Walter Matthau

Also known as Walter John Matthow, Walter Matthow

American actor, comedian and director (1920–2000)

OverviewAI-generated

Walter John Matthau was an American comedian, film actor, film director, and character actor. Born in New York City in 1920, he was educated at The New School and began his work period in 1947. He served in the United States Army Air Forces during World War II. His professional genres included Western films and comedy films, and he performed in the English language.

Matthau received the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor, the Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play, the Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Play, and the BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role. He was also nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actor, an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor, and a Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Play. He is recognized in the Academy Award Best Supporting Actor collection and the Hollywood Walk Of Fame collection.

He died of myocardial infarction and colorectal cancer in Santa Monica in 2000. His manner of death was natural causes. He is buried at Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery. Matthau was married to Carol Grace, and they had a child named Charles Matthau.

Synthesized by Vinony from 28 facts across 3 sources: Wikidata, TMDb, Vinony collections. Generated from structured data (not the Wikipedia text) and checked against those facts — may still contain errors.

Film & TV

New York City, New York, USA

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…

Known for

Elvis: A Life in Music — Self (archive footage)2026
'Fail-Safe' and the Cold War — Self (archive footage)2020
Last of the Independents: Don Siegel and the Making of 'Charley Varrick' — Self (archive footage)2015
Hanging Up — Lou Mozell2000
Revisiting 'Fail-Safe' — Self (archive footage)2000
The Odd Couple II — Oscar Madison1998
Billy Wilder: The Human Comedy — Narrator1998
The Marriage Fool — Frank Walsh1998
Private Screenings: Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthau — Self1998
Out to Sea — Charlie Gordon1997

via TMDB

Wikidata facts

Instance of: human
Given name: John
Gender: male
Citizenship: United States
Place of birth: New York City
Place of death: Santa Monica
Spouse: Carol Grace
Child: Charles Matthau
Occupation: actor
Languages spoken: English language
Award: David di Donatello for Best Foreign Actor
Student of: Erwin Piscator
Genre: comedy film
Conflict: World War II
Military branch: United States Army Air Forces
Official website: matthau.com/walter-matthau
Image: Walter Matthau in Charade 2.jpg
Height: 189

Show 11 more facts

place of burial: Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery
Commons category: Walter Matthau
cause of death: Colorectal cancer
date of birth: 1920-10-01
date of death: 2000-07-01
nominated for: Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Play
manner of death: natural causes
Commons gallery: Walter Matthau
start of work period: 1947-00-00
name in native language: Walter Matthau
birth name: Walter John Matthow

Sources (10)

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Encyclopedic overview

Walter John Matthau (né Matthow; /ˈmæθaʊ/ MATH-ow; October 1, 1920 – July 1, 2000) was an American actor, known for his "hangdog face" and for playing world-weary characters. He starred in 10 films alongside his real-life friend Jack Lemmon, including The Odd Couple (1968) and Grumpy Old Men (1993). The New York Times called this "one of Hollywood's most successful pairings". Among other accolades, Matthau won an Academy Award, one BAFTA Award, and two Tony Awards.

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 Leading Actor in a Play in 1965, his second after A Shot in the Dark in 1962. Matthau won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance in the Billy Wilder film The Fortune Cookie (1966), with further Best Actor nominations for Kotch (1971) and The Sunshine Boys (1975). He gained further recognition for his portrayal of the coach of a hapless little league team in the baseball comedy The Bad News Bears (1976).

Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Walter Matthau” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.