WALTER MATTHAU BIOGRAPHY & FILMOGRAPHY:

Walter Matthau was born on October 1st, 1920 in New York City, New York with the birth name Walter John Matthow.  He grew up in a very low class family on the Lower East Side and had one older brother, Henry.  By the age of eleven he was already helping his family out financially by selling soda and working as an actor at a Yiddish theater troupe. 
 
Matthau graduated from Seward Park High School and found various jobs working as a forest ranger, a gym instructor and a boxing coach for policemen.  He also served in the Army Air Corps during World War II as a radio cryptographer.
 
After completing his military service he decided to try to find work as an actor.  His first Broadway role was working as an under study in, "Anne of the Thousand Days".  He won two Tony Awards, one for Best Supporting Actor for "A Shot in the Dark" (1962) and then in 1965 as Best Actor for "The Odd Couple".  
 
In 1966 he was cast in "The Fortune Cookie" followed by another role in, "The Odd Couple" (1968) which was recreated from his stage role.  Some of his other film roles were in, "Buddy Buddy" (1981), "The Grass Harp" (1995) and "Out to Sea" (1997).    
 
His career continued with portraying a number of different types of characters in anything from a dramatic film to a comedy.  He was battling a life long heart disease due to years of chronic smoking and even though he had quit after having a heart attack, the damage was already done.  In 1976 he underwent heart bypass surgery and in 1993, Matthau was hospitalized with double pneumonia after filming, "Grumpy Old Men" (1993).  His health continued to fail him with a colon tumor which had to be removed in 1995 and another bout with pneumonia in 1999 which ultimately resulted in a cancer diagnosis.

On July 1st, 2000, Walter Matthau passed away at the age of seventy nine.  He married twice throughout his lifetime, first to Grace Geraldine Johnson in 1948 and together they had two children, Jenny and Grace, before divorcing in 1958.  His second marriage was to Carol Grace whom he married in 1959 and they had one child together, Charles.  The couple remained married until he passed away.
 
Walter Matthau is buried at Pierce Brothers Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery. 

 
Filmography

2000 Hanging Up 
1998 The Marriage Fool
1998 The Odd Couple II 
1997 Out to Sea 
1996 I'm Not Rappaport 
1995 Grumpier Old Men 
1995 The Grass Harp 
1994 I.Q. 
1994 Incident in a Small Town 
1993 Grumpy Old Men 
1993 Dennis the Menace 
1992 Against Her Will: An Incident in Baltimore 
1992 How the Grinch Stole Christmas! 
1991 JFK 
1991 Mrs. Lambert Remembers Love 
1990 The Incident 
1988 Il piccolo diavolo 
1988 The Couch Trip 
1986 Pirates 
1985 Movers & Shakers 
1983 The Survivors 
1982 I Ought to Be in Pictures 
1981 Buddy Buddy 
1981 First Monday in October 
1980 Hopscotch 
1980 Little Miss Marker 
1978 The Stingiest Man in Town 
1978 California Suite 
1978 Casey's Shadow 
1978 House Calls
1978 Actor 
1977 Insight
1976 The Bad News Bears 
1975 The Sunshine Boys 
1974 The Front Page 
1974 Earthquake 
1974 The Taking of Pelham One Two Three 
1973 The Laughing Policeman
1973 Charley Varrick 
1972 Pete 'n' Tillie 
1972 Awake and Sing 
1971 Kotch 
1971 Plaza Suite 
1971 A New Leaf 
1969 Cactus Flower
1969 Hello, Dolly! 
1968 Candy 
1968 Bullitt 
1968 The Secret Life of an American Wife 
1968 The Odd Couple 
1967 A Guide for the Married Man 
1966 The Fortune Cookie 
1965 Mirage 
1964-1965 Profiles in Courage
1964 Goodbye Charlie 
1964 Dr. Kildare
1964 Fail-Safe 
1964 The Rogues
1964 Ensign Pulver
1962-1964 The DuPont Show of the Week 
1964 Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre
1963 Charade 
1963 Island of Love 
1963 The Eleventh Hour
1960-1962 Naked City
1962 Who's Got the Action? 
1962 Lonely Are the Brave 
1956-1962 G.E. True Theater
1961-1962 Target: The Corruptors
1958-1961 Alfred Hitchcock Presents
1961 Tallahassee 7000
1961 Route 66
1960 Play of the Week
1960 Strangers When We Meet 
1960 Juno and the Paycock 
1959 Gangster Story 
1958 Onionhead
1958 Ride a Crooked Trail 
1958 Voice in the Mirror 
1958 King Creole 
1952-1958 Kraft Theatre
1957 Climax!
1957 Slaughter on Tenth Avenue 
1956-1957 The Alcoa Hour
1954-1957 The United States Steel Hour 
1952-1957 Goodyear Playhouse 
1957 A Face in the Crowd
1956 Bigger Than Life 
1955 The Indian Fighter 
1955 Justice
1955 The Kentuckian 
1954-1955 Robert Montgomery Presents
1952-1955 The Philco-Goodyear Television Playhouse
1952-1954 Armstrong Circle Theatre
1954 Ponds Theater
1954 Center Stage
1954 The Motorola Television Hour
1952-1954 Danger
1950-1953 Studio One in Hollywood
1953 Campbell Summer Soundstage
1953 Suspense 
1952 Mister Peepers
1951 Shadow of the Cloak