Actor W alter Matthau: biography, filmography

2024 Author: Leah Sherlock | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:25

The Odd Couple, Hello Dolly!, Cactus Flower, Front Page, Dennis the Tormentor, Charade are the films that made viewers remember W alter Matthau. The actor most often gets comedic roles, with which he copes brilliantly. During his life, W alter managed to play in about a hundred film and television projects. Unfortunately, the artist died back in 2000, but his name will forever go down in the history of cinema. What is known about this talented person?

W alter Matthau: the beginning of the journey

The master of comedic roles was born in New York, it happened in October 1920. W alter Matthau was born into a poor Jewish family. His father and mother moved to the States in search of a better life. The actor has an older brother named Henry, with whom he was very friendly.

Parents divorced when the boy was barely three. It was difficult for a seamstress mother to feed herself and her children. W alter was forced to start working at the age of 11. Matthau played episodic roles in the Jewish theater, the child was paid 50 cents for going on stage.

Youth years

By the end of school, W alter Matthau had not yet had time to decide on the choice of a life path. The young man tried several professions, he happened to be a forester, boxing coach, gymnastics instructor. W alter did not stand aside when World War II broke out. He rose to the rank of sergeant, returned home with six well-deserved awards.

In 1948, Matthau made his debut on Broadway. He became an understudy for Rex Harrison in the production of Anna for a Thousand Days. Surprisingly, the young man got the role of an 83-year-old clergyman, with which he did an excellent job.

First roles

W alter Matthau first came to the set in the early 50s. His career began with episodic roles in TV series. The first major achievement of the actor - participation in the film "The Man from Kentucky" by Burt Lancaster. In this picture, he embodied the image of the "bad guy" Stan, a secondary hero.

Next Mattau played negative characters in several more tapes. For example, in the film-musical "King Creole", which was released in 1958, he reincarnated as a ruthless leader of a criminal gang.

In 1963, the comedy thriller Charade was presented to the audience. W alter in this picture played the role of one of the key characters. The film tells about the misadventures of a young widow who is trying to understand the circumstances of her husband's death. Fate brings her together with a man who offers to help her. However, the new acquaintance soon begins to frighten the woman, as he behaves strangely and constantly changes his name.

Matthau and Lemmon

In 1966, Jack Lemmon and W alter Matthau first met on the set. Joint films of actors-comedians invariably enjoyed success with the audience. The history of the tandem began with the work on the painting "Excitement of Fortune". The comedy tells the story of a hapless cameraman who is drawn into a dangerous scam by his relatives. Matthau in this tape brilliantly played a fraudulent lawyer who is trying to cash in on an accidental injury to his wife's brother. This role gave the actor not only the recognition of the audience, but also the Oscar.

The very next year, Matthau and Lemmon met again on the set. They played key roles in the comedy The Odd Couple. The film tells the story of two bosom buddies who, by the will of fate, are forced to temporarily settle together. W alter got the role of a merry fellow and dirty Oscar, whose life is turned into hell by a clean and grumpy Felix.

Which other films did W alter Matthau star in with Lemmon? It is impossible not to recall the comedy "The Front Page", in which the tandem also got key roles. The film tells the story of newspapermen who are accustomed to always being in the thick of things. Also noteworthy is the comedy "Old Grumps" with Matthau and Lemmon, in which they played two warring neighbors. The story impressed the audience so much that its creators decided to shoot a sequel.

90s Movies

BW alter Matthau played many bright roles in the 90s. His filmography during this period acquired paintings, a list of which is given below.

• "Incident".
• "The Love of Mrs. Lambert"
• "John F. Kennedy: Gunshots in Dallas"
• "Dennis the Tormentor".
• Old Grumps.
• "Intelligence quotient".
• "Voices of Grass".
• "The old grumblers are running wild."
• "I'm not Rappoport."
• "On the high seas".
• "Odd couple 2".
• "Love after death".

The last film with Matthau was presented to the audience in 2000. The painting "Light Out" tells the story of three sisters who are different from each other. Each of them is trying to live their own lives. This continues until the relatives find out about the serious illness of their father.

Life behind the scenes

W alter was legally married twice. He lived with his first wife Grace for about ten years. She bore him two children - a son, David, and a daughter, Jenny. The birth of heirs did not help save the marriage, but the reasons for the divorce remained behind the scenes.

Mathau married for the second time in 1959. A woman named Carol became his devoted life partner. The second wife gave birth to the actor's son, who was named Charles.