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.
122 acting credits · 1 directing credit
Acting · 122
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
1962
Saturday Night Live
1975
The Mike Douglas Show
1961
Golden Globe Awards
1944
Great Performances
1971
Robert Montgomery Presents
1950
Dr. Kildare
1961
The Philco Television Playhouse
1948
Naked City
1958
Climax!
1954
Tony Awards
1956
The Merv Griffin Show
1962
Route 66
1960
Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre
1963
Studio One
1948
The Oscars
1953
The Dick Cavett Show
1968
Alfred Hitchcock Presents
1955
Suspense
1949
Lux Video Theatre
1950
Target: The Corruptors!
1961
The American Film Institute Salute to ...
1973
Candy
1968
Dennis the Menace
1993
JFK
1991
Profiles in Courage
1964
Charade
1963
General Electric Theater
1953
Earthquake
1974
Chaplin
1992
The Bad News Bears
1976
Hello, Dolly!
1969
Grumpy Old Men
1993
Fail Safe
1964
The Taking of Pelham One Two Three
1974
The Odd Couple
1968
Charley Varrick
1973
Mirage
1965
Grumpier Old Men
1995
The Front Page
1974
Pirates
1986
Out to Sea
1997
California Suite
1978
I.Q.
1994
Tallahassee 7000
1961
Hanging Up
2000
Hopscotch
1980
Cactus Flower
1969
King Creole
1958
The Odd Couple II
1998
Lonely are the Brave
1962
A Face in the Crowd
1957
A New Leaf
1971
The Fortune Cookie
1966
The Indian Fighter
1955
The Kentuckian
1955
The Couch Trip
1988
The Grass Harp
1996
The Sunshine Boys
1975
Broadway's Dreamers: The Legacy of the Group Theatre
1989
The Survivors
1983
Ride a Crooked Trail
1958
Beyond JFK: The Question of Conspiracy
1993
Ensign Pulver
1964
Strangers When We Meet
1960
The First 100 Years: A Celebration of American Movies
1995
A Guide for the Married Man
1967
Bigger Than Life
1956
Pete 'n' Tillie
1972
Buddy Buddy
1981
Plaza Suite
1971
The Laughing Policeman
1973
Kotch
1971
James Stewart: A Wonderful Life
1987
The Little Devil
1988
The Stingiest Man in Town
1978
The Marriage Fool
1998
First Monday in October
1981
Little Miss Marker
1980
I'm Not Rappaport
1996
Actor
1978
House Calls
1978
The Incident
1990
Goodbye Charlie
1964
Island of Love
1963
I Love Liberty
1982
Against Her Will: An Incident in Baltimore
1992
The Lion Roars Again
1975
Who's Got the Action?
1962
Walter Matthau: Diamond in the Rough
1997
Casey's Shadow
1978
Jack Lemmon: America's Everyman
1996
The Stars Salute the U.S. Olympic Team
1984
Onionhead
1958
The Gentleman Tramp
1976
Movers & Shakers
1985
Billy Wilder: The Human Comedy
1998
Revisiting 'Fail-Safe'
2000
Awake and Sing!
1972
Laurel and Hardy: A Tribute to the Boys
1992
Incident in a Small Town
1994
'Fail-Safe' and the Cold War
2020
Voice in the Mirror
1958
A Beverly Hills Christmas
1987
Slaughter on 10th Avenue
1957
I Ought to Be in Pictures
1982
Kraft Salutes the George Burns 90th Birthday Special
1986
Mrs. Lambert Remembers Love
1991
Hollywood: The Gift of Laughter
1982
Gangster Story
1959
Elvis: A Life in Music
2026
Private Screenings: Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthau
1998
The Secret Life of an American Wife
1968
Last of the Independents: Don Siegel and the Making of 'Charley Varrick'
2015
Carol Channing and 101 Men
1968
Portrait of a '60% Perfect Man': Billy Wilder
1982
Two by Saroyan: 'Once Around the Block' and 'My Heart's in the Highlands'
1960
Big Deal in Laredo
1962
Jack Benny's Bag
1968
Atomic Attack
1954
How the Grinch Stole Christmas!
1992
Funny Business
1978