The son of poor immigrants and Russian/Ukrainian Jews, he was raised only by his mother Rose Berolsky Matthow (1894-1979), as his father Milton Melas Matthow (1886-1935) left home when he was 3 years old. The actor had an older brother, the American When Henry Matthow (1918–1995).
In his 45-year career, Walter Matthau won two Tony Awards, the first in 1962 for Best Supporting Actor in the Play: “A Shot in the Dark” and in 1965 for Best Leading Actor in the Play: “The Odd Couple”; in 1976 he won the Golden Globe for Best Actor in a Comedy or Musical for: “The Sunshine Boys” (1975), character “Willy Clark” and in 1967, his peak, he won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor in the film: “The Fortune Cookie” (1966), character “Willie Gingrich”.
Walter Matthau has his star on the Los Angeles Walk of Fame, at 6357 Hollywood Boulevard, in the cinema category.
Walter Matthau, born Walter Matuchanskayasky on October 1, 1920, Manhattan, New York, United States, having died on July 1, 2000, aged 79.
The actor was married twice. The first time was with the American actress Grace Geraldine Johnson (1925–1982) from 1948 to 1958, with whom he had a son and a daughter: Jenny Matthau (1949-) executive of the company MatthauBiotics and journalist David Matthau (1953-); and he later married another Grace, the American actress and author Carol Grace Matthau, often called Carol Marcus Saroyan (1924-2003), the actor’s widow. The couple had one son, the American director, producer, actor and writer Charles Marcus Matthau (1962-).
