Specializing in playing curmudgeonly cranks, actor Walter Matthau parlayed his rumpled, hangdog features into a long career in film and on television. Matthau started on the stage and enjoyed lasting success on Broadway, before making the transition to villainous supporting roles in films like "King Creole" (1958) and "Charade" (1963). Following more supporting roles in the comedy sequel "Ensign Pulver" (1964) and the tense political thriller "Fail-Safe" (1964), Matthau partnered for the first time with Jack Lemmon in Billy Wilder's caustic comedy, "The Fortune Cookie" (1966). The pair would go on to star opposite each other in their most famous partnership, "The Odd Couple" (1968), while Matthau branched off as the lead in a number of classic crime thrillers, including "Charlie Varrick" (1973) and "The Taking of Pelham One Two Three" (1974). He forged another successful, albeit brief partnership with George Burns for "The Sunshine Boys" (1975) and delivered his most popular performance as the beer-swilling manager of a misfit Little League baseball team in "The Bad News Bears" (1976). Matthau reunited with Lemmon for the surprisingly successful "Grumpy Old Men" (1993), which spawned the sequel "Grumpier Old Men" (1995) and the unrelated "Out to Sea" (1997). Matthau left behind a last legacy that included numerous hit comedies, surprisingly well-acted thrillers, and one of the greatest onscreen partnerships in cinema history.