Actor Walter Matthau dies at 79

Walter Matthau

July 1, 2000
Web posted at: 9:43 a.m. EDT (1343 GMT)

LOS ANGELES (CNN) -- Oscar-winning actor Walter Matthau, who brought to life such memorable characters as sloppy Oscar Madison in "The Odd Couple" and the eternally frustrated Mr. Wilson in "Dennis the Menace," died early Saturday morning at St. John's Health Center in Santa Monica of cardiac arrest. He was 79.

Matthau was brought to the hospital by ambulance and died at 1:42 a.m., a hospital spokeswoman said.

A New York City native, Matthau grew up poor and started out playing bit parts at a Yiddish theater at age 11, according to his biography on the "Mr. Showbiz" celebrity Web site.

His credits include more than 70 movies and a number of television appearances. He began his film career after a stint in World War II. Some of his most popular films were "The Odd Couple" (1968), "The Bad News Bears" (1976) and "California Suite" (1978).

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