactus Flower (1969)
as Dr. Julian Winston
Lonely are the Brave (1962)
as Sheriff Morey Johnson
I.Q. (1994)
as Albert Einstein
Candy (1968)
as Gen. R.A. Smight
The Bad News Bears (1976)
as Morris Buttermaker
Charley Varrick (1973)
as Charley Varrick
Out to Sea (1997)
as Charlie
A Guide for the Married Man (1967)
as Paul Manning
A New Leaf (1971)
as Henry Graham
The Laughing Policeman (1973)
as Sgt. Jake Martin SFPD
The Indian Fighter (1955)
as Wes Todd
Little Miss Marker (1980)
as Sorrowful Jones
The Fortune Cookie (1966)
as Willie Gingrich
Strangers When We Meet (1960)
as Felix Anders
Hopscotch (1980)
as Miles Kendig
The Kentuckian (1955)
as Stan Bodine
Who's Got the Action? (1962)
as Tony Gagouts
A Face in the Crowd (1957)
as Mel Miller
Buddy Buddy (1981)
as Trabucco
The Survivors (1983)
as Sonny Paluso
Ride a Crooked Trail (1958)
as Judge Kyle
California Suite (1978)
as Marvin Michaels
The Stingiest Man in Town (1978)
as Ebenezer Scrooge (voice)
I'm Not Rappaport (1996)
as Nat Moyer
The Grass Harp (1996)
as Judge Charlie Cool
Mirage (1965)
as Ted Caselle
The Marriage Fool (1998)
as Frank Walsh
Kotch (1971)
as Joseph P. Kotcher
House Calls (1978)
as Dr. Charley Nichols
Bigger Than Life (1956)
as Wally Gibbs
Actor (1978)
as Boris Thomashevsky
The Little Devil (1988)
as Padre Maurizio
Carol Channing and 101 Men (1968)
as Self
Plaza Suite (1971)
as Sam Nash / Jesse Kiplinger / Roy Hubley
Mrs. Lambert Remembers Love (1991)
as Clifford Pepperman
Awake and Sing! (1972)
as Moe Axelrod
The Sunshine Boys (1975)
as Willy Clark
Goodbye Charlie (1964)
as Leo Sartori
First Monday in October (1981)
as Dan Snow
The First 100 Years: A Celebration of American Movies (1995)
as Self
James Stewart: A Wonderful Life (1987)
as Self
The Making of Pelham One Two Three (1974)
as Self
Voice in the Mirror (1958)
as Dr. Karnes
The Incident (1990)
as Harmon Cobb
The Secret Life of an American Wife (1968)
as The Movie Star
Ensign Pulver (1964)
as Doc
Beyond JFK: The Question of Conspiracy (1993)
as Self
Casey's Shadow (1978)
as Lloyd Bourdelle
Broadway's Dreamers: The Legacy of the Group Theatre (1989)
as Self (voice)
Laurel and Hardy: A Tribute to the Boys (1992)
as Self
The Stars Salute the U.S. Olympic Team (1984)
as Self - Performer
Gangster Story (1959)
as Jack Martin
Last of the Independents: Don Siegel and the Making of 'Charley Varrick' (2015)
as Self (archive footage)
'Fail-Safe' and the Cold War (2020)
as Self (archive footage)
Jack Lemmon: America's Everyman (1996)
as Self
Slaughter on 10th Avenue (1957)
as Al Dahlke
Funny Business (1978)
as Self - Host
Pete 'n' Tillie (1972)
as Pete Seltzer
A Beverly Hills Christmas (1987)
as Self
I Love Liberty (1982)
as Self
Portrait of a '60% Perfect Man': Billy Wilder (1982)
as Self
Incident in a Small Town (1994)
as Harmon Cobb
Against Her Will: An Incident in Baltimore (1992)
as Harmon Cobb
Billy Wilder: The Human Comedy (1998)
as Narrator
Island of Love (1963)
as Tony Dallas
Two by Saroyan: 'Once Around the Block' and 'My Heart's in the Highlands' (1960)
as Ben Alexander / Philip Judah
Movers & Shakers (1985)
as Joe Mulholland
Hollywood: The Gift of Laughter (1982)
as Self
The Lion Roars Again (1975)
as Self
The Gentleman Tramp (1976)
as Self / Narrator
How the Grinch Stole Christmas! (1992)
as Narrator (voice)
Kraft Salutes the George Burns 90th Birthday Special (1986)
as Self
Jack Benny's Bag (1968)
as Self
Walter Matthau: Diamond in the Rough (1997)
as Self
Big Deal in Laredo (1962)
as Meredith
Atomic Attack (1954)
as Dr. Spinelli