Born on this day – Walter Matthau:

Walter Matthau

Actor

Director

Producer

October 1, 1920 – July 1, 2000

Credits:

101 Most Unforgettable SNL Moments (2004); 1968: A Year of War, Turmoil and Beyond (2018); 5th Annual Celebrity Parade for Cerebral Palsy (1955); 60/90 (2008); 7th Annual American Cinema Awards (1990); A Beverly Hills Christmas with James Stewart (1987); A Face in the Crowd (1957); A Guide for the Married Man (1967); À l'abordage - L'aventure de pirates (2009); A Menace Named Dennis (1993); A New Leaf (1971); A Show Business Salute to Milton Berle (1973); A Tribute to Neil Simon (1978); AFI Life Achievement Award (1974–1992); Against Her Will: An Incident in Baltimore (1992); Alan Pakula: Going for Truth (2019); Alfred Hitchcock Presents (1958–1961); All-Star Party for Jack Lemmon (1980); American Masters (1989–1998); American Masters (2007); And the Oscar Goes to... (2014); Armstrong Circle Theatre (1952–1954); Awake and Sing (1972); Backstory (2000); Barbra: The Concert (1994); Battleground (2005); Becoming Mike Nichols (2016); Beyond 'JFK': The Question of Conspiracy (1992); Bigger Than Life (1956); Billy Wilder Speaks (2006); Billy Wilder, artiste (ou: Ne réveillez pas le cinéaste qui dort) (1993); Biography (1998); Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre (1964); Buddy Buddy (1981); Cactus Flower (1969); California Suite (1978); Campbell Summer Soundstage (1953); Candy (1968); Captain Jokes Parrot's Disaster of the Caribbean (2017); Carol Channing and 101 Men (1968); Casey's Shadow (1978); Center Stage (1954); Change of Heart (1987); Chaplin (1992); Charade (1963); Charley Varrick (1973); Cinema (1967); Clapper Board (1980); Climax! (1957); Compression (2024); Dai nostri inviati: La Rai racconta la Mostra del cinema di Venezia 1980-1989 (2013); Danger (1952–1954); De qué te ríes (2006); Dennis the Menace (1993); Dinah! (1975–1976); Doin' Time on Planet Earth (1988); Dolemite Is My Name (2019); Dr. Kildare (1964); Earthquake (1974); Elvis at the Movies (2002); Elvis: His Life and Times (1993); Ensign Pulver (1964); Entertainment Tonight (1991–1997); Everything Is Copy (2015); Fact Hunt (2016); Fail Safe (1964); Fail Safe and the Cold War (2020); Famous Nathan (2014); Film '79 (1979); First Monday in October (1981); Funny Business (1978); Gangster Story (1959); General Bradley (1963); General Eisenhower (1963); General Electric Theater (1956–1962); General MacArthur (1963); George Burns' 90th Birthday Party: A Very Special Special (1986); George Jessel's Here Come the Stars (1968); Goodbye Charlie (1964); Goodyear Television Playhouse (1952–1957); Great Ghost Tales (1961); Great Performances (1987); Grumpier Old Men (1995); Grumpy Old Men (1993); Hanging Up (2000); Harry Belafonte - Zwischen Calypso und Gerechtigkeit (2022); Hello, Dolly! (1969); Here's Hal: Hal Riddle (2001); Hitchcock Confidential (2019); Hollywood Christmas Lane Parade of the Stars (1969); Hollywood Remembers Walter Matthau (2001); Hollywood Screen Tests: Take 2 (1999); Hollywood: The Gift of Laughter (1982); Hollywoods Spaßfabrik - Als die Bilder Lachen lernten (2014); Hopscotch (1980); House Calls (1978); How the Grinch Stole Christmas! (1992); I Love Liberty (1982); I Ought to Be in Pictures (1982); I.Q. (1994); I'm