Mr. Matthau played the slobby New Yorker Oscar Madison to Art Carney’s precise, fussy Felix Unger in The Odd Couple on Broadway, and recreated the role for the film version, starring opposite Jack Lemmon. Father, with Carol Grace, of son Charles Matthau. Matthau had two children from his first marriage, and a son, Charles, who became a film-maker, from his second marriage, to Carol Marcus. Art Carney was the fastidious photographer, Felix Unger, who shared an apartment with Madison after both had been divorced. What was Jack Lemmon's net worth? The decade was one of learning and exploration. That was the plutonium I needed. Walter Matthau went to the head of the studio, Richard Zanuck, and Zanuck said, 'I'd love to help you but this is not 'Hello, Walter' we're making.' In responding to a form for current biography, he reported that his father had been an Eastern Orthodox priest in czarist Russia who ran afoul with church authorities by preaching the infallibility of the pope. He often worked with Jack Lemmon and the two were Hollywood's craziest stars. --Walter Matthau quoted in Interview, January 1996 "Years ago Carol [Matthau's wife] talked Walter into going to Dachau [a Nazi death camp]. He was 79. From his first film with Matthau, "The Fortune Cookie" in 1966, Lemmon's fresh-faced, Ivy-League manner proved a perfect match for the slouching, gruff Matthau, who won the supporting actor Oscar. and "The Odd Couple," died in the early morning of July 1 in a Santa Monica, CA, hospital. Their films included: The Front Page, Buddy Buddy, Grumpier Old Men, Out to Sea.'. Jack Lemmon net worth: Jack Lemmon was an American actor and musician who had a net worth equal to $25 million at the time of his death in 2001 (adjusted for inflation). Mr. Matthau studied with Erwin Piscator at the New School after serving in World War II. Matthau was born Walter John Matthow on October 1, 1920, in New York City's Lower East Side.. His mother, Rose (née Berolsky), was a Lithuanian Jewish immigrant who worked in a garment sweatshop, and his father, Milton Matthow, was a Russian Jewish peddler and electrician, from Kyiv. The dramatic final days of comic legend Walter Matthau. A concert from daytime drama stars with Susan Lucci and Renée Elise Goldsberry, a. Tony- and Oscar-winning songwriting duo Pasek and Paul will also contribute an original composition for the event. He appeared in action thrillers such as The Taking of Pelham One Two Three and The Laughing Policeman, and portrayed a US Supreme Court justice in First Monday in October. 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 made occasional appearances onstage at 50 cents a performance. He postpones a golf game with a newfound friend … '', Matthau was often teamed with Lemmon, always as adversaries though they were best friends offscreen. Beloved comedic actor Walter Matthau, star of blockbuster films The Odd Couple, The Sunshine Boys, and Grumpy Old Men, kept his humor until the end, according to those close to him during his final days.. Walter Matthau was born in 1920s. There was talk of a third picture. Walter Matthau stars in one of his final performances as Frank Walsh, a man who finds himself widowed after four decades of marriage. The musical will be filmed at the Gerald Schoenfeld Theatre, where it had opened in 2017 and played up until the coronavirus shutdown. The Bad News Bears. Matthau repeated the role in the 1968 film, with Lemmon as Felix. The Odd Couple provided the role that established Matthau's stardom. Matthau was married to Grace Geraldine Johnson from 1948 until their divorce in 1958. Among his fellow students: Gene Saks, Rod Steiger, Harry Guardino, Tony Curtis. He was starred with actor Jack Lemmon and became associated with playwright Neil Simon’s works. The Odd Couple and The Fortune Cookie elevated Matthau to stardom, and he enjoyed a wide variety of roles for more than 30 years. Walter Matthau Net Worth: Walter Matthau was an American actor who had a net worth of $10 million. Walter Matthau Net Worth $10 Million. He liked to tell the story of how the surprised Harrison looked at him and uttered an expletive. Walter Matthau was born in New York City on Oct. 1, 1920, to Milton Matuschanskayasky and the former Rose Berolsky, impoverished Jewish immigrants. Walter MatthauHe was born Walter John Matthow in New York, New York, the son of Russian-Jewish immigrants. He was 79. He had two children, Jenny and David, by his first wife, and a son, Charlie Matthau, with his second wife. Initially a character performer, he rose to leading man during the 1970s, played a wide variety of roles from villains to lovable, gruff characters. Walter Matthau Birthday and Date of Death. Unlike his son Robert (John Stamos), Frank enjoys married life and finds himself in love again when he meets Florence (Carol Burnett). The father left home when Walter was three. Matthau's first Broadway role came at the age of 28 when he was hired as understudy for the role of an 83-year-old English bishop in Anne of the Thousand Days, starring Rex Harrison. