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Walter Matthau (October 1, 1920 – July 1,
2000) was an American comedy actor.
He is possibly best-known for his role as the
gruff and less tidy member of The Odd Couple.

He was born Walter John Matthow in New York
City|New York, New York, the son of
Russia|Russian-Jewish immigrants. 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, Rob Edelman and Audrey
Kupferberg–along with Walter's son, Charles
Matthau–Walter was a teller of tall tales.
In his youth, he found 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.

He 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."

His true name, as records from his youth prove,
was Walter John Matthow.  However, he was also
called "Jake," so he occasionally signed his name
as "Walter Jake Matthow." When, as a young man, he
began acting in the Yiddish theatre in New York,
he decided to change the spelling of his name. He
believed that "Matthow" looked too brash and
crude, and opted for the "more-elegant" spelling
of "Matthau," and kept it for the rest of his
life.

Matthau served with the U.S. Army Air Corps during
World War II. He attained the rank of Staff
Sergeant and became interested in acting. He often
joked that his best early review came in a play he
did 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 theatre|stage
actor for years in such fare as Will Success Spoil
Rock Hunter and A Shot In The Dark.

In 1955 in film|1955, he made his film|motion
picture debut as a whip-wielding bad guy in The
Kentuckian opposite Kirk Douglas. He appeared in
many movies after this as a villain such as the
1958 in film|1958 King Creole (where he is beaten
up by Elvis Presley). That same year, he made a
western movie|western called Ride A Crooked Trail
with Audie Murphy. Matthau also directed a low
budget film|low budget 1960 in film|1960 movie
called The Gangster Story. In 1962 in film|1962,
he won acclaim as a sympathetic sheriff in Lonely
Are the Brave.

In addition to his busy movie and stage schedule,
Matthau made many television program|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. When he was age 45,
in 1965, Neil Simon cast him in the hit stage
play|play The Odd Couple opposite Art Carney. It
was also during this time that Matthau nearly died
of a heart attack. In 1966 in film|1966, he again
achieved glory as a shady lawyer opposite Jack
Lemmon in The Fortune Cookie.

He won an Academy Award for Academy Award for Best
Supporting Actor|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 an auto accident shortly
before the awards show. He started out with a joke
about having "fallen off his bicycle," then
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 had two wives, Grace Geraldine Johnson
(1948-1958), and 
Carol Marcus (1959-his death (2000). He and Grace
had two children, Jennifer Matthau and David
Matthau. He and Carol had one son, Charles
Matthau. His grandchildren include William Matthau
and Emily Roman.

The "Matuschanskayasky" name rumor culminated with
the release of 1974 in film|1974's Earthquake
(movie)|Earthquake. The director, Mark Robson,
came to Matthau and asked him to play the starring
role in the movie. Matthau was uninterested and
rejected the part, as he did not want to have a
heavy presence in such a movie. However, Robson
persisted and pleaded with Matthau to take a
part– any part. So, Matthau agreed to take
the small part of "The Drunk." However, after
viewing the pre-screening, he was furious. The
movie featured his "Drunk" character so
prominently that he appeared to be a feature
player opposite Charlton Heston. It was already
made, and there was no editing it by this point.
However, when it came time to insert the credits,
Walter reached into his old bag of tricks and
pulled out a whopper: He instructed the credits
writer to credit him with his "birth name," and
gave it as the ridiculously long name,
"Matuschanskayasky," thereby preventing the famous
name "Walter Matthau" from being used on
promotional products.

Matthau and Lemmon became lifelong friends after
making The Fortune Cookie and in an amazing act of
teamwork made a total of ten movies together,
including the movie version of The Odd Couple
(with Lemmon playing the Art Carney role) and the
popular 1993 in film|1993 hit Grumpy Old Men
(movie)|Grumpy Old Men.

His son, Charles, directed Matthau in the movie
The Grass Harp (1995 in film|1995).

Matthau's tall tale about his last name is still
listed as gospel in the "Original Names of
Selected Entertainers" section of The World
Almanac, including the edition published in the
fall of 2004.

