Walter Matthau

Walter John Matthau(néMatthow;/ˈmæθaʊ/MATH-ow;October 1, 1920 – July 1, 2000) was an American screen and stage actor, known for his "hangdog face" and for playing world-weary characters.He starred in 10 films alongside his real-life friendJack Lemmon, includingThe Odd Couple(1968) andGrumpy Old Men(1993).The New York Timescalled this "one of Hollywood's most successful pairings".Among other accolades, he was anAcademy Award, a two-timeBAFTA Award, and two-timeTony Awardwinner.
OnBroadway, Matthau originated the role ofOscar MadisoninThe Odd Coupleby playwrightNeil Simon, for which he received aTony Award for Best Leading Actor in a Playin 1965, his second afterA Shot in the Darkin 1962. He won theAcademy Award for Best Supporting Actorfor his performance in theBilly WilderfilmThe Fortune Cookie(1966), with furtherBest Actornominations forKotch(1971) andThe Sunshine Boys(1975). He gained further recognition for his portrayal of the coach of a hapless little league team in the baseball comedyThe Bad News Bears(1976).
Matthau is also known for his performances inElia Kazan'sA Face in the Crowd(1957), theElvis PresleyvehicleKing Creole(1958),Stanley Donen's romanceCharade(1963),Fail Safe(1964),Gene Kelly's musicalHello, Dolly!(1969),Elaine May's screwball comedyA New Leaf(1971) andHerbert Ross's ensemble comedyCalifornia Suite(1978). He also starred inPlaza Suite(1971),Charley Varrick(1973),The Taking of Pelham One Two Three(1974),The Sunshine Boys(1975),House Calls(1978),Hopscotch(1980) andDennis the Menace(1993).
In 1982, he received a star on theHollywood Walk of Fame.
Matthau was born Walter John Matthowon October 1, 1920, in New York City'sLower East Side. He had two brothers, one older and one younger.
His parents wereJewish; his mother, Rose (néeBerolsky or Beransky), was aLithuanian immigrantwho worked in a garment sweatshop, and his father, Milton Matuschansky, was aUkrainianpeddler and electrician fromKyiv. They married in New York in 1917.
ANew York Timesinterview described his early years: "When Matthau was 3 years old, and his older brother, Henry, was 5, his father…lit out for parts unknown, leaving him and his brother to be raised by their mother….In 1935…Matthau learned of his father’s death in Bellvue Hospital….During his childhood, Matthau…lived in a succession of cold-water tenement apartments in the Ukrainian area of the Lower East Side…being forced to vacate each apartment after only a few months because they’d got so hopelessly far behind in the rent that their landlord would have them evicted….Matthau…hasn’t the slightest nostalgia these days for his poverty-ridden childhood, ‘It was a nightmare—a dreadful, horrible, stinking nightmare,’ he grimly remembers.”
As part of a lifelong love of practical jokes, Matthau created the rumors that his middle name wasFoghornand his last name was originallyMatuschanskayasky(under which he is credited for a cameo role in the filmEarthquake).
As a young boy, Matthau attended a Jewish non-profit sleepaway camp, Tranquillity Camp, where he began acting in the shows that the camp staged on Saturday nights. He also attended Surprise Lake Camp. His high school wasSeward Park High School.He worked for a short time as a concession stand cashier in theYiddish Theatre District.
DuringWorld War II, Matthau saw active service as a radioman-gunner on aConsolidated B-24 Liberatorbomber in theU.S. Army Air Forceswith theEighth Air Forcein England. He was with the same453rd Bombardment GroupasJames Stewart. While based in England atRAF Old Buckenham,Norfolk, he flew missions to continental Europe during theBattle of the Bulge. He ended the war with the rank ofStaff Sergeantand returned home to America for demobilization at the war's end, intent on pursuing a career as anactor.
Matthau was trained in acting at theDramatic WorkshopofThe New Schoolwith German directorErwin Piscator. He often joked that his best early review came in a play where he posed as a derelict. One reviewer said, "The others just looked like actors in make-up, Walter Matthau really looks like askid rowbum!" Matthau was a respectedstageactor for years in such fare asWill Success Spoil Rock Hunter?andA Shot in the Dark, for his performance in the latter winning the1962Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Play.