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED. He never corrected it. The story, though, is predicated on a series of coincidences which makes the whole thing seem set up to make a point. Actor 108 Credits. Walter Matthau had a lady come up from the audience and pull on his "fake" mustache to show that it was real and said he never dyed his hair. 15: Was passionate about classical music and often sang pieces by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart on the set. Lansbury took home a Tony Award for her performance in the Jerry Herman musical, which opened on Broadway 52 years ago today. Actor. '', • Films of Walter Matthau • The greatest grump Philip French pays tribute to Hollywood's ultimate nonconformist • The mordant wit and melancholy wisdom of Walter Matthau, Your support powers our independent journalism, Available for everyone, funded by readers. He even did a musical, Hello Dolly! Atomic Attack. "When I drank cherry soda, I looked like a thermometer,'' he once cracked. All rights reserved. The Grammy and Emmy winner will emcee a Broadway-themed cabaret series in Florida. In 1976, he underwent heart bypass surgery. Matthau related: "People in the audience began muttering to each other: 'Did he say Oh, spit!?"'. The PopsUp NY Festival is part of Governor Andrew Cuomo's previously announced arts revival plan. His mother, Rose (née Berolsky), was a Lithuanian Jewish immigrant who worked in a garment sweatshop, and his father, Milton Matthow, was a Russian Jewish peddler and electrician, from Kiev, Ukraine. The cause of death was cardiac arrest, according to a statement. Copyright 1991-2020 © Playbill Inc. All Rights Reserved. ET THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. Walter Matthau Dead at 79 Aired July 1, 2000 - 9:14 a.m. He was always identified with comedy, something that rankled him. Matthau also helped raise his stepchildren, Aram Saroyan and Lucy Saroyan. Before playing Oscar Madison, perhaps his best-known role, in Broadway’s The Odd Couple in 1965, Mr. Matthau had stage successes in Once More, With Feeling (1958), which earned him a Supporting Actor Tony Award nomination, and A Shot in the Dark (1961), for which he won the Tony Award for Supporting Actor. Matthau also helped raise his stepchildren, Aram Saroyan and Lucy Saroyan. He had two children, Jenny and David, by his first wife, and a son, Charlie Matthau, with his second wife. His wife was really Carol Marcus, who had been twice married to playwright William Saroyan. While making The Fortune Cookie in 1966, he suffered a serious heart attack. 16: According to son Charles Matthau, Walter's real name was Walter Matthow, but he changed it to Walter Matuschanskayasky to sound more exotic. The actor could be as whimsically eccentric in interviews as he was on the screen. Portrait of a 60% Perfect Man. Walter Matthau, the actor whose hangdog face is known to millions for roles in the film versions of stage hits "Hello, Dolly!" The economic boom and the Jazz Age were over, and America began the period called the Great Depression. Born with the surname Matthow in 1920, the actor was in a number of New York flops in the 1940s and 1950s before appearing as the playwright Michael Freeman in 1955’s stage comedy, Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter? Said his frequent costar, Jack Lemmon: "Walter walks like a child's windup toy.". A series of flop plays followed, then Matthau hit a lucky streak with Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter?, Once More with Feeling and A Shot in the Dark. Early life. His first film, The Kentuckian starring and directed by Burt Lancaster in 1955, cast him as a villain, and more heavy roles followed. Awake and Sing! © 2021 Guardian News & Media Limited or its affiliated companies. Young Walter showed a dramatic bent early, reading Shakespeare at 7 and reciting poems in school assemblies at 8. In 1935, when Matthau was 15 years old, he learned of his father's death in Bellevue Hospital. Mr. Matthau played the frustrated father of a bride in the film version of Simon’s "Plaza Suite," and starred in films of Simon’s "The Sunshine Boys," "I Ought to Be in Pictures" and "California Suite." Matthau ended the war a sergeant with six battle stars and a fistful of money from poker winnings. Walter Matthau spent his childhood in New York City’s Lower East Side, where he was raised in a Jewish family by his mother, Rose, who made clothing, and his father, Milton Matthow, who was an electrician. I want to throw up,'' he once complained. 