Walter Matthau died of a massive heart attack in
Santa Monica, California at the age of 79. He is
interred in the Westwood Village Memorial Park
Cemetery in Westwood, Los Angeles,
California|Westwood, California. Almost exactly
one year later, Lemmon, his old pal and frequent
co-star, was also buried at the cemetery.

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.

==Filmography==
*Atomic Attack (1950) (short subject)
*The Kentuckian (1955)
*The Indian Fighter (1955)
*Bigger Than Life (1956)
*A Face in the Crowd (1957)
*Slaughter on Tenth Avenue (1957)
*King Creole (1958)
*Voice in the Mirror (1958)
*Ride a Crooked Trail (1958)
*Onionhead (1958)
*Gangster Story (1960) (also director)
*Strangers When We Meet (1960)
*Lonely Are the Brave (1962)
*Who's Got the Action? (1962)
*Island of Love (1963)
*Charade (1963)
*Ensign Pulver (1964)
*Fail-Safe (1964)
*Goodbye Charlie (1964)
*Mirage (movie)|Mirage (1965)
*The Fortune Cookie (1966)
*A Guide for the Married Man (1967)
*The Odd Couple (1968)
*The Secret Life of an American Wife (1968)
*Candy (movie)|Candy (1968)
*Hello, Dolly! (play/movie)|Hello, Dolly! (1969)
*Cactus Flower (1969)
*A New Leaf (1971)
*Plaza Suite (1971)
*Kotch (1971)
*Pete 'n' Tillie (1972)
*The Laughing Policeman (1973)
*Charley Varrick (1973)
*The Taking of Pelham One Two Three (1974)
*Earthquake (Movie)|Earthquake (1974)
*The Front Page (1974)
*The Lion Roars Again (1975) (short subject)
*The Gentleman Tramp (1975) (documentary)
*The Sunshine Boys (1975)
*The Bad News Bears (1976)
*Casey's Shadow (1978)
*House Calls (1978)
*California Suite (1978)
*Portrait of a 60% Perfect Man (1980)
(documentary)
*Little Miss Marker (1980)
*Hopscotch (1980)
*First Monday in October (1981)
*Buddy Buddy (1981)
*I Ought to Be in Pictures (1982)
*The Survivors (1983)
*Movers & Shakers (1985)
*Pirates (movie)|Pirates (1986)
*Il piccolo diavolo (1988)
*The Couch Trip (1988)
*JFK (movie)|JFK (1991) as Senator Russell B. Long
*Beyond 'JFK': The Question of Conspiracy (1992)
(documentary)
*Dennis the Menace (1993)
*Grumpy Old Men (movie)|Grumpy Old Men (1993)
*I.Q. (movie)|I.Q. (1994)
*The Grass Harp (1995)
*Grumpier Old Men (1995)
*I'm Not Rappaport (1996)
*Out to Sea (1997)
*The Odd Couple II (1998)
*The Life and Times of Hank Greenberg (1998)
(documentary)
*Hanging Up (2000)

==TV Work==
*Juno and the Paycock (1960)
*Tallahassee 7000 (cast member in 1961)
*Awake and Sing! (1972)
*Actor (TV Series)|Actor (1978)
*The Stingiest Man in Town (1978) (voice)
*The Incident (1990)
*Mr. Lambert Remembers Love (1991)
*Against Her Will: An Incident in Baltimore (1992)
*Incident in a Small Town (1994)
*The Marriage Fool (1998)

==Stage Appearances==
*Anne of the Thousand Days (1948) (replacement)
*The Liar (1950)
*Twilight Walk (1951)
*Fancy Meeting You Again (1952)
*One Bright Day (1952)
*In Any Language (1952)
*The Grey-Eyed People (1952)
*The Ladies of the Corridor (1953)
*The Burning Glass (1953)
*Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter (1955)
*Once More, with Feeling (1958)
*Once There Was a Russian (1961)
*A Shot in the Dark (1961)
*My Mother, My Father and Me (1963)
*The Odd Couple (1965)

	Web Quotableonline.com Frasescelebres.org Greatbookscollection.org

Walter Matthau (October 1, 1920 – July 1,
2000) was an Jewish American comedy actor. He is
possibly best-known for his role as the gruff and
less tidy member of The Odd Couple.

