Walter Matthau dead at 79
Caro
Actor Walter Matthau Dies at 79
by BOB THOMAS
SANTA MONICA, Calif. (AP) -- Walter Matthau, the foghorn-voiced movie
villain who became a master of crotchety comedy with his Oscar-winning ''The
Fortune Cookie'' and followed with ''The Odd Couple,'' ''Grumpy Old Men''
and many other hits, died Saturday morning of a heart attack. He was 79.
Matthau was pronounced dead at 1:42 a.m., shortly after being brought into
St. John's Health Center in Santa Monica, said hospital spokeswoman Lindi
Funston.
Often cast as a would-be con man foiled by life's travails, Matthau bellowed
complaints against his tormentors and moved his lean, 6-foot-3 frame in
surprising ways.
Said his frequent costar, Jack Lemmon: ''Walter walks like a child's windup
toy.
Matthau's performance as the shyster brother-in-law of Lemmon in ''The
Fortune Cookie'' won him the Academy Award as best supporting actor of 1966.
He was twice nominated for best actor: as the cantankerous oldster in
''Kotch,'' 1971 (directed by Lemmon); and as the feuding vaudeville partner
of George Burns in ''The Sunshine Boys,'' 1975.
''The Odd Couple'' provided the role that established Matthau's stardom. In
1965 he appeared in New York as the slobby sportswriter Oscar Madison in
Neil Simon's play. Art Carney was the fastidious photographer, Felix Unger,
who shared an apartment with Madison after both had been divorced.
Matthau repeated the role in the 1968 film, with Lemmon as Felix. They
reprised their roles 30 years later in the 1998 film ''Odd Couple II.''
''Every actor looks all his life for a part that will combine his talents
with his personality,'' Matthau told Time magazine in 1971. '''The Odd
Couple' was mine. That was the plutonium I needed. It all started happening
after that.''
The actor could be as whimsically eccentric in interviews as he was on the
screen. Reporters had to exercise caution in separating fact from his
flights of fancy.
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. His father
was actually a Kiev pedlar.
Matthau declared that he had married the former Carol Wellington-Smythe
Marcus. His wife was really Carol Marcus, who had been twice married to
playwright William Saroyan.
''That's my defense mechanism against pompous and ludicrous questions,''
Matthau explained. When he filled out his Social Security form in 1937, he
listed his middle name as Foghorn. He never corrected it.
Some of the facts about the actor's early life seem accurate. He was born
Walter Matuchanskayasky on Oct. 1, 1920, in New York City to impoverished
Russian-Jewish immigrants.
The father left home when Walter was 3. Walter and his older brother, Henry,
lived with their mother, a garment worker, in a series of cold water flats
on the lower East Side.
Young Walter showed a dramatic bent early, reading Shakespeare at 7 and
reciting poems in school assemblies at 8. He was introduced to Yiddish plays
at 11, when he sold soft drinks at 2nd Avenue theaters. He made occasional
appearances onstage at 50 cents a performance.
He was already 6 feet tall at 10 and weighed 90 pounds. ''When I drank
cherry soda, I looked like a thermometer,'' he once cracked.
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. In World War II, he enlisted in the Army Air
Corps and served as radio cryptographer in a heavy bomber unit in Europe.
Matthau ended the war a sergeant with six battle stars and a fistful of
money from poker winnings. Legends of his gambling followed him throughout
his life. While making a TV series in Florida before his movie stardom, he
lost $183,000 betting on spring-training baseball games.
The actor himself made no effort to quash the legends and even contributed
to them. In middle age he estimated his lifetime gambling losses at $5
million.
After release from the Air Corps in October 1945, Matthau enrolled in the
dramatic workshop at New York's New School. Among his fellow students: Gene
Saks, Rod Steiger, Harry Guardino, Tony Curtis. He stayed three years,
living on the GI Bill and playing in regional stock during the summer.
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.
When the aged English actor playing the role became ill, Matthau went
onstage without a rehearsal. He liked to tell the story of how the surprised
Harrison looked at him and uttered an expletive. Matthau related: ''People
in the audience began muttering to each other: 'Did he say ''Oh, spit!''?'''
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.'' Hollywood took notice.
His first film, ''The Kentuckian'' starring and directed by Burt Lancaster
in 1955, cast him as a villain, and more heavy roles followed. 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).
He also appeared on dramatic TV shows such as ''Playhouse 90'' and ''DuPont
Show of the Week,'' and starred on the short-lived series ''Tallahassee
7000.''