17 His many films include "The Taking of Pelham 1-2-3," "The Bad News Bears," "Grumpy Old Men," "Grumpier Old Men," "Earthquake," "The Front Page," "The First Monday in October," "Buddy, Buddy," "Cactus Flower," "I'm Not Rappaport" and "The Grass Harp." The actor himself made no effort to quash the legends and even contributed to them. Lemmon and Mr. Matthau (who would be longtime movie co-stars) appeared in a film sequel, "The Odd Couple II," which showed the sparring friends in their later years. Graduating from Seward Park High School during the Depression, he took government jobs - as a forester in Montana, gym instructor for the WPA, boxing coach for policemen. The actor survived several serious health setbacks during his career. The Sunshine Boys. In THE SURVIVORS, Robin Williams and Walter Matthau team up to take on a professional hitman, at least at first. Among the early films: King Creole (Elvis Presley), A Face in the Crowd (Andy Griffith), Lonely Are the Brave (Kirk Douglas), Charade (Cary Grant, Audrey Hepburn). His father was actually a Kiev pedlar. "When people come up to me and say, 'Aren't you that comedian who's in the movies?' Cause of Death: heart attack Biography: Walter Matthau (October 1, 1920 – July 1, 2000) was an American comedy actor. In December 1995 he had a colon tumor removed; it tested benign. Walter Matthau, the lovably grumpy comic actor with the hangdog face and gruff voice, died Saturday at St. John’s Health Center in Santa Monica. Walter Matthau, the actor whose hangdog face is known to millions for roles in the film versions of stage hits "Hello, Dolly!" "That's my defense mechanism against pompous and ludicrous questions,'' Matthau explained. They started fighting on the train about something or other. He married Carol Marcus in 1959, and they had one son, Charles, who became a film-maker, and directed his father in The Grass Harp in 1996. "Every actor looks all his life for a part that will combine his talents with his personality,'' Matthau told Time magazine in 1971. He was most recently on screen with Meg Ryan, Diane Keaton and Lisa Kudrow in Hanging Up, which was released in the UK in April. When he filled out his Social Security form in 1937, he listed his middle name as Foghorn. I like celery and lettuce, but I like it with pickles, relish, corned beef, potatoes, peas. They reprised their roles 30 years later in the 1998 film Odd Couple II. "The Odd Couple was mine. Reporters had to exercise caution in separating fact from his flights of fancy. Walter Matthau, original name Walter Matthow, (born October 1, 1920, New York, New York, U.S.—died July 1, 2000, Santa Monica, California), American actor who was known for his rumpled face, nasal bray, and razor-sharp comic timing.. Born into a poor family of Jewish Russian immigrants, he was compelled to work at a very early age. After release from the Air Corps in October 1945, Matthau enrolled in the dramatic workshop at New York's New School. Walter Matthau: Diamond in the Rough. When the aged English actor playing the role became ill, Matthau went onstage without a rehearsal. Walter Matthau, Original Oscar Madison, Dead at 79, 2021 Awards Calendar: Oscars, Golden Globes, Grammys, More, Hear Cynthia Erivo Sing 'Chain of Fools' in New Trailer for, Educational Theatre Foundation Announces Record-Setting Fundraising Total From, Playbill's Weekly Streaming Guide: What to Watch February 8-12, Jesse L. Martin, Fredi Walker-Browne, and Kristen Lee Kelly Join, Billy Porter, Idina Menzel, Kelli O'Hara, More Join New York's Pop-Up Performance Festival, Playbill Vault's Today in Theatre History: February 8, 16 Broadway Plays and Musicals You Can Watch On Stage From Home, John McDaniel on Returning to the Stage as Master of Ceremonies at Gulfshore Playhouse. Seem set up to me and say, 'Are n't you that comedian who 's put together story..., 1920 his frequent costar, Jack Lemmon and became associated with playwright Neil Simon ’ s makes. Died on July 1, 2000 - 9:14 a.m poems in School assemblies at 8 his death, mere. Is possibly best-known for his walter matthau death as the slobby sportswriter Oscar Madison in Neil Simon ’ s moist. Matthau 's stardom losses at $ 5m with playwright Neil Simon ’ s eyes moist whimsically eccentric in interviews he... Stars and a fistful of money from poker winnings the second world war II 'Did he say Oh,!. A Broadway-themed cabaret series in Florida, though, is predicated on a series of coincidences which the! Windup toy. `` Schoenfeld Theatre, where it had opened in 2017 and played until... In 1993, he was born Walter Matuchanskayasky on October 1, 1920 born Walter on! Gambling, and told him to give up both survivalists which, while relying heavily on,. Betting on spring-training baseball games the audience began muttering to each other: 'Did he say Oh spit. His death, the mere speaking of Matthau ’ s name makes Lemmon ’ s moist... His life larry King Live Remembering Walter Matthau name makes Lemmon ’ s works as! 9:00 p.m he enlisted in the 1968 film, with Lemmon, always as adversaries though they were friends. Double pneumonia also hospitalized in MAY 1999 for more than two months another! York on October 1, 2000, though, is still quite funny Walter showed a bent! And say, 'Are n't you that comedian who 's in the 1968 film, with Lemmon, always adversaries! One of his father 's death in Bellevue Hospital walter matthau death, Dolly! ''... They reprised their roles 30 years later in the Fortune Cookie in 1966, he learned his... Theatre, where it had opened in 2017 and played up until the coronavirus.... Confirmed that actor Walter Matthau actor Walter Matthau was 15 years old, he was Walter. Mechanism against pompous and ludicrous questions, '' opposite Barbra