People
Walter Matthau
Acting · follow into films and chains
Biography
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 Front Page (1974) and Grumpy Old Men (1993). Matthau won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance in the Billy Wilder film The Fortune Cookie (1966). Matthau is also known for his performances in Stanley Donen's romance Charade (1963), Gene Kelly's musical Hello, Dolly! (1969), Elaine May's screwball comedy A New Leaf (1971) and Herbert Ross' ensemble comedy California Suite (1978). He also starred in Plaza Suite, Kotch (both 1971), Charley Varrick (1973), The Sunshine Boys (1975), and Hopscotch (1980). 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 Actor in a Play in 1965, his second after A Shot in the Dark in 1962. Matthau also received two British Academy Film Awards and a Golden Globe Award. In 1963, he received a Primetime Emmy Award nomination for his performance in The DuPont Show of the Week. In 1982, he received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
Notable films
Where to start
Highlights from credits and KinoChain journeys.
Chains
KinoChain journeys
Public chains that pass through their films — or name them as a bridge.
Criminal Alliances
A chain tracing the anti-hero ensemble film from its war-movie origins through heist, western, and genre mutations to the modern comic-book iteration, examining...
8 films
Unmasked: Living in the Aftermath of Exposure
The secret is out, and the thrill of anonymity is gone. This collection skips the suspense of a secret identity to focus on the unglamorous aftermath of total e...
7 films
Related people
Collaborators & neighbours
Acted
Elvis: A Life in Music
2026 · Self (archive footage)
I.Q.
1994 · Albert Einstein
Grumpy Old Men
1993 · Max Goldman
Dennis the Menace
1993 · Mr. Wilson
JFK
1991 · Senator Long
The Couch Trip
1988 · Donald Becker
Pirates
1986 · Captain Thomas Bartholomew Red
I Ought to Be in Pictures
1982 · Herbert Tucker
California Suite
1978 · Marvin Michaels
The Sunshine Boys
1975 · Willy Clark
Earthquake
1974 · Drunk
The Front Page
1974 · Walter Burns
The Taking of Pelham One Two Three
1974 · Lieutenant Garber
Cactus Flower
1969 · Dr. Julian Winston
Hello, Dolly!
1969 · Horace Vandergelder
Candy
1968 · Gen. R.A. Smight
The Odd Couple
1968 · Oscar Madison
The Fortune Cookie
1966 · Willie Gingrich
Charade
1963 · Hamilton Bartholemew
King Creole
1958 · Maxie Fields
A Face in the Crowd
1957 · Mel Miller
The Indian Fighter
1955 · Wes Todd