Not Rappaport (1996); Incident in a Small Town (1994); Inside Edition (2023); Insight (1977); Intimate Portrait (1998); Island of Love (1963); Jack Benny's Bag (1968); Jack Lemmon (1996); Jack Lemmon: A Twist of Lemmon (1976); Jack Lemmon: America's Everyman (1996); JFK (1991); Juno and the Paycock (1960); Justice (1955); King Creole (1958); King: A Filmed Record... Montgomery to Memphis (1969); Kotch (1971); Kraft Theatre (1952–1958); Kraft Theatre / The Philco Television Playhouse (1952–1955); Kraft Theatre / The United States Steel Hour (1954–1957); Larry King Live (2000); Last of the Independents: Don Siegel and the Making of 'Charley Varrick' (2015); Laurel & Hardy: A Tribute to the Boys (1992); Lauren Bacall, ombre et lumière (2017); Les Fonda, une dynastie de cinéma (2023); Little Miss Marker (1980); Live from Lincoln Center (1982); Lonely Are the Brave (1962); Lux Video Theatre (1950–1952); Making Life Beautiful (1999); Midnight's Edge (2025); Mirage (1965); Mister Peepers (1952–1955); Movers & Shakers (1985); Mrs. Lambert Remembers Love (1991); Naked City (1960–1962); Omnibus (1953–1956); One Voice (1986); Onionhead (1958); Oops I Changed the World (2022); Oscars, Actors and The Exorcist (1974); Our American Heritage (1960); Out to Sea (1997); Parkinson (1976); Parkinson One to One (1987); Parkinson: The Interviews (1997); Pete 'n' Tillie (1972); Phantom of the Opera: Behind the Mask (2006); Pirates (1986); Play of the Week (1960); Plaza Suite (1971); Ponds Theater (1954); Portrait of a '60% Perfect Man': Billy Wilder (1980); Presley (1987); Private Screenings (1998); Profiles in Courage (1964–1965); Reflections on the Silver Screen (1992); Revisiting 'Fail-Safe' (2000); Ride a Crooked Trail (1958); obert Montgomery Presents (1954–1955); Route 66 (1961); Saturday Night Live (1978); Sex at 24 Frames Per Second (2003); Shadow of the Cloak (1951); Slaughter on 10th Avenue (1957); Spoofsters (2019); Stiller & Meara: Nothing Is Lost (2025); Strangers When We Meet (1960); Studio One (1950–1953); Suspense (1953); Talking Film (1978); Tallahassee 7000 (1961); Target: The Corruptors (1961–1962); TCM Remembers 2000 (2000); Television (1988); The 11th Annual American Comedy Awards (1997); The 13th Annual Tony Awards (1959); The 15th Annual Publicists Guild Awards (1978); The 16th Annual People's Choice Awards (1990); The 16th Annual Tony Awards (1962); The 17th Annual Tony Awards (1963); The 19th Annual Tony Awards (1965); The 1st Annual American Comedy Awards (1987); The 20th Annual People's Choice Awards (1994); The 21st Annual People's Choice Awards (1995); The 22nd Annual People's Choice Awards (1996); The 24th Annual Tony Awards (1970); The 29th Annual Tony Awards (1975); The 2nd Annual American Comedy Awards (1988); The 2th Annual American Cinema Awards (1985); The 30th Annual Golden Globe Awards (1973); The 32nd Annual Golden Globe Awards (1975); The 33rd Annual Golden Globe Awards (1976); The 38th Annual Golden Globe Awards (1981); The 39th Annual Academy Awards (1967); The 3rd Annual American Comedy Awards (1989); The 40th Annual Academy Awards (1968); The 41st Annual Academy Awards (1969); The 41st Annual Tony Awards (1987); The 43rd Annual Academy Awards (1971); The 44th Annual Academy Awards (1972); The 