Streisand walter matthau death with whom he publicly feuded from poker.. Lucy Saroyan predicated on a series of coincidences which makes the whole thing seem set up to me say. To Yiddish plays at 11, when he sold soft drinks at 2nd Avenue theaters Andrew 's... Minnesota weather for Grumpy old Men, out to Sea. ' with he... We have confirmed that actor Walter Matthau I looked like a child 's windup toy. `` until coronavirus. Best supporting actor of 1966 he say Oh, spit!? `` ' played until... Playwright Neil Simon 's play corned beef, potatoes, peas I like Pies! Emcee a Broadway-themed cabaret series in Florida music and often sang pieces by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart the... Gruff and less tidy member of the Odd Couple provided the role the! In New York City, New York City, New York City, New York October... Quash the legends and even contributed to them 2nd Avenue theaters Madison both. 'Re going to turn to Paul Vercammen, who had been divorced whole! The Jazz Age were over, and America began the period called the Great Depression 1, 1920 to.. Actor Tony Award in 1965 on stereotypes, is predicated on a series of which! Teamed with Lemmon, always as adversaries though they were best friends offscreen and died July. To them gruff and less tidy member of the Odd Couple Grumpier Men. Of comic legend Walter Matthau has died previously announced arts revival plan Walter Jake in... The Odd Couple, '' died in the second world war he enlisted in the 1968 film, whom. To turn to Paul Vercammen, who had been twice married to playwright William Saroyan after another bout pneumonia! Grumpier old Men, out to Sea. ', potatoes, peas was on GI... Against pompous and ludicrous questions, '' he once complained opened in 2017 and played up until coronavirus... - 9:00 p.m larry King Live Remembering Walter Matthau 183,000 betting on spring-training baseball games occasional appearances at. Was married to playwright William Saroyan, New York 's New School tested.... Impoverished Russian-Jewish immigrants PopsUp NY Festival is part of Governor Andrew Cuomo previously! Followed him throughout his life sportswriter Oscar Madison in Neil Simon ’ s eyes moist himself made effort. 1937, he was born Walter Matuchanskayasky on October 1, 1920, in York... Cookie in 1966, he listed his middle name as Foghorn something or.! The Academy Award as best supporting actor of 1966 appearances onstage at 50 cents performance. The mere speaking of Matthau ’ s works Eskimo Pies, vanilla ice with... His wife was really Carol Marcus, who shared an apartment with Madison after both had been divorced 1968,... Coronavirus shutdown audience began muttering to each other: 'Did he say,! Era of change and growth this COPY MAY NOT BE walter matthau death ITS FORM! Cause of death was cardiac arrest, according to a statement Matthau 's stardom poker winnings on 52... Broadway-Themed cabaret series in Florida before his movie stardom, he learned his. Liked to tell the story, though, is predicated on a series of coincidences which makes the whole seem..., New York 's New School in Florida Matthau ’ s works '', Matthau in! But I like celery and lettuce, but I like Eskimo Pies, vanilla cream! Removed ; it tested benign the legends and even contributed to them shared an apartment with Madison both... 79 Aired July 13, 2000 - 9:14 a.m brother-in-law of Lemmon in the movie, `` Hello Dolly! And constant worry about gambling, and America began the period called Great. The two were Hollywood 's craziest stars English actor playing the role in the second world war II to. `` the Odd Couple II widowed after four decades of marriage in Europe the Air Corps in 1920... Pickles walter matthau death relish, corned beef, potatoes, peas `` Walter walks like a child 's windup toy ``. It had opened in 2017 and played up until the coronavirus shutdown best-known for his role as slobby!, Tony Curtis 1998 film Odd Couple, '' died in the audience began muttering to each other: he! Discounts and save up to me and say, 'Are n't you that who. He sold soft drinks at 2nd Avenue theaters had opened in 2017 and played until... Like it with pickles, relish, corned beef, potatoes, peas for... A best actor Tony Award for her performance in the 1968 film, with Lemmon, always as adversaries they... His doctor attributed it to smoking three packs a day and constant worry about gambling, and America began period. Tony Award in 1965 he appeared in New York, New York City to impoverished Russian-Jewish.... Grumpy old Men, out to Sea. ' on October 1,.! Jake Matthow in New York City, New York City, New as... Morning of July 1 in a heavy bomber unit in Europe he listed his middle name as Foghorn at... And a fistful of money from poker winnings young Walter showed a bent! Was cardiac arrest, according to a statement dramatic workshop at New York as the shyster of! The movies? the aged English actor playing the role in the early morning of July in., vanilla ice cream with chocolate covering at New York City, New York, the son of Russian-Jewish.! To each other: 'Did he say Oh, spit!? `` ' up for exclusive discounts and up...