1 | [[quoteright:305:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/waltermatthau.jpg]] |
2 | |
3 | ->''"Every actor looks all his life for a part that will combine his talents with his personality... ''Theatre/TheOddCouple'' was mine. That was the plutonium I needed. It all started happening after that."'' |
4 | |
5 | Most often described with the words "rumpled" and "gruff", Walter Matthau (October 1, 1920 – July 1, 2000) would seem an unlikely movie star. And yet his value as a character actor made him a familiar and beloved screen presence with a career spanning five decades. |
6 | |
7 | Born Walter John Matth'''ow''', the son of Jewish immigrants from Eastern Europe, Matthau fought in the Army Air Forces during UsefulNotes/WorldWarTwo. At the war's end he enrolled in acting classes at the New School. Within a few years he was appearing regularly on New York stages. |
8 | |
9 | Matthau's first big screen appearance came in 1955 with ''The Kentuckian'', and his last was 2000's ''Hanging Up'', directed by and starring Creator/DianeKeaton. Matthau was best known for doing comedy, but could also play convincing and scary tough guys, as shown in an early appearance on ''Series/AlfredHitchcockPresents'' as a corrupt highway patrolman. |
10 | |
11 | ---- |
12 | !!Filmography: |
13 | [[folder:Film roles]] |
14 | %%* ''The Kentuckian'' (1955) as Stan Bodine |
15 | %%* ''The Indian Fighter'' (1955) as Wes Todd |
16 | * ''Film/BiggerThanLife'' (1956) as Wally Gibbs |
17 | * ''Film/AFaceInTheCrowd'' (1957) as Mel Miller |
18 | %%* ''Slaughter on Tenth Avenue'' (1957) as Al Dahlke |
19 | %%* ''King Creole'' (1958) as Maxie Fields |
20 | %%* ''Voice in the Mirror'' (1958) as Dr. Leon Karnes |
21 | * ''Film/KingCreole'' (1958) as Maxie Fields |
22 | * ''Film/RideACrookedTrail'' (1958) as Judge Kyle |
23 | %%* ''Gangster Story'' (1959) as Jack Martin (also his sole film as director) |
24 | %%* ''Strangers When We Meet'' (1960) as Felix Anders |
25 | * ''Film/LonelyAreTheBrave'' (1962) as Sheriff Morey Johnson |
26 | * ''Film/{{Charade}}'' (1963) as Carson Dyle aka Hamilton Bartholomew |
27 | %%* ''Ensign Pulver'' (1964) as Doc |
28 | * ''Film/FailSafe'' (1964) as Prof. Groeteschele |
29 | %%* ''Goodbye Charlie'' (1964) as Sir Leopold Sartori |
30 | * ''Film/{{Mirage| 1965}}'' (1965) as Ted Caselle |
31 | * ''Film/TheFortuneCookie'' (1966) as "Whiplash Willie" Gingrich (which won Matthau an UsefulNotes/AcademyAward for Best Supporting Actor) |
32 | * ''Film/AGuideForTheMarriedMan'' (1967) as Paul Manning |
33 | * ''Film/{{The Odd Couple|1968}}'' (1968) as Oscar Madison (a role he originated [[Theatre/TheOddCouple on Broadway]]) |
34 | %%* ''The Secret Life of an American Wife'' (1968) as the Movie Star |
35 | %%* ''Candy'' (1968) as Gen. Smight |
36 | * ''Film/CactusFlower'' (1969) as Dr. Julian Winston |
37 | * ''Film/HelloDolly'' (1969) as Horace Vandergelder |
38 | * ''Film/ANewLeaf'' (1971) as Henry Graham |
39 | * ''Film/PlazaSuite'' (1971) as Sam Nash/Jesse Kiplinger/Roy Hubley |
40 | %%* ''Kotch'' (1971) as Joseph P. Kotcher |
41 | %%* ''Pete 'n' Tillie'' (1972) as Pete Seltzer |
42 | * ''Film/CharleyVarrick'' (1973) as Charley Varrick |
43 | %%* ''The Laughing Policeman'' (1973) as Det. Sgt. Jake Martin |
44 | * ''Film/TheTakingOfPelhamOneTwoThree'' (1974) as Lt. Zachary Garber |