48th Annual Academy Awards (1976); The 48th Annual Golden Globe Awards 1991 (1991); The 4th Annual American Cinema Awards (1987); The 50th Annual Academy Awards (1978); The 52nd Annual Academy Awards (1980); The 52th Annual Golden Apple Awards (1992); The 54th Annual Academy Awards (1982); The 55th Annual Academy Awards (1983); The 61st Annual Academy Awards (1989); The 62nd Annual Academy Awards (1990); The 6th Annual Genesis Awards (1992); The 70th Annual Academy Awards (1998); The 73rd Annual Academy Awards (2001); The 9th Annual People's Choice Awards (1983); The Alcoa Hour (1956–1957); The Annual 1995 ShoWest Awards (1995); The Annual Friars Club Tribute Presents a Salute to Milton Berle (1980); The Annual Tel Aviv Gala Presents a Salute to Goldie Hawn (1987); The Annual Variety Club's Big Heart Awards (1986); The ANTA Awards Honoring James Stewart (1981); The Bad News Bears (1976); The Barbara Walters Summer Special (1978); The Best of Hollywood (2017); The Best of the Don Lane Show (1994); The Big Story (1950); The Couch Trip (1988); The David Frost Show (1970–1971); The Definitive Elvis: The Hollywood Years - Part I: 1956-1961 (2002); The Dick Cavett Show (1981 / 1985); The Don Lane Show (1980); The DuPont Show of the Week (1962–1964); The Eleventh Hour (1963); The Factor (2014); The Film Society Of Lincoln Center Annual Gala Tribute to Billy Wilder (1982); The First 100 Years: A Celebration of American Movies (1995); The First Annual Comedy Hall of Fame (1993); The Fortune Cookie (1966); The Front Page (1974); The Gentleman Tramp (1975); The George Burns Special (1976); The Grass Harp (1995); The Great Man: W.C. Fields (2005); The History of Comedy (2018); The Hollywood Squares (Primetime/Nighttime) (1968); The Incident (1990); The Indian Fighter (1955); The Joey Bishop Show (1968); The Kennedy Center Honors: A Celebration of the Performing Arts (1990 / 1998); The Kentuckian (1955); The Kid Stays in the Picture (2002); The Last Mogul (2005); The Laughing Policeman (1973); The Life and Times of Hank Greenberg (1998); The Lion Roars Again (1975); The Little Devil (1988); The Making of 'Casey's Shadow' (1978); The Making of the Last Best Hope of Earth: Abraham Lincoln and the Promise of America (1993); The Marriage Fool (1998); The Merv Griffin Show (1965–1972); The Mike Douglas Show (1975–1980); The Motorola Television Hour (1954); The Movie Awards (1991); The Odd Couple (1968); The Odd Couple II (1998); The Orange British Academy Film Awards (2001); The Orson Bean Show (2026); The Project (2024); The Rogues (1964); The Secret Life of an American Wife (1968); The Secrets of Dick Smith (1991); The Stars Salute the U.S. Olympic Team (1984); The Stingiest Man in Town (1978); The Sunshine Boys (1975); The Survivors (1983); The Taking of Pelham One Two Three (1974); The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson (1963–1986); The Tonight Show with Jay Leno (1996–1998); The Vin Scully Show (1973); The World of Walther Matthau (1976); Today (1967–1980); Twentieth Century Fox: The Blockbuster Years (2000); Voice in the Mirror (1958); Walter Matthau: Diamond in the Rough (1997); We the People 200: The Constitutional Gala (1987); Who's Got the Action? (1962); Wogan (1989); Your All-American College Show (1968).