Matthau appeared in the pilot ofMister Peepers(1952) withWally Cox. For reasons unknown, he used the name Leonard Elliot. His role was of the gym teacher Mr. Wall. He made his motion picture debut as a whip-wielding bad guy inThe Kentuckian(1955) oppositeBurt Lancaster. He played a villain inKing Creole(1958), in which he gets beaten up byElvis Presley. Around the same time, he madeRide a Crooked TrailwithAudie Murphy, andOnionhead(both 1958) starringAndy Griffith; the latter a box-office flop. Matthau and Griffith appeared previously the critical and box-office hitA Face in the Crowd(1957), directed byElia Kazan. Matthau appeared withJames MasoninBigger Than Life(1956), directed byNicholas Ray. Matthau directed a low-budget movie calledThe Gangster Story(1960) and played a sympathetic sheriff inLonely Are the Brave(1962), which starredKirk Douglas. He appeared in theCary Grant-Audrey Hepburncrime thrillerCharade(1963).
Ontelevision, he appeared twice onNaked City, as well as in four installments ofAlfred Hitchcock Presents. He appeared eight times between 1962 and 1964 onThe DuPont Show of the Weekand as Franklin Gaer in an episode ofDr. Kildare("Man Is a Rock", 1964).
Comedies were rare in Matthau's work at that time. He was cast in a number of stark dramas, such asFail Safe(1964), in which he portrayed Pentagon adviser Dr. Groeteschele, who urges an all-out nuclear attack on theSoviet Unionin response to an accidental transmission of an attack signal to U.S. Air Force bombers.Neil Simoncast him in theplayThe Odd Couplein 1965, with Matthau playing slovenly sportswriter Oscar Madison, oppositeArt Carneyas Felix Ungar.Matthau reprised the role in thefilm version, withJack Lemmonas Felix Unger. He played detective Ted Casselle in the Hitchcockian thrillerMirage(1965), directed byEdward Dmytryk.
He achieved great success in the comedy filmThe Fortune Cookie(1966) asshysterlawyer William H. "Whiplash Willie" Gingrich, starring yet again opposite Lemmon; the first of manycollaborationswithBilly Wilder, and a role that would earn him an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor. Filming had to be placed on a five-month hiatus after Matthau had a seriousheart attack. He gave up his three-pack-a-day smoking habit as a result.Matthau appeared during the Oscar telecast shortly after having been injured in a bicycle accident; nonetheless, he scolded actors who had not attended the ceremony, especially the other major award winners that night:Paul Scofield,Elizabeth TaylorandSandy Dennis.Broadway-hits-cum-films continued to cast Matthau in lead roles such asHello, Dolly!andCactus Flower(both 1969); for the latter,Goldie Hawnreceived an Oscar for Best Supporting Actress.
It was during this time that Matthau began to appear in more comedy films, including theblack comedyA New Leaf(1971) and the comedy-dramaPete 'n' Tillie(1972). Oscar nominations would come his way again forKotch(1971), directed by Lemmon, andThe Sunshine Boys(1975). The latter was another adaptation of a Neil Simon stage play—this time about a pair of formervaudevillestars. For the latter, he won aGolden Globe awardfor Best Actor in a Musical or Comedy, tying with his co-starGeorge Burns. Meanwhile, their other co-star,Richard Benjamin, won a supporting award.
Matthau played three roles in the film version of Simon'sPlaza Suite(1971), and was in the cast of its followupCalifornia Suite(1978). He starred inHouse Calls(1978), sharing the screen withGlenda Jacksonand hisOdd Couplestage partner, Carney.
Matthau starred in three crime dramas in the mid-1970s: as a detective investigating a mass murder on a bus inThe Laughing Policeman(1973), as a bank robber on the run from the Mafia and the law inCharley Varrick(also 1973) and as a New York transit official in the action-thrillerThe Taking of Pelham One Two Three(1974). He also reunited with Lemmon in the black comedy-dramaThe Front Page(1974). A change of pace about misfits and delinquents on aLittle Leaguebaseball team turned out to be a solid hit when Matthau starred as coach Morris Buttermaker in the comedyThe Bad News Bears(1976).
Matthau produced some films withUniversal Pictures, with his sonCharliealso becoming involved in his production company, Walcar Productions, but the only film that he produced was the third remake ofLittle Miss Marker(1980).
He was nominated for theGolden Globe Award for Best Actor in a Motion Picture – Musical or Comedyfor his portrayal of former CIA field operative Miles Kendig in the elaborate spy comedyHopscotch(1980), reuniting with Jackson. The original script, a dark work based on the novel of the same name, was rewritten and transformed into a comedy in order to play to Matthau's specific talents. The rewrite was a condition of his participation.Matthau participated in the script revisions, and the film's directorRonald Neameobserved that Matthau's contributions entitled him to screen credit, but that was never pursued.Matthau wrote the scene in which Kendig and Isobel—apparently strangers—meet in aSalzburgrestaurant and strike up a conversation about wine that ends in a passionate kiss. He also wrote the last scene of the film, where Kendig, presumed to be dead, disguises himself as aSikhto enter a bookshop. He also helped to choose appropriate compositions byMozartthat made up much of the score.TCM'sSusan Doll observes that "Hopscotchcould be considered the end of a long career peak or the beginning of (Matthau's) slide downhill, depending on the viewpoint", as character parts and supporting parts became the only thing available to an actor his age.
