Walter Matthau

 Walter Matthau ( October 1, 1920 – July 1, 2000)

He was best known for his role as Oscar Madison in The Odd Couple and his frequent collaborations with Odd Couple star Jack Lemmon, as well as his role as Coach Buttermaker in the 1976 comedy The Bad News Bears. He won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance in the 1966 Billy Wilder film The Fortune Cookie. During World War II, Matthau served in the U.S. Army Air Forces with the Eighth Air Force in England as a B-24 Liberator radioman-gunner, in the same 453rd Bombardment Group as James Stewart. After his service, Matthau became interested in acting and started in television during the 1950s. He had a featured role opposite Griffith in the drama "A Face in the Crowd" (1957)," directed by Elia Kazan. He also directed a low-budget 1960 movie called "The Gangster Story." In 1962 he played a sympathetic sheriff in "Lonely are the Brave," with Kirk Douglas, and in 1963 he appeared opposite Audrey Hepburn in "Charade."

His most famous role came in The Odd Couple movie in 1968, as the slovenly sportswriter Oscar Madison, which he had also played on stage. In the film version, Matthau starred with Jack Lemmon. His partnership with Lemmon became one of the most successful pairings in Hollywood. They became lifelong friends after making "The Fortune Cookie" and would make a total of 10 movies together. Walter Matthau died of a heart attack at age 79, and is buried at Westwood Memorial Park. Less than a year later, his friend Jack Lemmon died, and is located nearby in the same cemetery.