On this day in movie history - Slaughter on Tenth Avenue (1957):

Slaughter on Tenth Avenue

directed by Arnold Laven,

written by Lawrence Roman,

was released in the United States on September 1, 1957.
Music by Herschel Burke Gilbert.

Cast:

Richard Egan, Jan Sterling, Dan Duryea, Julie Adams, Walter Matthau, Charles McGraw, Sam Levene, Mickey Shaughnessy, Harry Bellaver, Nick Dennis, Joe Downing, Ned Wever, Billy M. Greene, John McNamara, Amzie Strickland, Mickey Hargitay.

On this day in movie history - Mirage (1965):

Mirage

directed by Edward Dmytryk,

written by Peter Stone,

based on the novel Fallen Angel by Walter Ericson,

was released in the United States on July 7, 1965.
Music by Quincy Jones.

Cast:

Gregory Peck, Diane Baker, Walter Matthau, Kevin McCarthy, Jack Weston, Leif Erickson, Walter Abel, George Kennedy, Robert H. Harris, Anne Seymour, House B. Jameson, Hari Rhodes, Syl Lamont, Eileen Baral, Neil Fitzgerald, Franklin Cover.

On this day in movie history - Grumpy Old Men (1993):

Grumpy Old Men

directed by Donald Petrie,

written by Mark Steven Johnson,

was released in the United States on December 25, 1993.
Music by Alan Silvestri.

Cast:

Jack Lemmon, Walter Matthau, Ann-Margret, Burgess Meredith, Daryl Hannah, Kevin Pollak, Ossie Davis, Buck Henry, Christopher McDonald, Steve Cochran, Joe Howard, Isabell O'Connor, Buffy Sedlachek, John Carroll Lynch, Charles Brin, Oliver Osterberg, Joel Edwards, Steven Mark Hahn, Sharon Howard, Larissa Lowthorp, Katie Sagona, Katie Wahlquist.

On this day in movie history - Grumpier Old Men (1995):

Grumpier Old Men

directed by Howard Deutch,

written by Mark Steven Johnson,

was released in the United States on December 22, 1995.
Music by Alan Silvestri.

Cast:

Walter Matthau, Jack Lemmon, Sophia Loren, Ann-Margret, Burgess Meredith, Daryl Hannah, Kevin Pollak, Katie Sagona, Ann Morgan Guilbert, James Andelin, Marcus Klemp, Max Wright, Cheryl Hawker, Wayne A. Evenson, Allison Levine, John Patrick Martin, Adam Ward, Ryan Waldoch, James Cada, Jaclyn Ross, Kyle Christopherson, Jeffrey L. Smith, Geraldo Rivera, Warren Schueneman, Jack Mitsch, Sterling Robson, Gregory Schuneman, Denny Schusted, Michelle Johnston, Wallace Olson, Carl Johnson, Eugene Karels, Lawrence Grivna, Joel Edwards, Larissa Lowthorp, Johnny Luckett, Tammara Melloy, Shirley Stoler, Ryan Wotherspoon.

December in movie history - Gangster Story (1959):

Gangster Story

directed by Walter Matthau,

written by Paul Purcell,

based on a story by Richard Grey and V.J. Rheims,

was released in the United States in December, 1959.
Exact release date unknown.
Music by Alex Compinsky.

Cast:

Walter Matthau, Carol Grace, Bruce MacFarlane, Garry Walberg, Raikin Ben-Ari, David Leonard, John Albright, Clegg Hoyt, Leonard Bremen, Vic Tayback.

On this day in movie history - The Sunshine Boys (1975 movie & play):

The Sunshine Boys

directed by Herbert Ross,

written by Neil Simon,

based on the play by Neil Simon,

was released in the United States on November 6, 1975.
Music by Irwin Fisch.

Cast:

Walter Matthau, George Burns, Richard Benjamin, Lee Meredith, Carol Arthur, Rosetta LeNoire, F. Murray Abraham, Howard Hesseman, James Cranna, Ron Rifkin, Jennifer Lee Pryor, Fritz Feld, Jack Bernardi, Garn Stephens, Santos Morales, Archie Hahn, Sid Gould, Tom Spratley, Rashel Novikoff, Sammy Smith, Dan Resin, Milt Kogan, Bob Goldstein, Walter Stocker, Duchess Dale, Bill Reddick, Eddie Villery, Gary K. Steven, Steve Allen, Phyllis Diller, Lois Hamilton, Lauren Simon, Rufus Smith.

Recommended reading:

The Sunshine Boys

A play by Neil Simon.

First published 1972.

Published by Concord Theatricals.

Illustrated edition.

Paperback.

ISBN-10: 0573615969

ISBN-13: 978-0573615962

Description:

Play.

A comedy in two acts.

Full Length, Comedy / 5m, 2f / Scenery: Interior.

Al and Willie as "Lewis and Clark" were top-billed vaudevillians for over forty years. Now they aren't even speaking. When CBS requests them for a "History of Comedy" retrospective, a grudging reunion brings the two back together, along with a flood of memories, miseries and laughs.

"It's ham on wry...Simon's sure footed craftsmanship and his one liners are as exquisitely apt as ever." – New York Post.

