Walter Matthau
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| Walter Matthau | |
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 Charade (1963) |
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| Born | Walter John Matthow October 1, 1920 New York City, New York, USA |
| Died | July 1, 2000 (aged 79) Santa Monica, California, USA |
| Spouse(s) | Carol Grace (1959-2000) Grace Geraldine Johnson (1948-1958) |
Walter John Matthau (October 1, 1920 – July 1, 2000) was an American award winning actor best known for his role as Oscar Madison in The Odd Couple and his frequent collaborations with fellow Odd Couple star Jack Lemmon.
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[edit] Biography
[edit] Early life
Walter Matthau was born in New York City's Lower East Side on October 1, 1920, the son of Russian – Jewish immigrants. His original surname is often shown as Matuschanskayasky, but this is not true (see Original Name Rumor below for a detailed discussion).
[edit] Career
During World War II Matthau served in the U.S. Army Air Forces with the Eighth Air Force in England as a B-24 Liberator radioman-gunner, in the same bomb group as Jimmy Stewart. He reached the rank of Staff Sergeant and became interested in acting. 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 a skid row bum!" Matthau was a respected stage actor for years in such fare as Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter? and A Shot in the Dark. He won the 1962 Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a play.
In 1952 Matthau appeared in the pilot of Mr. Peepers with Wally Cox. For reasons unknown he used the name Leonard Elliot. His role was of the gym teacher Mr. Wall. In 1955 he made his motion picture debut as a whip-wielding bad guy in The Kentuckian opposite Burt Lancaster. He appeared in many movies after this as a villain such as the 1958 King Creole (where he is beaten up by Elvis Presley). That same year, he made a western called Ride a Crooked Trail with Audie Murphy and the notorious flop Onionhead starring Andy Griffith and Erin O'Brien. Matthau also directed a low budget 1960 movie called The Gangster Story. In 1962, he won acclaim as a sympathetic sheriff in Lonely are the Brave. He also played a villainous war veteran in Charade, which starred Cary Grant and Audrey Hepburn.
In addition to his busy movie and stage schedule, Matthau made many television appearances in live TV plays. Although he was constantly working, it seemed that the fact that he was not handsome in the traditional sense would keep him from being a top star.
Success came late for Matthau. In 1965, aged 44, Neil Simon cast him in the hit play The Odd Couple opposite Art Carney. In 1966, he again achieved success as a shady lawyer opposite future friend and frequent co-star, actor Jack Lemmon, in The Fortune Cookie. During filming, the film had to be placed on a five month hiatus after he suffered a heart attack.
He won an Academy Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role for that movie, and also made a memorable acceptance speech. He was visibly banged up, having been involved in a bicycle accident shortly before the awards show. He scolded nominated actors who were perfectly healthy and had not bothered to come to the ceremony, especially three of the other four major award winners: Elizabeth Taylor, Sandy Dennis and Paul Scofield.
Matthau also received Oscar nominations for 1972's Kotch, (directed by Lemmon) and 1975's The Sunshine Boys. For the latter role he won a Golden Globe for Best Actor in a Musical or Comedy.
Matthau and Lemmon became lifelong friends after making The Fortune Cookie and made a total of ten movies together (eleven if we count Kotch, in which Lemmon has a cameo as a sleeping bus passenger), including the movie version of The Odd Couple (with Lemmon playing the Art Carney role) and the popular 1993 hit Grumpy Old Men and its sequel Grumpier Old Men with Sophia Loren.
Matthau hummed the same tune in most of his movies, The Fortune Cookie, Grumpy Old Men, Grumpier Old Men etc.
