Artist:Walter Matthau
Song:It Takes a Woman
Album:Hello, Dolly!: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack
Of course most movie fans are familiar with actor Walter Matthau's long career in films. This performance of It Takes a Woman from the 1968 film musical Hello, Dolly! was his only time singing in a film. He was born Walter Matthow Oct. 1, 1920 in New York City. His parents were Russian Jewish immigrants. He first performed in summer camp. After serving in the US Army during WWII, Matthau studied at the Dramatic Workshop of the New School. His joke was the others looked like actors but Matthau looked like Skid Row bum. He won a 1962 Tony award for A Shot in the Dark. Matthau's early film roles included the 1958 Elvis Presley film King Creole and A Face in the Crowd starring Andy Griffith. He also appeared in TV shows like Naked City and Alfred Hitchcock Presents. He usually played villains. Matthau's big break came when Neil Simon cast him as Oscar Madison in the Broadway comedy The Odd Couple. Matthau also started his long association with Jack Lemmon in the film version of The Odd Couple. The success of Billy Wilder's 1966 film The Fortune Cookie led to Hello, Dolly!. When this Jerry Herman musical was on Broadway, Carol Channing was the star. The 1968 film was tailored for Barbra Streisand who was much younger than Channing. That casting was heavily criticized. The film also added Louis Armstrong who was not in the Broadway show but scored a hit single with Hello, Dolly!. Matthau played Horace Vandergelder which was played by David Burns on Broadway. The difference is Burns was an accomplished singer and Matthau can't sing. Obviously he was hired because he's a movie star. Matthau also appeared in the finale with Barbra Streisand and Michael Crawford. This was Matthau's only singing appearance in a film. It was just a blip in his career as Matthau returned to films like Kotch and The Sunshine Boys. Matthau is best remembered for his many films with Jack Lemmon. But he also had great success working with Neil Simon and Billy Wilder. Matthau continued to appear in film until health problems led to his death on July 1, 2000 at age 79. Here's Walter Matthau performing It Takes a Woman from the 1968 film Hello, Dolly!.
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