''The Odd Couple'' and ''The Fortune Cookie'' elevated Matthau to stardom,
and he enjoyed a wide variety of roles for more than 30 years. He appeared
in action thrillers such as ''The Taking of Pelham One Two Three'' and ''The
Laughing Policeman,'' and portrayed a U.S. Supreme Court justice in ''First
Monday in October.'' He even did a musical, ''Hello Dolly!'' costarring with
Barbra Streisand, with whom he publicly feuded.
He was always identified with comedy, something that rankled him.
''When people come up to me and say, 'Aren't you that comedian who's in the
movies?' I want to throw up,'' he once complained. ''I throw up a lot.''
Matthau was often teamed with Lemmon, always as adversaries though they were
best friends offscreen. Their films included: ''The Front Page,'' ''Buddy
Buddy,'' ''Grumpier Old Men,'' ''Out to Sea.''
Among Matthau's other films: ''Cactus Flower,'' ''Plaza Suite,'' ''Pete 'n'
Tilly,'' ''Casey's Shadow,'' ''California Suite,'' ''Little Miss Marker,''
''I Ought to Be in Pictures,'' ''Pirates,'' ''Dennis the Menace.''
He was most recently on screen with Meg Ryan, Diane Keaton and Lisa Kudrow
in movie ''Hanging Up,'' released in February.
Matthau was married to Grace Geraldine Johnson from 1948 until their divorce
in 1958. They had two children, David and Jenny. He married Carol Marcus in
1959, and they had one son, Charles, who became a filmmaker and directed his
father in ''The Grass Harp'' in 1996.
The actor survived several serious health setbacks during his career. While
making ''The Fortune Cookie'' in 1966, he suffered a serious heart attack.
His doctor attributed it to smoking three packs a day and constant worry
about gambling and told him to give up both. Matthau stopped smoking.
In 1976, he underwent heart bypass surgery. After working in freezing
Minnesota weather for ''Grumpy Old Men'' in 1993, he was hospitalized for
double pneumonia. In December 1995 he had a colon tumor removed; it tested
benign.
He was also hospitalized in May 1999 for more than two months after another
bout with pneumonia.
Matthau attributed his various illnesses to his eating habits: ''If you eat
only celery and lettuce, you won't get sick.... I like celery and lettuce,
but I like it with pickles, relish, corned beef, potatoes, peas. And I like
Eskimo Pies, vanilla ice cream with chocolate covering.''
--
Rufus T. Firefly
>From Newsday.Com
>
>Actor Walter Matthau Dies at 79
>by BOB THOMAS
>
God rest, and bless, his soul.
Rufus T. Firefly
jpas...@my-deja.com
re...@pipeline.com wrote:
> "Caro" <Eta.C...@worldnet.att.net> wrote:
>
> >From Newsday.Com
> >
> >Actor Walter Matthau Dies at 79
> >by BOB THOMAS
> >
He did spread joy.
Cheers,
John in Cancun
Sent via Deja.com http://www.deja.com/
Before you buy.
Speed King
one of my favorite films.
w_a_lang
>
In your message was included:
> ''The Odd Couple'' provided the role that established Matthau's stardom.
In
> 1965 he appeared in New York as the slobby sportswriter Oscar Madison in
> Neil Simon's play. Art Carney was the fastidious photographer, Felix
Unger,
> who shared an apartment with Madison after both had been divorced.
>
> Matthau repeated the role in the 1968 film, with Lemmon as Felix. They
> reprised their roles 30 years later in the 1998 film ''Odd Couple II.''
>
> ''Every actor looks all his life for a part that will combine his talents
> with his personality,'' Matthau told Time magazine in 1971. '''The Odd
> Couple' was mine. That was the plutonium I needed. It all started
happening
> after that.''
>
> The actor could be as whimsically eccentric in interviews as he was on the
> screen. Reporters had to exercise caution in separating fact from his
> flights of fancy.
>
>
were
> best friends offscreen. Their films included: ''The Front Page,'' ''Buddy
> Buddy,'' ''Grumpier Old Men,'' ''Out to Sea.''
>
> Among Matthau's other films: ''Cactus Flower,'' ''Plaza Suite,'' ''Pete
'n'
> Tilly,'' ''Casey's Shadow,'' ''California Suite,'' ''Little Miss Marker,''
> ''I Ought to Be in Pictures,'' ''Pirates,'' ''Dennis the Menace.''
>
divorce
> in 1958. They had two children, David and Jenny. He married Carol Marcus
in
> 1959, and they had one son, Charles, who became a filmmaker and directed
his
> father in ''The Grass Harp'' in 1996.
>
> Minnesota weather for ''Grumpy Old Men'' in 1993, he was hospitalized for
> double pneumonia. In December 1995 he had a colon tumor removed; it tested
> benign.
>
one of my favorite films.
Walter Matthau was a fine family man and a decent actor --
-- he will be sorely missed by all who enjoy good acting.
Wally