The next year, he was nominated again for theGolden Globe Award for Best Actor in a Motion Picture – Musical or Comedyfor his portrayal of the fictionalAssociate JusticeDaniel Snow inFirst Monday in October(1981). The film was about the (then-fictional) first appointment of a woman (played byJill Clayburgh) to theSupreme Court of the United States. It was scheduled for release in 1982, but whenPresident Ronald ReagannamedSandra Day O'Connorin July 1981, the release date was moved up to August 1981.The New York TimescriticJanet Maslindisliked the film but praised Matthau's performance.
Matthau reunited with Lemmon in the comedyBuddy Buddy(1981). He also portrayed Herbert Tucker inI Ought to Be in Pictures(1982) withAnn-MargretandDinah Manoff. He co-starred withRobin Williamsin the 1983 dark comedy filmThe Survivors. Although a box-office dud that barely grossed its budget, the film found a new audience via repeated broadcasts on cable TV in the following years.He took the leading role of Captain Thomas Bartholomew Red inRoman Polanski's swashbucklerPirates(1986).
During the 1980s and 1990s, Matthau served on the advisory board of theNational Student Film Institute.
Matthau narrated theDoctor SeussVideo Classics:How the Grinch Stole Christmas!(1992), and played the role ofGeorge Wilsonin the filmDennis the Menace(1993). In a change of pace, Matthau playedAlbert Einsteinin the filmI.Q.(1994) starringTim RobbinsandMeg Ryan.
His partnership with Jack Lemmon became one of the most enduring collaborations inHollywood. They became lifelong friends after makingThe Fortune Cookieand would make a total of 10 movies together—11 countingKotch, in which Lemmon has acameoas a sleeping bus passenger. Apart from their many comedies, the two appeared (although they did not share any scenes) in theOliver StonedramaJFK(1991). Matthau and Lemmon reunited for the comedyGrumpy Old Men(1993), co-starringAnn-Margret, and its sequelGrumpier Old Men(1995), co-starringSophia Loren. This led to further pairings late in their careers, including appearances inThe Grass Harp(1995),Out to Sea(1997) and a Simon-scripted sequel to their much earlier success,The Odd Couple II(1998).
Hanging Up(2000), directed byDiane Keaton, was Matthau's final appearance onscreen.
In 1948, Matthau married Geraldine "Geri" Grace Johnson. Their son David was born in 1953 and their daughter Jenny was born in 1956. The couple divorced in 1959.
Matthau marriedCarol Marcusin 1959. She died in 2003.  Their sonCharles (Charlie) Matthauwas born in 1962.  Charlie is a director and directed his father in several movies.
In 1971 Matthau discussed his longtime compulsive gambling with aNew York Timeswriter. In the late 1960s, while doing a two-week television shoot in Florida for "Tallahassee 7000," he had lost $183,000, mostly betting on spring-training baseball games. It took Matthau six years to pay off his "Mafia-connected bookmaker," and he curtailed his betting somewhat in the 1970s, though daily racetrack losses of $400-500 were common.
A heavy smoker, Matthau had a heart attack in 1966 while filmingThe Fortune Cookie, the first of at least three in his lifetime.
In 1976, ten years after his first heart attack, he underwent heart-bypass surgery. After working in Minnesota forGrumpy Old Men(1993), he was hospitalized for double pneumonia. In December 1995, he had a colon tumor removed, apparently successfully, as there was no mention of cancer in his death certificate. He was hospitalized in May 1999 for more than two months, again owing to pneumonia.
His death certificate lists the causes of death as "cardiac arrest" and "atherosclerotic heart disease", with "end stage renal disease" and "atrial fibrillation" as significant contributing factors. There is no mention of cancer.
On the late evening of June 30, 2000, Matthau had a heart attack at his home and was taken by ambulance to theSt. John's Health CenterinSanta Monica, where he died a few hours later at 1:42 a.m. on July 1, 2000, at age 79.He is buried atWestwood Village Memorial Park Cemeteryin Los Angeles. Matthau's wifeCarol Marcusdied in 2003, and her body is interred in the same plot as her husband.