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
Candy (1968)
as Gen. R.A. Smight
Dennis the Menace (1993)
as Mr. Wilson
JFK (1991)
as Senator Long
Charade (1963)
as Hamilton Bartholemew
Earthquake (1974)
as Drunk
Grumpy Old Men (1993)
as Max Goldman
Chaplin (1992)
as Self (archive footage)
Hello, Dolly! (1969)
as Horace Vandergelder
The Taking of Pelham One Two Three (1974)
as Lt. Garber
Fail Safe (1964)
as Prof. Groeteschele
The Odd Couple (1968)
as Oscar Madison
I.Q. (1994)
as Albert Einstein
Hanging Up (2000)
as Lou Mozell
A New Leaf (1971)
as Henry Graham
Pirates (1986)
as Captain Thomas Bartholomew Red
Grumpier Old Men (1995)
as Max Goldman
The Bad News Bears (1976)
as Coach Morris Buttermaker
The Front Page (1974)
as Walter Burns
The Odd Couple II (1998)
as Oscar Madison
Charley Varrick (1973)
as Charley Varrick
Cactus Flower (1969)
as Dr. Julian Winston
Mirage (1965)
as Ted Caselle
King Creole (1958)
as Maxie Fields
Lonely are the Brave (1962)
as Sheriff Morey Johnson
The Fortune Cookie (1966)
as Willie Gingrich
Ride a Crooked Trail (1958)
as Judge Kyle
A Guide for the Married Man (1967)
as Paul Manning
Buddy Buddy (1981)
as Trabucco
Bigger Than Life (1956)
as Wally Gibbs
The Grass Harp (1996)
as Judge Charlie Cool
Out to Sea (1997)
as Charlie Gordon
California Suite (1978)
as Marvin Michaels
The Survivors (1983)
as Sonny Paluso
House Calls (1978)
as Dr. Charley Nichols
Hopscotch (1980)
as Miles Kendig
Little Miss Marker (1980)
as Sorrowful Jones
The Indian Fighter (1955)
as Wes Todd
The Couch Trip (1988)
as Donald Becker
The Kentuckian (1955)
as Stan Bodine
Plaza Suite (1971)
as Sam Nash / Jesse Kiplinger / Roy Hubley
Goodbye Charlie (1964)
as Leo Sartori
I'm Not Rappaport (1996)
as Nat Moyer
Onionhead (1958)
as 'Red' Wildoe
Kotch (1971)
as Joseph P. Kotcher
The Sunshine Boys (1975)
as Willy Clark
Movers & Shakers (1985)
as Joe Mulholland
A Face in the Crowd (1957)
as Mel Miller
The Little Devil (1988)
as Padre Maurizio
The Laughing Policeman (1973)
as Sgt. Jake Martin SFPD
The First 100 Years: A Celebration of American Movies (1995)
as Self
James Stewart: A Wonderful Life (1987)
as Self
Island of Love (1963)
as Tony Dallas
Strangers When We Meet (1960)
as Felix Anders
The Incident (1990)
as Harmon Cobb
Pete 'n' Tillie (1972)
as Pete Seltzer
Ensign Pulver (1964)
as Doc
First Monday in October (1981)
as Dan Snow
Actor (1978)
as Boris Thomashevsky
Beyond JFK: The Question of Conspiracy (1993)
as Self
Slaughter on 10th Avenue (1957)
as Al Dahlke
Broadway's Dreamers: The Legacy of the Group Theatre (1989)
as Self (voice)
Casey's Shadow (1978)
as Lloyd Bourdelle
The Marriage Fool (1998)
as Frank Walsh
Jack Lemmon: America's Everyman (1996)
as Self
Who's Got the Action? (1962)
as Tony Gagouts
Gangster Story (1959)
as Jack Martin
Voice in the Mirror (1958)
as Dr. Karnes
Elvis: A Life in Music (2026)
as Self (archive footage)
I Love Liberty (1982)
as Self
Revisiting 'Fail-Safe' (2000)
as Self (archive footage)
The Stars Salute the U.S. Olympic Team (1984)
as Self - Performer
Kraft Salutes the George Burns 90th Birthday Special (1986)
as Self
Atomic Attack (1954)
as Dr. Spinelli
Against Her Will: An Incident in Baltimore (1992)
as Harmon Cobb
I Ought to Be in Pictures (1982)
as Herbert Tucker
The Lion Roars Again (1975)
as Self
The Stingiest Man in Town (1978)
as Ebenezer Scrooge (voice)
Laurel and Hardy: A Tribute to the Boys (1992)
as Self
Incident in a Small Town (1994)
as Harmon Cobb
Funny Business (1978)
as Self - Host
The Gentleman Tramp (1976)
as Self / Narrator
Big Deal in Laredo (1962)
as Meredith
Mrs. Lambert Remembers Love (1991)
as Clifford Pepperman
Two by Saroyan: 'Once Around the Block' and 'My Heart's in the Highlands' (1960)
as Ben Alexander / Philip Judah
'Fail-Safe' and the Cold War (2020)
as Self (archive footage)
Awake and Sing! (1972)
as Moe Axelrod
Billy Wilder: The Human Comedy (1998)
as Narrator
Jack Benny's Bag (1968)
as Self
Hollywood: The Gift of Laughter (1982)
as Self
A Beverly Hills Christmas (1987)
as Self
Carol Channing and 101 Men (1968)
as Self
Walter Matthau: Diamond in the Rough (1997)
as Self
How the Grinch Stole Christmas! (1992)
as Narrator (voice)
Last of the Independents: Don Siegel and the Making of 'Charley Varrick' (2015)
as Self (archive footage)
The Secret Life of an American Wife (1968)
as The Movie Star
Portrait of a '60% Perfect Man': Billy Wilder (1982)
as Self
Private Screenings: Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthau (1998)
as Self