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