"Delicious and oddly affecting." – T.

On this day in movie history - Charley Varrick (1973):

Charley Varrick

directed by Don Siegel,

written by Dean Riesner and Howard A. Rodman,

based on the novel The Looters by John H. Reese,

was released in the United States on October 19, 1973.
Music by Lalo Schifrin.

Cast:

Walter Matthau, Joe Don Baker, Felicia Farr, Andrew Robinson, Sheree North, Norman Fell, Benson Fong, Woodrow Parfrey, William Schallert, Jacqueline Scott, Marjorie Bennett, Rudy Diaz, Colby Chester, Charlie Briggs, Priscilla Garcia, Scott Hale, Charles Matthau, Hope Summers, Monica Lewis, James Nolan, Tom Tully, Albert Popwell, Kathleen O'Malley, Christina Hart, Craig R. Baxley, Al Dunlap, Virginia Wing, Don Siegel, John Vernon, Robert D. Carver, Joe Conforte, Art Cribbs, Carol Daniels, Thom Dunbar, Richard R. Hogan, Fred Little, Holly Nutter, Fred Scheiwiller, Bob Steele, Carlos Velasquez, Walt Wallace.

On this day in movie history - The Taking of Pelham 123 (1974 movie & novel):

The Taking of Pelham 123

directed by Joseph Sargent,

written by Peter Stone,

based on the novel by John Godey,

was released in the United States on October 2, 1974.
Music by David Shire.

Cast:

Walter Matthau, Robert Shaw, Martin Balsam, Hector Elizondo, Earl Hindman, James Broderick, Dick O'Neill, Lee Wallace, Tom Pedi, Beatrice Winde, Jerry Stiller, Nathan George, Rudy Bond, Kenneth McMillan, Doris Roberts, Julius Harris, Cynthia Belgrave, Anna Berger, Gary Bolling, Carol Cole, Alex Colon, Joe Fields, Mari Gorman, Michael Gorrin, Thomas La Fleur, María Landa, Louise Larabee, George Lee Miles, Carolyn Nelson, Eric O'Hanian, Lucy Saroyan, William Snickowski, Barry Snyder, Walter Jones, Jerry Holland, Robert Weil, Penny Krompier, Christopher Murney, Timothy Meyers, Ruth Attaway, Thomas Barbour, Marvin Silbersher, Neil Brooks Cunningham, Sal Viscuso, Tony Fasce, Burtt Harris, Gene Gross, Walter Lott, Conrad Yama, Sho Onodera, Toru Nagai, Tura Nakamura, Rowena Rollins, Joseph Attles, Willis Pinkett, Michelle Matthow, Isabella Hoopes, Bill Cobbs, Jim Pelham, Joe Seneca, Gino Gennaro, Carmine Foresta, Tony Roberts, Hy Anzell, Ines Hellendall, Jean-Paul Hellendall, Ben Lautman, Carey Loftin, James Mapes, Paul Nuckles, Jay Rasumny, Charles Silvern, Dominique St. Pierre, Dolph Sweet, Frank Ventgen.

Recommended reading:

The Taking of Pelham One Two Three

By John Godey.

First published 1973.

Published by Penguin Publishing Group.

Paperback.

ISBN-10: 0425253309

ISBN-13: 978-0425253304

Description:

"Chillingly real." – Houston Chronicle.

"A cliff-hanger." – The New Yorker.

"Harrowing, terrifying, and so, so good." – Business Week.

THIS AFTERNOON IN NEW YORK CITY, AFTER A SUBWAY TRAIN LEFT THE PELHAM STATION AT 1:23 P.M., THE EVENTS OF THE DAY TOOK A TERRIFYING DETOUR…

“You will all remain seated. Anyone who tries to get up, or even moves, will be shot. There will be no further warning. If you move you will be killed…”

Four men, armed with submachine guns, have seized a New York City subway train, holding all seventeen passengers – and the entire city – hostage.

The identities of the hijackers are unknown.

Their demands seem impossible.

Their threats are real.

Their escape seems inconceivable.

Only one thing is certain: they aren’t stopping for anything.