[edit] Personal life
[edit] Matuschanskayasky
There is a persistent rumor that his birth name was Matuschanskayasky, which is false, as are the rumors that his name was Matashansky or Matansky, or any of the other reported names. In truth - as reported by the authors of Matthau: A Life by Rob Edelman and Audrey Kupferberg (along with Walter's son, Charlie Matthau), Walter was a teller of tall tales. In his youth, he found that the joy of embellishment lifted a story (and the listener) to such enjoyable heights that he could not resist trying to pass off the most bogus of information, just to see who was gullible enough to believe it. Matthau told many stories to many reputable people – including the Social Security Administration.
When he registered for a number, he was amazed that they only wanted him to write his name, and offer no proof of his identity. So, as another of his traditional goofs, he wrote that his true name was "Walter Foghorn Matthau".
The "Matuschanskayasky" name rumor culminated with the release of 1974's Earthquake. The executive producer, Jennings Lang, had worked with Matthau the previous year on the film Charley Varrick, and persuaded him to take a small cameo role in Earthquake - the small part scripted only as a "drunk at the end of the bar." On a whim, Matthau agreed to take the part, without compensation, on the condition that he not be credited under his real name. After Matthau agreed, the part of the "drunk" was expanded to provide comic relief for the film, the character offering toasts to various people (Spiro Agnew, Bobby Riggs, and Peter Fonda), as well as delivering the punchline "Hey, who do you have to know to get a drink around here?" in the midst of a bar devastated by a major earthquake.
As requested, when it came time to insert the credits for Earthquake, the long name "Matuschanskayasky" was used, as agreed, by Jennings Lang and Matthau.
Despite the facts, this fake name continued to appear in the World Almanac section on "Original Names of Selected Entertainers" as recently as the 2008 edition (p.228).
[edit] Marriages
Matthau was married twice; first to Grace Geraldine Johnson (1948 – 1958), and from 1959 until his death in 2000 to Carol Marcus. He had two children, Jenny Matthau and David Matthau, with his first wife, and a son, Charlie Matthau, with his second. He also helped raise Carol's children Aram Saroyan and Lucy Saroyan. His grandchildren include William Matthau and Emily Roman. His son, Charlie, directed Matthau in the movie The Grass Harp (1995).
[edit] Death
Walter Matthau died of full cardiac arrest on July 1, 2000 in Santa Monica, California, at the age of 79. After heart surgery, doctors discovered that he had colon cancer, which had spread to his liver, lungs and brain. However, on his death certificate the causes of death are listed as cardiac arrest and atherosclerotic heart disease, with ESRD and atrial fibrillation added as "other significant conditions contributing to death but not related to [primary] cause..."
He is interred in the Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery in Westwood, California.
Almost exactly one year later, Jack Lemmon was also buried at the cemetery next to his friend, after dying from cancer. After Matthau's death, Lemmon as well as other friends and relatives appeared on Larry King Live in an hour of tribute and remembrance; poignantly, many of those same people appeared on the show one year later, reminiscing about Lemmon.
His widow, Carol, died of a brain aneurysm in 2003.
[edit] Work
[edit] Filmography
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[edit] Stage
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[edit] Television
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[edit] References
- The Associated Press. "Actor Walter Matthau dies at 79", CNN, 1 July 2000. Retrieved on 2008-05-11.
- Mel Gussow. "Walter Matthau, 79, Rumpled Star and Comic Icon, Dies", The New York Times, 2 July 2000. Retrieved on 2008-05-11.
[edit] External links
- Walter Matthau at Find A Grave
- Walter Matthau at the Internet Broadway Database
- Walter Matthau at the Internet Movie Database
- Walter Matthau at the TCM Movie Database
- Walter Matthau at TV.com
- Humorous Quotes
- GERMAN WEBSITE OF WALTER MATTHAU & JACK LEMMON
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| Persondata | |
|---|---|
| NAME | Matthau, Walter |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Matthow, Walter John |
| SHORT DESCRIPTION | actor |
| DATE OF BIRTH | October 1, 1920 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | New York City, New York |
| DATE OF DEATH | July 1, 2000 |
| PLACE OF DEATH | Santa Monica, California |
