- Born
- Died
- Birth nameWalter Jake Matthow
- Nickname
- Jake
- Height6′ 3″ (1.91 m)
- Walter Matthau was best known for starring in many films which included Charade (1963), The Odd Couple (1968), Grumpy Old Men (1993), and Dennis the Menace (1993). He often worked with Jack Lemmon and the two were Hollywood's craziest stars.
He was born Walter Jake Matthow in New York City, New York on October 1, 1920. His mother was an immigrant from Lithuania and his father was a Russian Jewish peddler and electrician from Kiev, Ukraine. As a young boy, Matthau attended a Jewish non-profit sleep-away camp. He also attended Surprise Lake Camp. His high school was Seward Park High School.
During World War II, Matthau served in the U.S. Army Air Forces with the Eighth Air Force in Britain as a Consolidated B-24 Liberator radioman-gunner, in the same 453rd Bombardment Group as James Stewart. He was based at RAF Old Buckenham, Norfolk during this time. He reached the rank of staff sergeant and became interested in acting.
Matthau appeared in the pilot of Mister Peepers (1952) alongside Wally Cox. He later appeared in the Elia Kazan classic, A Face in the Crowd (1957), opposite Patricia Neal and Andy Griffith, and then appeared in Lonely Are the Brave (1962), with Kirk Douglas, a film Douglas has often described as his personal favorite. Matthau then appeared in Charade (1963) with Audrey Hepburn and Cary Grant. In 1968, Matthau made his big screen appearance as Oscar Madison in The Odd Couple (1968) alongside Jack Lemmon. The two were also in the sequel (The Odd Couple II (1998)) as well as Grumpy Old Men (1993) and Grumpier Old Men (1995). Matthau was in Dennis the Menace (1993), alongside Mason Gamble. On July 1, 2000, Matthau died of a heart attack in Los Angeles, California. He was 79 years old.- IMDb Mini Biography By: Garchomp2017
- SpousesCarol Grace(August 21, 1959 - July 1, 2000) (his death, 1 child)Grace Geraldine Johnson(December 13, 1948 - 1958) (divorced, 2 children)
- ChildrenJenny MatthauDavid Matthau
- ParentsRose BerofskyMilton Matthow
- Often worked with Billy Wilder
- Frequently worked with Jack Lemmon
- Deadpan voice
- Slouching posture
- Craggy, hangdog face
- He and Jack Lemmon acted together in eleven movies: Buddy Buddy (1981), The Fortune Cookie (1966), The Front Page (1974), The Grass Harp (1995), Grumpier Old Men (1995), Grumpy Old Men (1993), The Odd Couple II (1998), The Odd Couple (1968) and Out to Sea (1997). Lemmon also directed Matthau in Kotch (1971). Lemmon and Matthau also both appeared in JFK (1991), but had no scenes together.
- He once estimated his lifetime gambling losses at $5 million.
- After filming Grumpy Old Men (1993) in 1993 in freezing weather in Minnesota, he was hospitalized for double pneumonia.
- Served in the US Army Air Force, 8th Air Force, 453rd Bombardment Group in England with James Stewart.
- Dan Castellaneta has said that his original voice for Homer Simpson was simply an impression of Matthau.
- I think doing comedy is more difficult ... than doing noncomedic or tragic or whatever you want to call it. "Because it's difficult to make all kinds of different audiences understand what you're doing, and moving you to laughter.
- I never mind my wife having the last word. In fact, I'm delighted when she gets to it.
- Every actor looks all his life for a part that will combine his talents with his personality. The Odd Couple (1968) was mine. That was the plutonium I needed. It all started happening after that.
- I always had one ear offstage, listening for the call from the bookie.
- The first girl you go to bed with is always pretty.
- The Bad News Bears (1976) - $800,000
- Hello, Dolly! (1969) - $500,000 .
- Candy (1968) - $50,000 plus points
- The Odd Couple (1968) - $300,000
- Gangster Story (1959) - $2,500
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