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