Walter Matthau
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.
Filmography · 111
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
1962 · Self
Tony Awards
1956 · Self - Host
Saturday Night Live
1975 · Self - Host
The Mike Douglas Show
1961 · Self
Great Performances
1971 · Self
Golden Globe Awards
1944 · Self - Nominee / Prese...
Robert Montgomery Presents
1950
The Merv Griffin Show
1962 · Self
Climax!
1954 · Charlie Mapes
The Philco Television Playhouse
1948
Studio One
1948 · Jacobs
The Dick Cavett Show
1968 · Self - Guest
Dr. Kildare
1961 · Franklin Gaer
Suspense
1949 · Lawrence Stevens
Naked City
1958 · Peter Kanopolis
Route 66
1960
The Oscars
1953 · Self
Alfred Hitchcock Presents
1955 · Off. Pete Chandler
Dennis the Menace
1993 · Mr. Wilson
Candy
1968 · Gen. R.A. Smight
The American Film Institute Salute to ...
1973 · Self
JFK
1991 · Senator Long
Target: The Corruptors!
1961
Hello, Dolly!
1969 · Horace Vandergelder
Charade
1963 · Hamilton Bartholemew
Grumpy Old Men
1993 · Max Goldman
Fail Safe
1964 · Prof. Groeteschele
Earthquake
1974 · Drunk
Pirates
1986 · Captain Thomas Barthol...
General Electric Theater
1953
Out to Sea
1997 · Charlie Gordon
The Taking of Pelham One Two Three
1974 · Lieutenant Garber
Grumpier Old Men
1995 · Max Goldman
King Creole
1958 · Maxie Fields
The Bad News Bears
1976 · Morris Buttermaker
Tallahassee 7000
1961 · Lex Rogers
Charley Varrick
1973 · Charley Varrick
The Odd Couple
1968 · Oscar Madison
I.Q.
1994 · Albert Einstein
Hanging Up
2000 · Lou Mozell
A New Leaf
1971 · Henry Graham
The Fortune Cookie
1966 · Willie Gingrich
Lonely are the Brave
1962 · Sheriff Morey Johnson
The Front Page
1974 · Walter Burns
Cactus Flower
1969 · Julian Winston
Bigger Than Life
1956 · Wally Gibbs
California Suite
1978 · Marvin Michaels
A Face in the Crowd
1957 · Mel Miller
A Guide for the Married Man
1967 · Paul Manning
Ride a Crooked Trail
1958 · Judge Kyle
The Odd Couple II
1998 · Oscar Madison
The Laughing Policeman
1973 · Sgt. Jake Martin SFPD
Mirage
1965 · Ted Caselle
The Little Devil
1988 · Padre Maurizio
The Grass Harp
1996 · Judge Charlie Cool
Hopscotch
1980 · Miles Kendig
The Survivors
1983 · Sonny Paluso
The Incident
1990 · Harmon Cobb
Buddy Buddy
1981 · Trabucco
The Couch Trip
1988 · Donald Becker
James Stewart: A Wonderful Life
1987 · Self
Kotch
1971 · Joseph P. Kotcher
Little Miss Marker
1980 · Sorrowful Jones
The Indian Fighter
1955 · Wes Todd
Onionhead
1958 · 'Red' Wildoe
The Kentuckian
1955 · Stan Bodine
The First 100 Years: A Celebration of American Movies
1995 · Self
Plaza Suite
1971 · Sam Nash / Jesse Kipli...
Strangers When We Meet
1960 · Felix Anders
The Sunshine Boys
1975 · Willy Clark
Slaughter on 10th Avenue
1957 · Al Dahlke
I Ought to Be in Pictures
1982 · Herbert Tucker
Carol Channing and 101 Men
1968 · Self
I'm Not Rappaport
1996 · Nat Moyer
Pete 'n' Tillie
1972 · Pete Seltzer
The Marriage Fool
1998 · Frank Walsh
Actor
1978 · Boris Thomashevsky
Ensign Pulver
1964 · Doc
Walter Matthau: Diamond in the Rough
1997 · Self
Who's Got the Action?
1962 · Tony Gagouts
The Stingiest Man in Town
1978 · Ebenezer Scrooge (voic...
Jack Lemmon: America's Everyman
1996 · Self
Mrs. Lambert Remembers Love
1991 · Clifford Pepperman
Laurel and Hardy: A Tribute to the Boys
1992 · Self
Billy Wilder: The Human Comedy
1998 · Narrator
Elvis: A Life in Music
2026 · Self (archive footage)
Incident in a Small Town
1994 · Harmon Cobb
First Monday in October
1981 · Dan Snow
House Calls
1978 · Dr. Charley Nichols
'Fail-Safe' and the Cold War
2020 · Self (archive footage)
Beyond JFK: The Question of Conspiracy
1993 · Self
Goodbye Charlie
1964 · Leo Sartori
The Stars Salute the U.S. Olympic Team
1984 · Self - Performer
I Love Liberty
1982 · Self
The Gentleman Tramp
1976 · Self / Narrator
Island of Love
1963 · Tony Dallas
The Secret Life of an American Wife
1968 · The Movie Star
Voice in the Mirror
1958 · Dr. Karnes
Hollywood: The Gift of Laughter
1982 · Self
Awake and Sing!
1972 · Moe Axelrod
Against Her Will: An Incident in Baltimore
1992 · Harmon Cobb
Movers & Shakers
1985 · Joe Mulholland
A Beverly Hills Christmas
1987 · Self
How the Grinch Stole Christmas!
1992 · Narrator (voice)
Casey's Shadow
1978 · Lloyd Bourdelle
Gangster Story
1959 · Jack Martin
Kraft Salutes the George Burns 90th Birthday Special
1986 · Self
Two by Saroyan: 'Once Around the Block' and 'My Heart's in the Highlands'
1960 · Ben Alexander / Philip...
Portrait of a '60% Perfect Man': Billy Wilder
1982 · Self
Last of the Independents: Don Siegel and the Making of 'Charley Varrick'
2015 · Self (archive footage)
Atomic Attack
1954 · Dr. Spinelli