Walter Matthau Biography

Fast Facts

• In 1993, he received a Lifetime Achievement Award at the ShoWest Convention, USA
• Won a Lifetime Achievement Award in Comedy at the American Comedy Awards, USA in 1997
• Worked as a Yiddish Theater District concessions stand cashier for a short time, then served in the U․S․ Army Air Forces during World War II, reaching the rank of staff sergeant
• Quote: "'Get out of show business․' It's the best advice I ever got, because I'm so stubborn that if someone would tell me that, I would stay in it to the bitter end․"
• A middle-aged Matthau once estimated that he had lost $5 million to gambling over the course of his life
• Frequently worked with actor Jack Lemmon, appearing with him in ten movies, nine of which they shared scenes in, and Lemmon directed Matthau in "Kotch․"
• Often played ornery, bumbling pessimists, such as the slovenly sportswriter in "The Odd Couple․"
• After suffering a serious heart attack, he quit smoking and began walking two to five miles per day, an activity he kept up for the rest of his life
• He and Jack Lemmon, on-screen adversaries but real-life friends, are now both interred in the Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery in Los Angeles
• Listed his middle name as Foghorn when he filled out his Social Security form in 1937 and never corrected it