45 | * ''Film/{{Earthquake}}'' (1974) as Drunk ([[TheCameo cameo]] appearance for which he was billed as "Walter Matuschanskayasky"; see OverlyLongName below) |
46 | * ''Film/TheFrontPage'' (1974) as Walter Burns |
47 | * ''Film/TheSunshineBoys'' (1975) as Willy Clark |
48 | * ''Film/TheBadNewsBears'' (1976) as Coach Morris Buttermaker |
49 | %%* ''Casey's Shadow'' (1978) as Lloyd Bourdelle |
50 | %%* ''House Calls'' (1978) as Dr. Charley Nichols |
51 | * ''Film/CaliforniaSuite'' (1978) as Marvin Michaels |
52 | %%* ''Little Miss Marker'' (1980) as Sorrowful Jones |
53 | * ''Film/{{Hopscotch}}'' (1980) as Miles Kendig |
54 | %%* ''First Monday in October'' (1981) as Associate Justice Daniel Snow |
55 | %%* ''Buddy Buddy'' (1981) as Trabucco |
56 | %%* ''I Ought to Be in Pictures'' (1982) as Herbert Tucker |
57 | * ''Film/TheSurvivors'' (1983) as Sonny Paluso |
58 | %%* ''Movers & Shakers'' (1985) as Joe Mulholland |
59 | * ''Film/{{Pirates}}'' (1986) as Capt. Thomas Bartholomew Red |
60 | %%* ''The Couch Trip'' (1988) as Donald Becker |
61 | %%* ''The Little Devil'' (1988) as Father Maurice |
62 | * ''Film/{{JFK}}'' (1991) as Senator Russell B. Long |
63 | * ''Film/DennisTheMenace'' (1993) as George Wilson |
64 | * ''Film/GrumpyOldMen'' (1993) as Max Goldman |
65 | * ''Film/{{IQ|1994}}'' (1994) as UsefulNotes/AlbertEinstein |
66 | %%* ''The Grass Harp'' (1995) as Judge Charlie Cool |
67 | * ''Film/GrumpierOldMen'' (1995) as Max Goldman |
68 | * ''Film/ImNotRappaport'' (1996) as Nat Moyer |
69 | * ''Film/OutToSea'' (1997) as Charlie Gordon |
70 | * ''Film/TheOddCoupleII'' (1998) as Oscar Madison |
71 | %%* ''Hanging Up'' (2000) as Lou Mozell |
72 | [[/folder]] |
73 | |
74 | ---- |
75 | !!Tropes associated with Walter Matthau: |
76 | * DeadpanSnarker: Incarnate. His characters hardly went a scene without a dry remark or cutting observation. |
77 | * OneBookAuthor: His sole directorial effort was ''Gangster Story'' (1959), which he also starred in. |
78 | * OverlyLongName: Jokingly claimed that he changed his last name to Matthau from Matuschanskayasky. Countless reputable sources repeated this as fact and things didn't finally get cleared up until after his death.[[note]]Apparently his father's original surname before he came from Kyiv (now Ukraine) to America and changed it to Matthow was something along the lines of ''Matuschansky'', but Walter whimsically extended it. Later, it was found in his diary that he said it to gently tease Creator/PaddyChayefsky.[[/note]] |
79 | * TallDarkAndSnarky: He stood at 6'3 with dark hair and was known for his legendary skill at delivering sarcastic quips. |
80 | * ThoseTwoActors: With Creator/JackLemmon, also a friend of his in RealLife. They first costarred in ''Film/TheFortuneCookie'', for which Matthau won the Best Supporting Actor Academy Award. Oddly Matthau was in ''Ensign Pulver'', whose eponymous character had been played by Lemmon in ''Film/MisterRoberts'', but by the sequel Lemmon had been replaced by Robert Walker, Jr. Matthau also starred in Lemmon's sole directorial effort, ''Kotch''. Fittingly, they died within a year of each other, Matthau first. It’s worth noting that a lot of people who spoke about Matthau’s passing were almost the EXACT same people who spoke about Lemmon’s passing one year later. |
http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/context.php
FollowingContext Creator / WalterMatthau
Go To
- Show Spoilers
- Night Vision
- Sticky Header
- Wide Load