He was born Walter John Matthow in New York City,
the son of Russia|Russian-Jewish immigrants. 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, Rob Edelman and Audrey
Kupferberg–along with Walter's son, Charles
Matthau–Walter was a teller of tall tales.
In his youth, he found 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.

He 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."

His true name, as records from his youth prove,
was Walter John Matthow.  However, he was also
called "Jake," so he occasionally signed his name
as "Walter Jake Matthow." When, as a young man, he
began acting in the Yiddish theatre in New York,
he decided to change the spelling of his name. He
believed that "Matthow" looked too brash and
crude, and opted for the "more-elegant" spelling
of "Matthau," and kept it for the rest of his
life.

Matthau served with the U.S. Army Air Corps during
World War II. He attained the rank of Staff
Sergeant and became interested in acting. He often
joked that his best early review came in a play he
did 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 theatre|stage
actor for years in such fare as Will Success Spoil
Rock Hunter and A Shot In The Dark.

In 1955 in film|1955, he made his film|motion
picture debut as a whip-wielding bad guy in The
Kentuckian opposite Kirk Douglas. He appeared in
many movies after this as a villain such as the
1958 in film|1958 King Creole (where he is beaten
up by Elvis Presley). That same year, he made a
western movie|western called Ride A Crooked Trail
with Audie Murphy. Matthau also directed a low
budget film|low budget 1960 in film|1960 movie
called The Gangster Story. In 1962 in film|1962,
he won acclaim as a sympathetic sheriff in Lonely
Are the Brave.

In addition to his busy movie and stage schedule,
Matthau made many television program|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. When he was age 45,
in 1965, Neil Simon cast him in the hit stage
play|play The Odd Couple opposite Art Carney. It
was also during this time that Matthau nearly died
of a heart attack. In 1966 in film|1966, he again
achieved glory as a shady lawyer opposite Jack
Lemmon in The Fortune Cookie.

He won an Academy Award for Academy Award for Best
Supporting Actor|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 an auto accident shortly
before the awards show. He started out with a joke
about having "fallen off his bicycle," then
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 had two wives, Grace Geraldine Johnson
(1948-1958), and 
Carol Marcus (1959-his death (2000). He and Grace
had two children, Jennifer Matthau and David
Matthau. He and Carol had one son, Charles
Matthau. His grandchildren include William Matthau
and Emily Roman.

The "Matuschanskayasky" name rumor culminated with
the release of 1974 in film|1974's Earthquake
(movie)|Earthquake. The director, Mark Robson,
came to Matthau and asked him to play the starring
role in the movie. Matthau was uninterested and
rejected the part, as he did not want to have a
heavy presence in such a movie. However, Robson
persisted and pleaded with Matthau to take a
part– any part. So, Matthau agreed to take
the small part of "The Drunk." However, after
viewing the pre-screening, he was furious. The
movie featured his "Drunk" character so
prominently that he appeared to be a feature
player opposite Charlton Heston. It was already
made, and there was no editing it by this point.
However, when it came time to insert the credits,
Walter reached into his old bag of tricks and
pulled out a whopper: He instructed the credits
writer to credit him with his "birth name," and
gave it as the ridiculously long name,
"Matuschanskayasky," thereby preventing the famous
name "Walter Matthau" from being used on
promotional products.



Matthau and Lemmon became lifelong friends after
making The Fortune Cookie and in an amazing act of
teamwork made a total of ten movies together,
including the movie version of The Odd Couple
(with Lemmon playing the Art Carney role) and the
popular 1993 in film|1993 hit Grumpy Old Men
(movie)|Grumpy Old Men.

His son, Charles, directed Matthau in the movie
The Grass Harp (1995 in film|1995).

Matthau's tall tale about his last name is still
listed as gospel in the "Original Names of
Selected Entertainers" section of The World
Almanac, including the edition published in the
fall of 2004.

Walter Matthau died of a massive heart attack in
Santa Monica, California at the age of 79. He is
interred in the Westwood Village Memorial Park
Cemetery in Westwood, Los Angeles,
California|Westwood, California. Almost exactly
one year later, Lemmon, his old pal and frequent
co-star, was also buried at the cemetery.

