Walter Matthau biography
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Walter Matthau photographs
Walter Matthau bio
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Walter Matthau filmography

Walter Matuschanskayasky was born to Russian Jewish immigrants. He lived with his father until the age of three, before moving to the Lower East Side to be with his mother and older brother.

Walter started out selling soft drinks and playing bit parts at a Yiddish theatre at age 11. He was paid 50 cents for each of his early onstage appearances.

After graduating, he took Government related jobs that included time as forester, a gym instructor for the Works Progress Administration and a boxing coach for policemen.

During World War II, he served in the Army Air Corps and returned home a sergeant, with six battle stars.

His fame came with 1966's ‘The Fortune Cookie’, which won him a Best Supporting Actor Oscar, and marked his first collaboration with [urlnew=http://www.thebiographychannel.co.uk/biography_home/57:0/Jack_Lemmon.htm]Jack Lemmon[/urlnew]. However, while making it he suffered a serious heart attack and underwent heart bypass surgery.

It was his Oscar-nominated leading turn as ‘Oscar’ to Lemmon's ‘Felix’ in ‘The Odd Couple’ that firmly established him as a comedic leading man. Continuing their collaboration, Lemmon directed Matthau to a second Academy Award as Best Actor in ‘Kotch’.

The 80s were not great for Walter. Fed up with the kind of scripts he was getting, he turned to the small screen. He returned to leading feature roles as the long-suffering Mr. Wilson in 1993's ‘Dennis’, and appeared with Lemmon again to score a major hit with ‘Grumpy Old Men’ and its sequel, ‘Grumpier Old Men’.

1997 saw his twelfth acting collaboration with Lemmon in ‘Out to Sea’, and the following year they worked together on ‘The Odd Couple II’.

He was perfect as the irritable father of [urlnew=http://www.thebiographychannel.co.uk/biography_home/512:0/Diane_Keaton.htm]Diane Keaton[/urlnew], [urlnew=http://www.thebiographychannel.co.uk/biography_home/870:0/Meg_Ryan.htm]Meg Ryan[/urlnew] and Lisa Kudrow in ‘Hanging Up’, but a case of pneumonia forced him to leave the production early and later that year he died from a heart attack.
Walter Matthau biography



Walter hated to be identified as a comedic actor.

He once estimated his lifetime gambling losses at $5 million.

'Dan Castelleneta' has admitted that his original voice for Homer Simpson was simply an impression of Walter Matthau.


Walter Matthau biography



Hanging Up (2000)
The Marriage Fool (1998)
The Odd Couple II (1998)
Out to Sea (1997)
I'm Not Rappaport (1996)
Grumpier Old Men (1995)
The Grass Harp (1995)
I.Q. (1994)
Incident in a Small Town (1994)
Grumpy Old Men (1993)
Dennis the Menace (1993)
Against Her Will: An Incident in Baltimore (1992)
JFK (1991)
Mrs. Lambert Remembers Love (1991)
The Incident (1990)
Il Piccolo diavolo (1988)
The Couch Trip (1988)
Pirates (1986)
Movers and Shakers (1985)
The Survivors (1983)
I Ought to Be in Pictures (1982)
I Love Liberty (1982)
Buddy Buddy (1981)
First Monday in October (1981)
Hopscotch (1980)
Little Miss Marker (1980)
The Stingiest Man in Town (1978)
California Suite (1978)
House Calls (1978)
Casey's Shadow (1978)
Actor (1978)
The Bad News Bears (1976)
The Sunshine Boys (1975)
The Front Page(1974)
Earthquake (1974)
The Taking of Pelham One Two Three (1974)
The Laughing Policeman (1973)
Charley Varrick (1973)
Pete 'n' Tillie (1972)
Kotch (1971)
Plaza Suite (1971)
A New Leaf (1971)
Cactus Flower (1969)
Hello, Dolly! (1969)
Candy (1968)
The Secret Life of an American Wife (1968)
The Odd Couple (1968)
A Guide for the Married Man (1967)
The Fortune Cookie (1966)
Mirage (1965)
Goodbye Charlie (1964)
Fail-Safe (1964)
Ensign Pulver (1964)
Charade (1963)
Island of Love (1963)
Who's Got the Action? (1962)
Lonely Are the Brave (1962)
"Tallahassee 7000" (1961)
Gangster Story (1960)
Strangers When We Meet (1960)
Juno and the Paycock (1960)
Onionhead (1958)
Ride a Crooked Trail (1958)
Voice in the Mirror (1958)
King Creole (1958)
How the Grinch Stole Christmas!
Slaughter on Tenth Avenue (1957)
A Face in the Crowd (1957)
Bigger Than Life (1956)
The Indian Fighter (1955)
The Kentuckian (1955)
Atomic Attack (1950)
Walter Matthau biography




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