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.

==Filmography==
*Atomic Attack (1950) (short subject)
*The Kentuckian (1955)
*The Indian Fighter (1955)
*Bigger Than Life (1956)
*A Face in the Crowd (1957)
*Slaughter on Tenth Avenue (1957)
*King Creole (1958)
*Voice in the Mirror (1958)
*Ride a Crooked Trail (1958)
*Onionhead (1958)
*Gangster Story (1960) (also director)
*Strangers When We Meet (1960)
*Lonely Are the Brave (1962)
*Who's Got the Action? (1962)
*Island of Love (1963)
*Charade (1963)
*Ensign Pulver (1964)
*Fail-Safe (1964)
*Goodbye Charlie (1964)
*Mirage (movie)|Mirage (1965)
*The Fortune Cookie (1966)
*A Guide for the Married Man (1967)
*The Odd Couple (1968)
*The Secret Life of an American Wife (1968)
*Candy (movie)|Candy (1968)
*Hello, Dolly! (play/movie)|Hello, Dolly! (1969)
*Cactus Flower (1969)
*A New Leaf (1971)
*Plaza Suite (1971)
*Kotch (1971)
*Pete 'n' Tillie (1972)
*The Laughing Policeman (1973)
*Charley Varrick (1973)
*The Taking of Pelham One Two Three (1974)
*Earthquake (Movie)|Earthquake (1974)
*The Front Page (1974)
*The Lion Roars Again (1975) (short subject)
*The Gentleman Tramp (1975) (documentary)
*The Sunshine Boys (1975)
*The Bad News Bears (1976)
*Casey's Shadow (1978)
*House Calls (1978)
*California Suite (1978)
*Portrait of a 60% Perfect Man (1980)
(documentary)
*Little Miss Marker (1980)
*Hopscotch (1980)
*First Monday in October (1981)
*Buddy Buddy (1981)
*I Ought to Be in Pictures (1982)
*The Survivors (1983)
*Movers & Shakers (1985)
*Pirates (movie)|Pirates (1986)
*Il piccolo diavolo (1988)
*The Couch Trip (1988)
*JFK (movie)|JFK (1991) as Senator Russell B. Long
*Beyond 'JFK': The Question of Conspiracy (1992)
(documentary)
*Dennis the Menace (1993)
*Grumpy Old Men (movie)|Grumpy Old Men (1993)
*I.Q. (movie)|I.Q. (1994)
*The Grass Harp (1995)
*Grumpier Old Men (1995)
*I'm Not Rappaport (1996)
*Out to Sea (1997)
*The Odd Couple II (1998)
*The Life and Times of Hank Greenberg (1998)
(documentary)
*Hanging Up (2000)

==TV Work==
*Juno and the Paycock (1960)
*Tallahassee 7000 (cast member in 1961)
*Awake and Sing! (1972)
*Actor (TV Series)|Actor (1978)
*The Stingiest Man in Town (1978) (voice)
*The Incident (1990)
*Mr. Lambert Remembers Love (1991)
*Against Her Will: An Incident in Baltimore (1992)
*Incident in a Small Town (1994)
*The Marriage Fool (1998)

==Stage Appearances==
*Anne of the Thousand Days (1948) (replacement)
*The Liar (1950)
*Twilight Walk (1951)
*Fancy Meeting You Again (1952)
*One Bright Day (1952)
*In Any Language (1952)
*The Grey-Eyed People (1952)
*The Ladies of the Corridor (1953)
*The Burning Glass (1953)
*Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter (1955)
*Once More, with Feeling (1958)
*Once There Was a Russian (1961)
*A Shot in the Dark (1961)
*My Mother, My Father and Me (1963)
*The Odd Couple (1965)

==External links==
*http://www.matthau.com/sys-tmpl/door/ Official
Walter Matthau Website (run by his son, Charles)
*imdb name|id=0000527|name=Walter Matthau
*ibdb name|id=68261|name=Walter Matthau
*http://workinghumor.com/quotes/walter_matthau.sht
ml Humorous Quotes